Lindsay Clancy does not deny killing her three children, but claims she was suffering with postpartum psychosis at the time
A murder trial has gripped the US after a mum stands accused of killing three of her children but claims she had been suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time.
Lindsay Clancy, 36, is charged with killing Cora, age five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months old, in 2023, when she was on maternity leave.
Her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, the father of the three children, discovered the bodies in the basement when he came home.
The former labour and delivery nurse has pleaded not guilty of lack of criminal responsibility in court, but doesn’t deny strangling the young children to death. Instead, she claims postpartum psychosis led her to do it.
The prosecution argues she knew what she was doing, The Mirror reports.
Jurors however are struggling to reach a verdict. The murder trial started at the end of July but Tuesday ended a fourth day of deliberations without a verdict after previously saying they couldn’t agree whether the mother is criminally responsible.
What happened to the children?
The Clancy’s had been at their home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, with their kids on January 24, 2023, when Patrick said he nipped out in the evening.
He told the court the mum had been outside with the kids, building a snowman and was having “one of her best days”. Clancy reportedly told her husband at the time that she was having thoughts about harming her children or suicide.
Later on, Patrick said he left the home to pick up dinner and medication but when he returned, found all three children dead and Clancy injured in the garden from a suicide attempt.
Clancy is still paralysed from the waist down and requires a wheelchair. The three children were all killed after being strangled with exercise bands.
About the Clancy trial
The mum is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of assault and battery. But the trial is largely about whether the killings were intentional, given her mental health.
Kevin Reddington, her lawyer, says Clancy was so mentally unwell that she couldn’t be held criminally responsible. The trial heard she had bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis which led her to believe she heard a voice telling her to kill the children so she could end her life.
In her diary entries in the months before the killings, Clancy wrote feeling anxious, overwhelmed and preoccupied with the details of her infant’s care with “brain dog” and feeling “desperate to get a mental break from taking care of everyone”.
Yet prosecutors argue she acted intentionally, as she was involved in everyday activities on the day of the murder such as taking them to the doctor and building a snowman.
The prosecution claims she deliberately sent Patrick away on errands to get him out of the house. It has also questioned the seriousness of her suicide attempt.
What is postpartum psychosis?
According to the NHS, postpartum psychosis is a serious mental health illness that can affect someone soon after having a baby. Symptoms can include hallucinations, delusions, mania, low mood and confusion.
It is said to affect around one in every 1,000 mothers after giving birth and should be seen as a medical emergency. People in this state may not realise they are ill and may need their partner, family or friends to spot the signs and call for help.
Did Clancy try to get help?
After around three months after her youngest, Callan, was born, and around the time she was due to return to work, the mum’s mental health started to decline, according to court testimonies.
Clancy sought help from multiple providers and programmes in September 2022 and also checked herself into a psychiatric hospital for several days in early January 2023.
Her defence claims her care was disjointed and her medication was not managed well. The Clancy’s have both separately sued several people who treated her, though these claims are yet to be heard in civil court.
The clinic that saw Clancy testified she denied having plans to harm herself or anyone else and didn’t exhibit signs of mania or psychosis, but did say she reported feeling suicidal.
Her mother however claimed Clancy told her and Patrick in December 2022 that she thought about harming the children,
Has Clancy testified in court?
The court has heard from Clancy’s ex-husband, lawyers and more than 70 witnesses, including family members and medical staff, but Clancy has not taken to the witness stand.
Throughout the trial, she has been held at Tewksbury Hospital, a psychiatric hospital, but came into court to watch the proceedings from the defence table. She was seen occasionally crying, such as when prosecutors showed autopsy photos of the children to the jury.
What are the potential outcomes of the trial?
Judge William Sullivan has urged the jury to keep trying to reach a verdict, with deliberations expected to resume again on Wednesday.
The jury could convict her of murder or manslaughter, or acquit her if they believe her mental health was to blame.
A conviction could see her spend the rest of her life in prison, though if acquitted, a judge could still order her to be confined to a mental health facility if an evaluation determines she is a danger to the public.
If the jury can’t reach a verdict and a mistrial is declared, the charges against Clancy would remain and prosecutors would need to decide whether to go through the process again before a new group of jurors.
Alternatively, Clancy could be offered a plea deal though her lawyer is more likely to push to drop the charges, according to Boston defence attorney and former prosecutor, Brad Bailey, who is not involved in the case.
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