What will happen to money as Lindsay Clancy fundraiser hits $1.1 Million after mistrial
A fundraiser linked to the Lindsay Clancy trial has surpassed $1.1 million, following the mistrial in her closely watched Massachusetts murder case.
Critics are now raising questions about how the money will be used, and what happens to the donations if the case proceeds to a retrial.
The GoFundMe, known as the Musgrove Family Fund, is aiming to raise $3 million.
Musgrove is Clancy’s former maiden name.
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According to the GoFundMe, the fundraiser was established to support Clancy’s parents, Mike and Paula Musgrove.
The devoted parents have spent years supporting their daughter through the high-profile legal proceedings, following the deaths of her three children, Dawson, Cora and Callan.
According to the fundraiser’s organiser, Brandee Mulligan, the couple relocated from Connecticut to Massachusetts to remain close to Clancy and have faced substantial travel, accommodation and other living costs connected with the case.
Why has the Lindsay Clancy fundraiser reached $1.1 million?
The fundraiser initially had a target of $1 million.
Donations increased sharply after Judge William Sullivan declared a mistrial on 4 September, following a deadlocked jury.
Rolling Stone reported that the campaign had collected more than $1.175 million, including a $5,000 donation from an anonymous contributor. The fundraising target has since been increased to $3 million.
Mulligan said the higher target reflects the possibility that the legal process will continue, if a decision is made that there will be a retrial, leaving Clancy’s parents facing further costs as they remain close to their daughter.
The fundraiser was created with the Musgroves’ permission and is intended to support them rather than directly finance Clancy’s legal defence.
What happens to the money after the mistrial?
The mistrial does not automatically end Lindsay Clancy’s criminal case. Prosecutors could seek a retrial, meaning the financial and practical demands on her parents could continue.
A status hearing is scheduled for 29 September, when the next steps in the case are expected to be considered.
Clancy remains in psychiatric care while the legal process continues.
As a result, the fundraiser is expected to remain available to support the Musgroves during the ongoing proceedings.
The money is therefore not a court award or compensation resulting from the mistrial.
It consists of donations made by members of the public to support Clancy’s parents.
Will the fundraiser continue?
The decision to increase the target from $1 million to $3 million suggests that supporters expect the case could continue for some time.
Mulligan has said the additional funds are intended to help cover the continuing costs faced by Clancy’s parents, including expenses associated with remaining near their daughter and putting their own lives on hold.
The fundraiser has also attracted controversy, with other campaigns appearing online in connection with the Clancy case.
GoFundMe has said it is reviewing fundraisers associated with the case and will remove campaigns that violate its terms of service.
What happens next in the Lindsay Clancy case?
The mistrial means there has been no final verdict.
The jury deliberated for several days but failed to reach the unanimous decision required.
Prosecutors must now decide how to proceed, while the defence will consider its options.
For the Musgrove family fundraiser, however, the immediate purpose remains unchanged: providing financial support to Clancy’s parents, while they wait to find out what happens next.
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: Prosecutors say that Patrick rings 911 and Lindsay is saying: “I tried to kill myself.”
He is then said to ask Lindsay: “Where are the kids?” She responds: “In the basement.”
While on the call, 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.
4 September 2026
The trial is declared as a mistrial.
Topics: Lindsay Clancy, US News, GoFundMe, Money
Jen Thomas