Lindsay Clancy, 35, has admitted she killed her three children at the family's home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023. Her murder trial, now in its sixth day at Plymouth Superior Court, is testing whether the legal system treats the killings as intentional murder or as the product of postpartum psychosis so severe it obliterated her criminal responsibility.

The children were five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan. They were strangled with exercise bands, which were shown to the jury during testimony from Patrick Clancy, Lindsay's now-divorced husband, on July 27 and 29, 2026 (The Guardian; The Patriot Ledger).

Patrick Clancy's testimony, which spanned two days and concluded with the prosecution's direct questioning on July 29, reconstructed the hours before and after the killings. He told the court that in the months prior, Lindsay had told him she was having thoughts of suicide and of harming their children. She had sought care from experts in post-pregnancy mood disorders, was prescribed multiple psychiatric medications, and had checked into a psychiatric hospital earlier in January 2023. She killed the children 19 days after being discharged.

Patrick testified that after her discharge, Lindsay showed no signs she planned to hurt herself or the children. On the day of the killings, the family began with art projects, according to the Associated Press. Patrick said Lindsay asked him to pick up takeout food and stop at a pharmacy for stool softener. He described her demeanor as "normal" when he left. His last image of Dawson was his three-year-old son on the couch eating chicken nuggets and green beans.

Prosecutors argue the errand was a calculated move, evidence that Lindsay acted intentionally to get Patrick out of the house. Jurors watched pharmacy surveillance video showing Patrick calling his wife to ask which medicine to buy. He testified she was quiet on the call and that he assumed she was busy giving baths.

When Patrick returned, the house was silent. He found a lot of blood in the main bedroom. Lindsay had used multiple methods to try to end her own life and remains paralyzed from the waist down after jumping from the home's second-story window. Badly injured but conscious, she told Patrick the kids were in the basement, without saying they were dead.

On July 29, the court played the 911 call Patrick placed after returning home. The recording included nearly two minutes of him screaming and making desperate attempts before he could communicate with the dispatcher, according to Boston 25 News. Jurors heard him sobbing, screaming "oh my God!", and saying, "She killed the kids." Lindsay Clancy sat at the defense table with her head in her hands, sobbing. Her parents also appeared to be crying. The judge had previously barred media from posting audio of the 911 call, photographs from the trial, and autopsy photos of the children (The Boston Globe; Yahoo News).

The defense's central argument is that Lindsay was in the grip of postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness linked to stress, sleep deprivation, and hormonal changes following childbirth. Her lawyer told the court she had bipolar disorder and that antidepressants prescribed after Callan's birth worsened her condition. On the day of the killings, Lindsay said she heard voices telling her, "This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself," according to her lawyer (The Guardian).

The stakes of the trial's outcome are stark. If convicted of murder, Lindsay Clancy faces life in prison without parole. If found not guilty due to lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

Jury selection began July 22, 2026, at Plymouth Superior Court (The Boston Globe). Patrick Clancy left the court after finishing his testimony.