Lindsay Clancy's friend shares haunting text messages she sent before three children were killed
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide and the death of children, which some readers may find distressing.
The friend of Lindsay Clancy testified in court to give an insight into the mum's state of mind in the months before she is alleged to have killed her own children and revealed a text message she received.
Clancy’s trial is now in its second week after being charged with murder in the deaths of her three young children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, back in January 2023 before then trying to take her own life.
The 35-year-old, who is now in a wheelchair, is accused of intentionally killing her children, an event which her legal team do not deny, with the defence arguing that she had suffered from deteriorating mental health and is not criminally responsible for strangling them.
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The Massachusetts trial is ongoing, with jurors shown Clancy's haunting journal entries in the months leading up to the children's deaths and friends also providing testimonies.
As per PEOPLE, a number of her friends took the stand on Thursday (6 August) to provide evidence to what her mental state was leading up to the killings.
One of the friends, Amy Bevins, she has known since childhood. During evidence, she told of how, at a breakfast with friends in November 2022, three months before the killings, Clancy’s demeanour was not abnormal
However, in January 2023, in the days before the children were killed, Bevins said she had received a text from Clancy detailing that a medication she was taking had caused 'dark thoughts', yet she explained how Clancy was transitioning to new medication.
Bevins also made claims that she visited Clancy in custody following the killings, but they did not discuss the children or the killings.
The publication said that the court also heard from another friend Bethany DeCollibus, who saw her in January at a birthday party. She testified that Clancy had mentioned she was having issues sleeping and said at the party that she 'felt like a zombie'.
And Andrea Hennigan, Clancy’s friend and fellow nurse, told the jury that Clancy had talked about struggling to sleep in November 2022 and later mentioned 'brain fog.'
Diary entry explores Clancy's plea for help
The trial also previously heard details about Clancy's journal entries. They revealed that the mum-of-three had been experiencing feelings of guilt after the birth of Callan, including anxiety about the youngster's lack of sleep, not being able to breastfeed and feelings of emotional disconnection from her family.
"I want help. I want to be well," read one entry shared by her attorney Kevin Reddington, while another revealed Clancy's struggles with 'crazy brain fog'. "I live moment to moment waiting for the next nap time. I'm terrified of Cal getting overtired now because I feel can't help him," read another entry.
Other entries detail Clancy's struggles with suicidal ideation and medication prescribed by doctors.
Clancy had been given various antidepressants and antipsychotic medications to combat her symptoms, as well as sleep aids, after telling doctors that she had been experiencing insomnia, anxiety and confusion over what was real.
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 and an open window. 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 and jumped out the window.”
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.
James Holt