Here's what happened in court
• Prosecutors called Patrick Clancy as their first witness in the triple-murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. The Massachusetts mother argues she is not criminally responsible for fatally strangling her three children: Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan.
• Patrick Clancy, the defendant’s ex-husband and the children’s father, is a key witness in the case. He is expected to return to the stand Wednesday, when he will likely continue describing the day of his children’s deaths.
• Clancy has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder and faces life in prison if convicted. Her attorney has argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and extreme mental illness when she killed them. The testimony during the trial is expected to focus heavily on testimony from dueling psychiatric and medical experts.
• Editor’s note: Coverage of this story contains graphic descriptions of child killings, suicidal ideation, and an attempt to die by suicide.
Our live coverage of Lindsay Clancy’s triple-murder trial has ended for the day. Read key points from the first day of testimony here.
Key points from the first day of testimony in Lindsay Clancy's triple-murder trial
The former husband of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of murdering her three young children, took the stand Monday as the prosecution’s first witness in her triple-murder trial. His testimony – expected to continue Wednesday – followed opening statements from both parties, who previewed some of the evidence jurors could see in the coming weeks.
Here are some of the key points from today:
Ex-husband’s testimony: Patrick Clancy testified his former wife struggled after the birth of their third child, and that she told him in the months before the January 2023 killings she was having thoughts of suicide and harming their kids.
- Patrick Clancy appeared to get emotional on the stand, taking deep breaths as he described each of his three young children – 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan.
- Between September 2022 and January 2023, Lindsay Clancy was prescribed several medications by at least three different providers, her former husband said. Through their questioning of Patrick Clancy, prosecutors noted it appeared his ex-wife had taken only a fraction of the many pills she had been prescribed; Patrick Clancy testified he was not aware of how much medication his wife had or had not taken.
- Lindsay Clancy’s “big spiral” started around early December 2022, when she began taking a new medication, her former husband said. Lindsay Clancy told her then-husband she was suicidal and had “intrusive thoughts” about hurting their children, Patrick Clancy testified. He was not concerned for their safety at that time because she didn’t show “any intention” of harming them, he said.
- Lindsay Clancy spent multiple days in psychiatric hospitals in late December 2022 and early January 2023 because she was still having thoughts of suicide, Patrick Clancy said. After she was discharged, she seemed “much better” and said she was no longer having suicidal thoughts, he said.
- Hours before the killings, Lindsay Clancy built a snowman and played with her three kids, her ex-husband testified. “She was having one of her best days,” Patrick Clancy said. Before the father of three left their home to pick up dinner, he said he kissed one of his children on the head and told his family he would “be right back.”
Opening statements: The prosecution and the defense delivered opening statements Monday morning, with both parties warning jurors some of the testimony in the case could be difficult to hear.
- Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham said Lindsay Clancy “deliberately and meticulously” killed her children. Although she acknowledged Clancy had mental heath issues, the prosecutor said she was “not in the throes of psychosis” when she fatally strangled her children in the basement of their family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home.
- Defense attorney Kevin Reddington said Lindsay Clancy was “suffering from psychosis” when she killed her children and attempted suicide after, which left her partially paralyzed. “This is a young woman who, with her husband, tried very hard to get the help she needed,” the defense attorney said.
CNN’s Andi Babineau and Elise Hammond contributed reporting to this post.
Patrick Clancy kissed his kids and said he'd "be right back" before leaving the house
Around 4:53 p.m. on January 24, 2023, Patrick Clancy testified, he was in the basement working when he got a text from his then-wife, Lindsay Clancy, who was upstairs with their three kids.
She suggested they get takeout as she hadn’t cooked anything, Patrick testified. Lindsay suggested they order from a restaurant, ThreeV, and the two exchanged a few more texts about their son Callan’s nap that day and what food they wanted.
Lindsay placed the order and Clancy came upstairs, he said.
As he left, Lindsay was standing with Callan in the doorway of the living room, near the basement door, Patrick said, describing her demeanor as “normal.”
Linsday strangled her children in the basement while Patrick was out of the house. She then cut her wrists and neck and jumped from a second-story window in a suicide attempt, leaving her partially paralyzed.
Her attorney argues Lindsay was suffering from postpartum psychosis and extreme mental illness, so she was not responsible for her actions.
Testimony concludes for the day with Patrick Clancy still on stand
Judge William F. Sullivan recessed court for the day just after 3 p.m. ET, with Patrick Clancy still on the stand, describing his recollection of the day Lindsay Clancy killed their children.
The court will not be in session Tuesday. Patrick Clancy will resume his testimony when court reconvenes on Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET.
