Lindsay Clancy Trial: Murder Charges Amid a Postpartum Psychosis Defense

On January 24, 2023, Lindsay Clancy strangled her three children—Cora, Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan—in the basement of their Duxbury, Massachusetts home with exercise resistance bands. She then cut her wrists and neck and jumped from a second-story window, resulting in partial paralysis. Prosecutors allege the killings were intentional and pre-meditated; the defense concedes the act but argues she lacked criminal responsibility because of severe postpartum mental illness.

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Clancy, a 35-year-old labor-and-delivery nurse, recorded escalating anxiety, insomnia, “brain fog,” and desperation in a diary from late 2022 to early 2023. She entered a postpartum depression program in December 2022, was discharged after a brief stay, and checked into a psychiatric hospital on New Year’s Eve. Her records show antidepressants, sleep aids and an antipsychotic prescribed over three months, with clinicians noting possible medication effects on her bipolar disorder.

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• Children’s ages: 5, 3 and 8 months.

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• Fatal injuries: neck ligature marks, bruising, petechiae, no heartbeat at hospital arrival.

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• Clancy’s injuries: thoracic spine fracture, superficial cuts, cardiac arrest requiring CPR and blood transfusions.

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Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham said the trial is not a forum for debating women’s mental health, emphasizing criminal responsibility. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington highlighted Clancy’s love for her children and the absence of motive, stressing overwhelm by postpartum psychosis. Psychiatric expert Dr. Sejal Shah testified that the January 30 assessment showed no suicidal or homicidal intent, though psychosis can coexist with coherent planning. Dr. Jhilam Biswas reported that Clancy, unable to speak, wrote questions about visitors and her family during a January 26 interview.

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Medical providers cited in civil suits deny that Clancy explicitly communicated intent to harm her children, contesting the allegation that clinicians missed clear risk signals. Their statements challenge the defense’s claim of missed warning signs.

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• “She then asked, can she have visitors, and where her family is,” — Dr. Jhilam Biswas, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

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• “This is not a public debate about women's mental health and how the medical system treats women,” — Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham

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• “I got to hold Callan and played with Cora and Dawson a little bit,” — Elaine Rossi

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• Mental-state assessments: Dr. Shah described cognition as “organized” and “goal-directed” on January 30, while prosecutors argue she acted “intentionally, rationally, and swiftly.”

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• Provider accountability: The Clancy family alleges clinician negligence, yet providers dispute that she conveyed any intent to harm, leaving a factual gap about prior medical intervention.

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If a jury finds Clancy guilty of murder, she faces life imprisonment without parole. A not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity verdict would lead to commitment to a state mental-health facility. The trial is expected to conclude later in 2026, after which sentencing will be scheduled.

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