Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial Begins: Insanity Defense vs. Premeditated Killing

Jury selection started July 20 2026 in Plymouth Superior Court for Lindsay Clancy, a former labor-and-delivery nurse from Massachusetts. Clancy has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder for the deaths of her children—Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months—who were strangled on January 24 2023 in the family’s Duxbury home. After the killings, Clancy attempted suicide, leaving her paralyzed and confined to a state hospital. The prosecution alleges the killings were intentional; the defense will argue she was legally insane because of postpartum psychosis.

Lindsay Clancy Trial Begins In Duxbury After She Killed Three Children: 17 Sources (Western Mainstream: 10) | NewsCord Associated PressTrial begins for mom who says postpartum issues led her to kill 3 children People MagazineRolling StoneUSA TodayTrial begins for mom accused of killing her 3 children CNNNew York Post

Postpartum psychosis is a rare psychiatric emergency that can produce delusions, hallucinations and severe mood disturbance in a small fraction of new mothers. The civil suits filed by the Clancys claim her condition worsened after the birth of her third child, leading to multiple psychiatric hospitalizations and frequent medication changes. The suits contend her providers failed to diagnose, treat, or monitor a “severe postpartum psychiatric condition.”

USA Today

• January 24 2023 – Clancy allegedly asks husband Patrick to fetch takeout and a prescription, then uses exercise bands to strangle the three children in the basement and attempts suicide.

Rolling Stone

• June 18 2026 – Pre-trial conference with attorney Kevin Reddington.

CNN

• July 13 2026 – Judge William F. Sullivan denies the defense’s request to call other postpartum-psychosis survivors as expert witnesses.

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• July 20 2026 – Jury selection begins; the trial is expected to run six to eight weeks.

Trial begins for mom who says postpartum issues led her to kill 3 children

• Victims’ ages: 5, 3 and 8 months.

Lindsay Clancy Trial Begins In Duxbury After She Killed Three Children: 17 Sources (Western Mainstream: 10) | NewsCord

• The Cleveland Clinic estimates postpartum psychosis occurs in roughly 320 – 9,400 births per year in the United States, with about 4.5 % of cases resulting in harm to a child and 5 % of affected women dying by suicide.

USA Today

• Prosecution: Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague described the killings as “deliberate, premeditated, and extremely cruel.”

People Magazine

• Defense: Attorney Kevin Reddington maintains that Clancy “was not criminally responsible” because she was experiencing a psychotic break induced by over-medication and plans to raise an insanity defense.

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• Judicial Rulings: Judge Sullivan authorized admission of the 911 call recorded by Patrick Clancy and permitted jurors to tour the home, but barred the defense from calling other postpartum-psychosis survivors as expert witnesses.

USA Today

• “Our society fails miserably in treating women with postpartum depression or even postpartum psychosis,” — Kevin Reddington

CNN

• “It's a hard pill to swallow that the defense is gonna get up there and say, 'Lindsay Clancy did everything that she's accused of, find her not guilty,'” — Ryan Sullivan, state judge

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• “What we hope is that people understand the symptoms, know who they can talk to and get connected with treatment,” — Amy Colozzo, Postpartum Support International

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The trial is slated to last six to eight weeks and could involve more than 200 witnesses, including Patrick Clancy, medical experts, and law-enforcement officials. A not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity verdict would keep Clancy confined to a state psychiatric facility with periodic review; a conviction would result in life imprisonment without parole.

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