Clancy built a snowman with her kids hours before she killed them, her ex-husband says
Lindsay Clancy and her children built a snowman and played together hours before she killed them in January 2023, her then-husband testified Monday.
“She was playing with the kids and she seemed in a good mood,” Patrick Clancy said.
Earlier that morning, Lindsay brought the couple’s daughter to a doctor’s appointment, he said. Patrick texted his wife a photo of their middle child, Dawson, while she was away.
“He dressed himself completely for the first time,” her former husband said of the 3-year-old.
After Lindsay returned home, she played, built a snowman and did art projects with the kids while Patrick worked in the basement, he said.
His wife didn’t tell him she was having any thoughts about suicide or harming the children that day, Patrick testified.
“She was having one of her best days,” he said.
Lindsay Clancy's then-husband was "hopeful" following January 2023 family outings, he said
Patrick Clancy testified after lunch Monday he felt “hopeful” in January 2023 after a series of family outings, including to a science museum and a restaurant.
Lindsay Clancy was attentive to their kids at the museum, showing them how some of the exhibits worked, he said.
During a later trip to the Charlie Horse restaurant, which he described as a “family restaurant with games,” Patrick Clancy said her demeanor was “good.”
“She seemed much better,” he testified.
The couple also brought their children to a Hyannis indoor water park, where he said her demeanor was “pretty good,” and he felt comfortable leaving her with their infant, Callan, while he took Cora and Dawson into a pool area.
“Her mood seemed better,” Patrick Clancy testified about that time period. “She was more active, and she was able … to partake in more things.”
Lindsay Clancy told then-husband she no longer had suicidal thoughts after hospital stay
Patrick Clancy said he checked on his then-wife “every day” in the period after she was discharged from a psychiatric hospital up to when she killed their three children, he testified today.
She left the hospital January 5, 2023, and attended a birthday party for their oldest child, Cora, on January 7, he said. On January 24, Lindsay Clancy fatally strangled her three children in the basement of their Massachusetts home.
During these several weeks, Patrick Clancy said, he asked her how she was doing, how she was feeling and how she slept, but “she was still struggling,” he said on the stand.
He testified he also asked Lindsay whether she was still having suicidal thoughts, and she said she wasn’t. At this point, Linsday was also not telling him she was having thoughts of hurting their kids, he said.
Patrick Clancy testified earlier this afternoon that Lindsay told him roughly two months before the killings she had “intrusive thoughts” about harming them.
Patrick Clancy appears to get emotional while describing his children
Patrick Clancy, the former husband of Lindsay Clancy, appeared to get emotional on the stand as he described each of his three young children.
“Cora was into princesses and she had a lot of friends,” Patrick Clancy said of his oldest child, 5, taking deep breaths as he spoke. “She just liked taking care of people.”
His 3-year-old son, Dawson, was into firefighters, trucks, and the children’s show Paw Patrol, Patrick Clancy said. And the youngest, 8-month-old Callan, was “just a happy baby,” he said.
Prosecutors showed jurors a picture of the siblings wearing pajamas as they cuddled together on a couch.
Court is back from a lunch break
Court is back in session for the triple-murder trial of Lindsay Clancy after taking a lunch break.
Her ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, is continuing his testimony.
Before the break, he described his then-wife’s prescription medication and her physical state in the months before the killings of their three children.
Lindsay Clancy spent days in psychiatric hospital, ex-husband testified
Lindsay Clancy went to Massachusetts General Hospital’s emergency department on December 31, 2022 “because she was still talking about thoughts of suicide,” her ex-husband testified.
“I was exhausted. I said, I think it’s time to go to McLean,” Patrick Clancy told the jury, referring to an esteemed psychiatric hospital in Massachusetts.
“We didn’t have a diagnosis, so we just didn’t really know what was wrong,” he said. “I think for me, I was hoping that McLean could really evaluate her and, you know, try to figure out the best path forward.”
Massachusetts General referred the mother to McLean, an affiliated hospital, at 3 a.m. on January 1, 2023, her then-husband said.
During one of his visits, “She told me about her experience. It didn’t really seem like she was getting any treatment,” Patrick Clancy said. “The challenge was she arrived on a Saturday, and then I think Monday was an observed holiday, so she didn’t see a doctor until Tuesday. So until then, she was coloring and playing with clay and going for walks.”
Patrick Clancy testified he was not aware his then-wife was offered one-on-one therapy each day she was admitted, that she participated in several group therapy sessions, and that she asked doctors to be discharged.
