The Lindsay Clancy Trial Mini Series: The Family

In January 2023, 36-year-old labor and delivery nurse Lindsay Clancy strangled her three young children, Cora, Dawson, and Callan, in the basement of their Duxbury, Massachusetts home before attempting to take her own life. While her defense team contends she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder, prosecutors argue her actions were planned and intentional. In episode one of our special mini-series tracking the trial, we return to the beginning of the Clancy family's story. Featuring harrowing court testimony from Lindsay's husband, Patrick Clancy, we unpack the family's life leading up to January 24, her rapidly declining mental health, and the devastating timeline of the day that shattered their lives forever. LINKS If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. Contact Full Stop Australia https://fullstop.org.au/ on 1800 385 578, 7 days, 24 hours. GET IN TOUCH Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @truecrimeconversations https://www.instagram.com/truecrimeconversations/?hl=en Want us to cover a case on the podcast? Email us at [email protected] mailto:[email protected] or send us a voice note. https://help.mamamia.com.au/en-US/send-a-podcast-voice-note-467960 Make sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple & Spotify to let us know how you're liking the episodes. CREDITS Host & Executive Producer: Gemma Bath Producer: Ella Maitland Video Editor: Julian Rosario Mamamia acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we have recorded this podcast. Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:04Gemma Bath?

  Hi, I'm Gemma Bath, host of True Crime Conversations, and welcome to our mini-series, Unpacking the Trial of Lindsay Clancy in Massachusetts, the case the entire world can't take their eyes off. We're going to be updating you multiple times a week in this feed as the court proceedings continue to unfold. Just a warning, this episode contains descriptions of violence against children and suicide. A quick recap. 36-year-old Lindsay Clancy was charged with murdering her three young children in January 2023. Her defence don't deny she killed Cora, Dawson and Callan, but she has pled not guilty by reason of insanity, and that's what the trial is trying to determine.

• 0:49Gemma Bath?

  Her legal team says she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder. The prosecution say she acted intentionally. As the trial continues, we're going to take you back to the start. Lindsay Clancy grew up in a quiet cul-de-sac in Wallingford, Connecticut. The same house her parents still live in to this day. Neighbours described them as wonderful, nice people, sharing memories of Lindsay and her sister riding bikes and practising gymnastics in their front yard. Lindsay studied biology at university and went on to work as a labour and delivery nurse. She met Patrick in 2013 while he was working at a telecommunications company.

• 1:31Gemma Bath?

  They married three years later, in 2016. They had three children by 2022. Cora was born in 2017. Dawson came along in 2019, when Cora was just shy of two, and baby Callan was born in May 2022, when his siblings were four and two. They lived a comfortable life in Ducksbury, the kind of town associated with family-oriented living. When she wasn't on maternity leave, Lindsay was working busy shifts at the hospital, while Patrick's work allowed him the flexibility to work from home. Patrick testified that Lindsay was a wonderful mother and loved her kids, and up until December 2022, they had the help of a nanny.

• 2:15Gemma Bath?

  She was let go a month before the killings because they'd decided Lindsay wasn't going to return to work. Patrick Clancy also testified that Lindsay dealt with postpartum anxiety after the birth of each of their children, but says it was specific to her return to work. After their youngest birth, Patrick said Lindsay's mental health collapsed. She was unable to sleep, experienced thoughts of self-harm and periods of mania. She sought care from experts and was put on multiple psychiatric medications, and when nothing worked, she checked into a psychiatric hospital. 19 days after she was discharged, Lindsay strangled her three children in the basement of their family home

• 2:59Gemma Bath?

  and then jumped out the second-story window. Let's go back to that day. January 24, 2023, began with Lindsay taking Cora to a doctor's appointment for a routine physical. The paediatrician testified that she didn't notice anything in either the child or her mother that was out of the norm. After the visit, Lindsay sent photos to her mum of the kids playing in the snow. At 4pm, she searched 'kids Miralax' on her phone and then searched 'Takeout 3V' and Google mapped the distance. Just before 5, she texts Patrick, asking him whether he'd want to get Takeout for dinner. 'I didn't cook anything', she wrote. 'It's been a long day.'

• 3:44Gemma Bath?

  Here's some of Patrick's testimony of what happened next. He'd been working in his office in the basement. He'd been up to see his family once or twice over the course of the day.

• 3:53Speaker 01

  When you did come up to interact with them, how was Lindsay's mood?

• 3:58Speaker 02

  She seemed happy.

• 3:59Speaker 01

  Happy? And how could you tell that? What was she doing?

• 4:04Speaker 02

  She was playing with the kids, and she seemed in a good mood.

• 4:10Speaker 01

  At any point during that day, when you came up or while she's texting you, did she tell you she was having suicidal thoughts?

• 4:17Speaker 02

  No.

• 4:18Speaker 01

  Did she tell you she was having thoughts of harming the kids?

• 4:21Speaker 02

  No.

• 4:22Speaker 01

  Did she ask for help or anything that caused concern?

• 4:27Speaker 02

  No, she was having one of her best days.

• 4:29Speaker 01

  One of her best days?

• 4:31Gemma Bath?

  Just after 5pm, Patrick left the house to pick up takeaway and head to the pharmacy, on Lindsay's request. As he left, he took a few minutes to pick up Callan and rock him on his knees. He kissed Cora on the head and spotted Dawson sitting on the couch, eating chicken nuggets, as he left. At about 5:30, Patrick called Lindsay from the kids' medication aisle. He couldn't find the brand she wanted.

