The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy began with emotional testimony from her ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, who described her mental health decline and the multiple psychiatric medications she was prescribed in the months before she strangled their three young children.

Clancy, 35, faces three counts of first-degree murder in the January 24, 2023, deaths of Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and 8-month-old Callan at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts. She has pleaded not guilty. The defense argues she was in the grip of severe postpartum psychosis and not criminally responsible, while prosecutors maintain the killings were deliberate.

Patrick Clancy was the first witness called after opening statements. He testified that his wife’s mental health worsened in late 2022 after she began seeking treatment and receiving prescriptions. According to his testimony and related reporting, Lindsay was prescribed at least six different psychiatric medications for depression, anxiety, and sleep issues, including Zoloft and others such as Ativan, Seroquel, and benzodiazepines, sometimes overlapping.

Prosecutors showed the jury a bag of prescription bottles recovered after the children’s deaths. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague noted that while many medications were prescribed, Lindsay had taken only a limited number of the pills from several bottles (for example, only seven Zoloft and six Ativan pills from certain prescriptions). Patrick Clancy acknowledged the prescriptions but said some dosage changes could explain unused pills, and he described his wife as continuing to deteriorate despite the medications.

He recounted that Lindsay had shared intrusive thoughts about harm coming to the children and that her condition spiraled in the months after the birth of their youngest child. Patrick Clancy has previously said he forgives his former wife and has supported aspects of her defense regarding her mental state.

The trial is expected to last several weeks and will include extensive testimony about Clancy’s mental health treatment, medication history, and the events of the day the children were killed. Both sides agree she caused the deaths; the central dispute is whether she was legally responsible at the time.

Sources

• Court testimony