Lindsay Clancy goes on trial over whether postpartum psychosis drove her to kill her 3 children
Defendant Lindsay Clancy watches as her ex husband Patrick Clancy takes the witness stand at Plymouth Superior Court in Plymouth, Mass., Monday, July 27, 2026. Credit: AP/Greg Derr
PLYMOUTH, Mass. — In the months after the birth of her third child, Lindsay Clancy 's mental health collapsed. Unable to sleep and stricken with thoughts of harming herself, she sought care from experts in postpregnancy mood disorders, was put on multiple psychiatric medications, and when nothing worked, checked in to a psychiatric hospital.
Nineteen days after she was discharged, she strangled her three children at their Massachusetts home.
A jury heard opening statements Monday in Clancy’s murder trial, featuring dueling views about her mental state. Both sides agree she killed her children. They disagree over whether she should be held criminally responsible for their deaths.
The first witness was her former husband, who found the children's bodies after returning home on the day of the killings in January 2023. He has said in interviews that he forgives his wife, who he viewed as ill, not evil.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, the national suicide and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988.
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