Psychologist reveals Lindsay Clancy’s first words to husband after children’s deaths
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide and the death of children, which some readers may find distressing.
As Lindsay Clancy waits to discover her fate after killing her three children, a psychologist has called into question one of the defence's main arguments for her alleged postpartum psychosis.
The Massachusetts mother accepts that she strangled all three of her offspring before attempting to kill herself by jumping from a second-story window, something which has left her paralysed from the waist down.
However, instead of potentially facing life without parole, the 36-year-old's lawyers argue that she should not be held criminally responsible for murder as she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time.
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A significant part of Clancy's defence has relied upon her 'command hallucination', with it suggested that she tried to kill her children and herself after receiving a command inside her head.
However, a psychologist has now focused on the first thing that Lindsay is reported to have told Patrick after he came home to the horrifying discovery in 2023, suggesting it was 'inconsistent' with what someone experiencing hallucinations might have said.
When Patrick asked what she had done, Clancy told her husband: "I tried to kill myself."
Dr. Kirk Heilbrun, who evaluated Clancy over three days in April 2026, took to the stand to suggest that while the killings were 'out of character' for Clancy, but he ruled out the acute psychosis by suggesting that someone in her alleged position would have been more likely to say something like 'I did what I had to do', or 'I did what the voice said'.
According to Clancy and her lawyers, she received a command around 18 minutes before killing the children, which said: “This is your last chance. You have to kill the kids so you can kill yourself.”
However, Heilbrun called the timing unusual and said it could be a way to lessen her culpability. The doctor also added that Clancy gave 'inconsistent' accounts of what the voice instructed her to do.
He later suggested that Clancy might have killed her children in an act of 'altruistic filicide', as she believed that they might suffer without her and killing them all would have allowed them to be 'together in heaven'.
As she killed them, she is reported to have told the children: “Go to God, baby. Go to God."
Heilbrun's testimony did lead to some controversy after it was cut short upon the mention of Clancy's catholic faith, as her attorney Kevin Reddington pushed for a mistrial following the repeated mention of her religion, something he argued to be irrelevant to the case.
Although the judge William Sullivan did dismiss this request, he made it clear to the jury that it should not be considered and is 'absolutely an inappropriate area of testimony'.
He said: “The religion that the defendant was raised with is absolutely an inappropriate area of testimony. It is to be stricken. It is not to be considered. I can’t be any more clear of that. It cannot be considered.”
The trial continues, with a verdict expected at some point this week.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.
Timeline of Lindsay Clancy case
May 2022
Lindsay gives birth to her third child, Callan.
She’s open about her postpartum struggles with her other two kids on social media. Six weeks after Callan’s birth, she posts that she’s feeling ‘dialed in’ while focusing on exercise, nutrition, and mindset, and ‘it has made all the difference’.
September 2022
As the end of her maternity leave nears, Lindsay, who works as a labour and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, starts to experience anxiety about returning to work.
She visits two different psychiatrists and receives a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.
Lindsay is prescribed several different psychiatric medications.
October 2022
According to court docs, she writes in a note on her phone: “I think I sort of resent my other children because they prevent me from treating Cal like my first baby. And I know that’s not fair to them. I know that. I was feeling so depressed last evening when Cora and Dawson came home from school, I know it runs off on them, so we had a pretty rough evening, I want to feel love and connection with all my kids.”
December 2022
Lindsay undergoes an evaluation at the Women and Infants Hospital Center for Women’s Behavioral Health. She is not diagnosed with postpartum depression, prosecutors say.
Lindsay’s husband Patrick tells police she is having suicidal thoughts and thoughts of harming their children, according to his testimony in court.
1-5 January, 2023
Lindsay admits herself to McLean Hospital for psychiatric treatment. She is discharged after five days as clinicians do not believe she poses an imminent danger to herself or others, prosecutors say.
22 January, 2023
Lindsay, Patrick, Cora and Dawson have dinner at family friend Kyle Carney’s home. Kyle later tells police that Lindsay ‘seemed fairly normal’.
23 January, 2023
According to prosecutors, Lindsay pens a note on her phone which says she has ‘a touch of postpartum anxiety’ about going back to work.
24 January, 2023
Prosecutors allege the following took place this day:
Morning: Lindsay takes Cora to a scheduled pediatrician appointment. After returning home, they play in the snow with Dawson. She sends photos of the kids to Patrick and her mom.
4:02pm: Lindsay searches for ‘kids Miralax’ (a laxative) on her phone, and 11 minutes later looks up ‘take out 3v’, referring to restaurant ThreeV in Plymouth. She uses Apple Maps to calculate how long it would take to drive from the family’s home to ThreeV.
4:47pm: Lindsay rings a CVS in Kingston to ask if they have any Miralax in stock. A manager tells her they don’t, but they do have similar medications.
The manager later tells authorities that she did not slur her words or sound impaired during the call.
4:35pm: Lindsay texts Patrick, who is working from home: “Any chance you want to do takeout from 3V … I didn’t cook anything … It’s been a long day.”
Patrick says yes, and Lindsay asks him to ‘check the menu when you can’.
5:10pm: Lindsay calls ThreeV to place the order.
5:15pm: Lindsay allegedly texts Patrick: “Pedialax liquid stool softener.” He then leaves to pick up the medication.
5:33pm: When Patrick arrives at CVS, he rings Lindsay, but she doesn’t pick up. She rings back one minute later and confirms the medication.
5:54pm: Patrick gets to ThreeV, pays for the food and leaves.
6:09pm: Patrick returns home. “The first thing he noticed was the silence,” prosecutors say. “He did not see or hear the defendant or the children.”
Patrick calls for his wife but gets no response. He discovers their second-floor bedroom is locked. Patrick eventually manages to get in the room but sees blood on the floor. He runs outside and finds Lindsay lying on the ground, according to prosecutors.
6:11pm: While on a call to police, Patrick goes down to the basement and is heard ‘screaming in agony’,
Cora and Callan are discovered on the floor of the den. Dawson is found in his dad’s home office.
When officers arrive at the scene, Patrick alleges: “She killed the kids.”
Lindsay is taken to hospital, where she is treated for injuries that leave her paralysed below the waist. The three children are also rushed to hospital.
7:28pm: Cora and Dawson are pronounced dead. Callan is medically flown to another children’s hospital.
25 January, 2023
Police issue Lindsay an arrest warrant, charging her with two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation or suffocation, and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
27 January, 2023
Callan is pronounced dead at 11.18am.
According to Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague, Lindsay later wakes up and uses a whiteboard to ask: “Do I need an attorney?”
6 February, 2023
While in the presence of a psychologist hired by her lawyer, Lindsay calls Patrick and tells him she had a ‘moment of psychosis’ and heard ‘a man’s voice telling her to kill the kids and kill herself’ after he left on January 24.
7 February, 2023
On the day of her arraignment, Lindsay’s attorney says that she’s still suicidal. She pleads not guilty to three counts of murder.
October 2024
Patrick asks the public to forgive Lindsay, telling The New Yorker: “I wasn’t married to a monster - I was married to someone who got sick.”
January 2026
Lindsay and Patrick file a civil lawsuit, accusing medical providers of not properly diagnosing, treating and monitoring her for a ‘severe postpartum psychiatric condition’.
9 July, 2026
The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office says the three counts of strangulation would be subsumed into the murder charges.
27 July, 2026
Lindsay’s murder trial begins.
Topics: True Crime, Mental Health, US News
James Moorhouse