• 4:55Speaker 01

  Did she answer the call?

• 4:57Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 4:58Speaker 01

  She answered when you called her?

• 5:00Speaker 02

  Actually, I think she didn't at first. She called back.

• 5:04Speaker 01

  Okay, and did you receive a call back from her about a minute later at 5:30, 4pm?

• 5:08Speaker 02

  Yeah, that's correct.

• 5:09Speaker 01

  Okay, and can you describe that phone call for us?

• 5:15Speaker 02

  It was very brief. I just said, I think there was a generic brand, and I said, is this one okay? And she said, yeah, that's fine.

• 5:22Speaker 01

  And what was her demeanor during the call?

• 5:28Speaker 02

  She was pretty quiet. It sounded like she was busy. I remember hanging up, thinking she's probably in the middle of giving baths or something like that.

• 5:35Gemma Bath?

  He returned home at 6:09pm. He immediately noticed the house was unusually quiet. He yelled down to the basement. Nothing. So he went upstairs and checked the bathroom, the kids' bedrooms. Finally, he got to his bedroom.

• 5:52Speaker 01

  Were you able to get into your bedroom right away?

• 5:55Speaker 02

  No, the door was locked, and that's when I knew something was wrong.

• 5:59Speaker 01

  And when you realised the door was locked, did you have a way to unlock it?

• 6:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, the previous owners, when they installed the doorknobs, had these, like these little keys that they taped to the back of each door. So I got the one from Cora's room, and I started unlocking the knob.

• 6:21Speaker 01

  And when you unlocked the door to your bedroom, did you go in?

• 6:26Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 6:28Speaker 01

  And what did you see when you opened the door and went in?

• 6:32Speaker 02

  I just saw blood everywhere, and the window is open.

• 6:37Speaker 01

  Did you walk into the room and over to the window?

• 6:41Speaker 02

  No.

• 6:42Speaker 01

  How far into the room did you get?

• 6:45Speaker 02

  Probably one or two steps, and then I immediately turned around and went outside.

• 6:49Gemma Bath?

  At 6:11pm, Patrick made a panicked call to 911 after finding Lindsay injured outside on the floor but conscious. She had cuts on her wrist and neck and was suffering from a spine injury that would leave her permanently paralysed. During the seven-minute call, she can be heard moaning and struggling to talk in the background as he tells her to wake up.

• 7:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, I said, what happened?

• 7:15Speaker 01

  And what was her response?

• 7:17Speaker 02

  She said, I tried to kill myself.

• 7:21Speaker 01

  Did you ask her anything else?

• 7:25Speaker 02

  I said, where are the kids?

• 7:27Speaker 01

  And what was her response?

• 7:28Speaker 02

  She said, they're in the basement.

• 7:29Gemma Bath?

  She said nothing, however, about their condition, he told the court. He stayed with her for the four or five minutes it took for first responders to arrive, and then he got up and ran to the basement. Still on the line to 911, he can be heard yelling, 'She's killed the kids!'

• 7:46Speaker 02

  I saw Cora.

• 7:48Speaker 01

  And how did she look?

• 7:51Speaker 02

  She had a band around her neck.

• 7:53Speaker 01

  And was that an exercise band?

• 7:55Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 7:57Speaker 01

  And do you recall whether she was, what position she was in, whether face up or face down?

• 8:04Speaker 02

  She was face down.

• 8:06Speaker 01

  And when you saw her in that condition, what did you do?

• 8:12Speaker 02

  I immediately ran over and tried to take the band off.

• 8:15Speaker 01

  Were you able to get the band off?

• 8:16Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 8:17Speaker 01

  And do you recall how you got the band off?

• 8:20Speaker 02

  I think I untied it.

• 8:21Speaker 01

  And when you say untied it, was it in a knot that you had to, you know, put everything down and unknot it? Or how was it tied?

• 8:29Speaker 02

  I'm not sure if I fully remember.

• 8:33Speaker 01

  Do you recall describing it previously as when you initially tie your shoes but then don't do the bow?

• 8:39Gemma Bath?

  Callan was found next to Cora, in the same position, with an exercise band around his neck. They were both placed next to a couch in the main space in the basement. Dawson was found in Patrick's office on the other side of the basement. He also had a band around his neck. Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead that night. Baby Callan was pronounced dead three days later. On February 7, 14 days later, Lindsay Clancy was formally charged and arraigned via Zoom while in her hospital bed.

• 9:14Speaker 03

  Ms. Clancy on Dr. 2359 CR 153. The court has a complaint charging you under 265, Section 1, Count 1, Murder, Juvenile 1. Count 2, 265, Section 1, Murder, Juvenile 2. Count 3, 265, 15D, Big A, Strangulation and Suffocation, Juvenile 1. Count 4, 265, 15D, Big A, Strangulation and Suffocation, Juvenile 2. Count 5, 265...

• 9:40Gemma Bath?

  Coming up, in the next mini-episode following the trial of Lindsay Clancy, we delve into the aftermath of this horrific crime, including what Lindsay said to her husband in a phone call from hospital and what Patrick's life has looked like during the three-year wait for trial.

• 10:09Gemma Bath?

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