Lindsay Clancy faces three first-degree murder charges for killing her children in 2023. Her defense argues she was not criminally responsible due to postpartum psychosis.
1:08 AM
Jury selection began in Plymouth Superior Court in Massachusetts for the trial of Lindsay Clancy, a 35-year-old former labor and delivery nurse charged with killing her three children in January 2023. The case centers on whether postpartum psychosis rendered her not criminally responsible for the deaths.
Clancy is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her children: Cora, 5 years old; Dawson, 3 years old; and Callan, 8 months old. Prosecutors allege the killings were premeditated and intentional. Clancy has pleaded not guilty, though her legal team does not dispute that she carried out the killings.
According to prosecutors, Clancy sent her husband, Patrick Clancy, away from their home to run errands—including purchasing children's medicine and picking up takeout food—before killing the children using exercise resistance bands. Investigators determined she looked into how long the errands would take. After killing the children, Clancy attempted to take her own life the same night by stabbing herself in the neck, slashing her wrists, and jumping from a 20-foot-high window. She survived but was left paralyzed from the waist down.
Clancy's defense team argues she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and therefore was not penally responsible. According to her legal team, Clancy has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and had sought treatment from specialists for postpartum psychosis. The defense states that the killings occurred 19 days after she was discharged from a psychiatric hospital. Clancy and her ex-husband have filed lawsuits accusing her medical providers of failing to properly diagnose and treat her condition.
Postpartum psychosis, also called puerperal psychosis, is a severe psychiatric disorder that can affect mothers shortly after childbirth. Experts describe it as a mental health emergency affecting a person's sense of reality. The condition typically appears suddenly between two and three days after delivery. It is estimated to affect 1 to 2 per 1,000 women after delivery, though some sources cite an incidence of 1 case per 500 to 1,000 births. The disorder can occur in anyone after giving birth, but the risk is higher for people with certain mental health conditions, including bipolar disorder and other affective disorders.
If the jury finds Clancy guilty, she could receive a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. If the jury concludes she was not criminally responsible due to her mental condition, she would be required to remain in a state mental health facility.
Clancy's legal team requested that her trial be split into two phases: one to determine whether she committed the acts, and a second to determine whether she was suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time. The second phase would address the insanity defense involving postpartum psychosis.
A 7-month-old girl was killed by a stray bullet on April 1 in Williamsburg; authorities say the shooter was aiming at her father.
Justin Fairfax, 47, shot his wife Cerina multiple times in their Annandale home before fatally shooting himself early Thursday. Their teenage children were present.
A 5-year-old girl was struck in the head during a shooting involving two groups in the Bronx on Wednesday evening and was hospitalized in stable condition.
Karmelo Anthony, 19, found guilty of killing Austin Metcalf, 17, during April 2025 confrontation at Frisco stadium.
A woman in custody gave birth during court proceedings in Brooklyn on Monday. Legal advocates have called for an investigation into the incident.
Two Miami-Dade detectives filed a defamation lawsuit against the actors and their production company over "The Rip," a Netflix thriller based on a 2016 drug raid.