Prescription medication and family life: What Patrick Clancy has said so far
Patrick Clancy, the ex-husband of Lindsay Clancy, has been on the stand today as the prosecution’s first witness in her triple-murder trial.
Her lawyers argue she is not criminally responsible for fatally strangling her three young children in January 2023 because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and extreme mental illness.
Here’s what Patrick Clancy has said so far:
- Patrick Clancy said he met Lindsay Clancy in Boston in May 2013 and they began dating a few months later. They had their first child, Cora, in 2017.
- Lindsay had physical issues after the births of their first two children and struggled with the recoveries. She had anxiety and struggled with the idea of returning to work after her three maternity leaves. Patrick testified she sought mental health treatment after their second child was born, “but it didn’t last very long.”
- The couple’s third child, Callan, was born less than a year before the killings. The family spent the summer of 2022 together, going on vacation and spending time with friends.
- Months before the killings, Lindsay told Patrick she wanted to take Zoloft, a prescription antidepressant, to help with her concerns about returning to work, he testified. In late October, Patrick found out she had been taking the medication, he said, but wasn’t improving. She stopped because it started impacting her sleep, he said.
- Lindsay was prescribed several other medications by at least three providers between September 2022 and January 2023, Patrick testified. Prosecutors went through a bag of pill bottles; Patrick said he was unaware Lindsay had taken only seven of her Zoloft and six of her 30 Ativan pills.
- About two months before the killings, Lindsey told Patrick she had “intrusive thoughts” about hurting their children, he testified. He was not concerned for their safety, he said, because she wasn’t showing “any intention” of harming them.
- Patrick said Lindsay became “very depressed” and told him she was having suicidal thoughts around December 2022. Her “big spiral started” around the time she started taking antipsychotic medication, Seroquel, he said.
CNN’s Andi Babineau and Nicki Brown contributed reporting to this post.
Court breaks for lunch during Patrick Clancy's testimony
Judge William F. Sullivan called a lunch break in the proceedings at 1 p.m. ET.
Patrick Clancy is still on the stand and will resume his testimony after lunch.
Court is expected to resume in one hour, at 2 p.m. ET.
Clancy told her husband she had “intrusive thoughts” about harming their children, he says
Lindsay Clancy told her then-husband roughly two months before the killings of their children she had “intrusive thoughts” about hurting them, Patrick Clancy testified Monday.
“She described thoughts of hurting the kids or them having some sort of ailment,” he said.
During the conversations – which spanned a couple days around late November or early December 2022 – Lindsay Clancy told him she didn’t have a specific plan to hurt the children and didn’t think she needed to be kept away from them, her former husband said.
“It was very confusing because a minute later, she was making them lunch or playing with them or getting ready for bed or whatever it was,” Patrick Clancy said.
He was not concerned for the children’s safety at that time, he said, because Lindsay Clancy wasn’t showing “any intention” of harming the kids.
Patrick Clancy said his then-wife did not mention hearing an external voice during those conversations.
Lindsay Clancy's ex-husband unaware many of ex-wife's prescribed pills not taken
Between September 2022 and January 2023, Lindsay Clancy received prescription medications from at least three different providers, her ex-husband Patrick Clancy testified.
Prosecutors introduced a bag full of prescription pill bottles and reviewed the pills with him on the stand.
He said he was unaware of the number of prescription pills taken by his ex-wife. Seven Zoloft and six Ativan prescription pills were taken by Lindsay Clancy, according to the prosecutor.
“I don’t have those exact numbers on how many she took, but there was, there were adjustments made on the dosage of the Ativan, so it aligns with that,” he testified.
As he continued to get asked about the amount of pills taken from each of the prescriptions, Patrick Clancy reiterated that he wasn’t keeping track of the number of pills she was taking.
“It’s possible that not a lot were taken,” he said about the prescription pills in the bag admitted as evidence.
Lindsay Clancy talked about suicidal thoughts weeks before killings, ex-husband says
Lindsay Clancy became “very depressed” and said she had suicidal thoughts weeks before she killed her three children, her ex-husband testified.
Patrick Clancy said at some point, his then-wife told him he was starting to take Seroquel, an antipsychotic medication typically used to treat schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder.
When asked whether Lindsay Clancy told him she was starting the new medication, Patrick Clancy said he thought it was “before December 6,” 2022. But he said after she started taking it, she was “awful.”
“That was really where her big spiral started,” Patrick Clancy said, adding that his then-wife started losing a lot of weight and became very depressed.
“She was having a really hard time,” he said. “She started to say that she was suicidal” in December 2022 – the first time she had expressed such thoughts to him.
Patrick Clancy asked his then-wife if she had a plan on how to harm herself, and she said she did not, he testified.
On January 24, 2023, Lindsay Clancy fatally strangled her three children in the basement of their Massachusetts home using exercise resistance bands.
Months before kids' deaths, Lindsay Clancy said she wanted to take Zoloft, ex-husband says
Months before killing her children, Lindsay Clancy told her then-husband she wanted to take Zoloft, a prescription anti-depressant medication, Patrick Clancy testified Monday.
During a September 2022 conversation, Lindsay Clancy said she thought the medication would help with her anxiety and her concerns about going back to work after the birth of their third child, her ex-husband said.
Patrick Clancy testified that when he asked his then-wife how she was going to obtain the prescription, she responded: “Usually you just ask the doctor, and they’ll give it to you.”
He later learned she had obtained the prescription the day before that conversation. “I don’t think she had started taking it yet, but she already had it,” he said.
In late October, Patrick Clancy found out his wife had been taking the medication, he said.
“She wasn’t really improving (at that time),” Patrick Clancy said. “She just kind of seemed to be gradually becoming more in like a depressed state.”
Lindsay Clancy took the medication for a period of time but then stopped when it negatively impacted her sleep, Patrick Clancy said. The two slept separately for a few weeks to try to help her sleep, but Lindsay Clancy told him she still had trouble sleeping.
When a prosecutor asked whether Lindsay Clancy told her then-husband that she was instructed to “double the dose,” Patrick Clancy said yes.
Clancy family spent months together during the summer before deaths, ex-husband says
After their third child, Callan, was born in 2022, Lindsay Clancy and her family had an enjoyable summer, her ex-husband Patrick Clancy testified.
Lindsay Clancy had taken 18 weeks of maternity leave and Patrick Clancy had 12 weeks of paternity leave, he said. Some days he would take their two older children, Cora and Dawson, to playgrounds or birthday parties while his wife took care of the new baby at home, he said.
Sometimes they would spend time all together, taking a beach vacation, going out on their boat or spending time with friends, he testified.
But, starting around September, Lindsay Clancy began to exhibit some signs of anxiety as her leave drew to a close, her ex-husband said. Patrick Clancy said he went back to work in late August. His wife’s anxiety also happened when she had to go back to work after her other maternity leaves, he testified.
“There were days where she had all three kids” and that was “really stressful” for her, he said, but added that there were no behaviors that made him want to call a doctor.
Lindsay Clancy had difficulty recovering from births of first 2 children, ex-husband says
Patrick Clancy testified his ex-wife Lindsay had physical issues after the births of their first two children and struggled with the recoveries.
After their daughter Cora was born, Patrick said Lindsay “bled a lot” and struggled with the idea of going back to work at the end of her maternity leave.
“She had a lot of anxiety,” Patrick testified. “She just really struggled with the date of going back to work.”
He described the birth of their second child, Dawson, as “pretty traumatic.”
Dawson was delivered in a “breech position,” meaning he did not come out head first. The birth caused “significant bruising and tearing,” Patrick said.
Lindsay did not tell him whether she was on psychiatric medication after Dawson’s birth, Patrick testified, but she did seek mental health treatment.
“She got a therapist for a short period of time, but it didn’t didn’t last very long,” Patrick said.
Lindsay Clancy’s ex-husband could offer testimony useful to both defense and prosecution
Lindsay Clancy’s former husband, who is expected to be a key witness in the case, will likely provide testimony that could be useful to both the prosecution and the defense, a legal expert said.
Prosecutors will likely use their questioning of Patrick Clancy to focus on the day of the killings, when Lindsay Clancy allegedly asked him to pick up a prescription and food from a restaurant, said Elyse Hershon, a criminal defense attorney based in Boston, Massachusetts.
On the other hand, the defense is expected to prompt Patrick Clancy to tell the jury about the “normal old Lindsay” and any behavioral changes he saw after she gave birth to their third child, she said.
Patrick Clancy has indicated he shares his ex-wife’s perspective on her mental illness.
“I wasn’t married to a monster—I was married to someone who got sick,” he told The New Yorker in a 2024 interview.
Ex-husband describes meeting and marrying Lindsay Clancy
Lindsay Clancy’s former husband walked the jury through the timeline of their relationship at the start of his testimony Monday.
Patrick Clancy said he met Lindsay Clancy in Boston in May 2013, and they began dating a few months later. The couple moved in together in 2015 and got married in December 2016, about a year before the birth of their first child, Cora.
Patrick Clancy said he did not remember Lindsay Clancy telling him she had taken any psychiatric medication while in nursing school.
