Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial has gripped the nation as jurors weigh whether the Massachusetts mother should be held criminally responsible for the January 2023 strangling deaths of her three young children.
While Clancy pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, her defense team is not disputing that she killed her kids — a nuance that has left many wondering whether Clancy has effectively confessed.
Us breaks down what to know about her plea, her defense strategy and the emotional testimony shaping the trial.
Lindsay Clancy Pleaded Not Guilty But Is Not Disputing the Killings
Clancy was arrested and pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder after her children Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, were killed on January 24, 2023. But her attorney, Kevin Reddington, has not denied that Clancy killed the children. Instead, he is arguing she should not be held criminally responsible because she suffered from postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder at the time of the killings.
Reddington has said Clancy was prescribed antidepressants to treat her postpartum depression and that the medications ultimately made her condition worse.
Clancy voluntarily committed herself to a local psychiatric hospital less than a month before the killings, and her doctors repeatedly took her on and off medications, which Reddington said worsened her symptoms.
Ahead of trial, Reddington also tried to formalize the arrangement by requesting a bifurcated trial — a two-stage legal proceeding in which liability and damages are heard separately, often before the same jury. In April 2026, he said Clancy “is offering to admit that she killed the children” if the judge agreed to the format.
“The defendant states that the issue of the actions that resulted in the death of the decedents in the indictments at the bar is not a live issue and the defendant is willing to stipulate formally in writing to her involvement,” the motion read.
Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan ultimately denied the request, ruling the matter could be handled in one trial, according to Boston 25 News. The trial began on July 20, 2026.
Lindsay Clancy’s Family Testifies She Was ‘Begging for Help’
Clancy’s family members have taken the stand throughout the trial to describe her deteriorating mental state in the months leading up to the killings. Her former mother-in-law, Susan Clancy — the mother of Lindsay’s ex-husband, Patrick Clancy — testified on August 18, 2026, that Lindsay was “begging for help” before the deaths.
“Lindsay was struggling — we were all concerned,” Susan testified, per the Associated Press. She described Lindsay as a “wonderful mother” who was “very nurturing” and “very loving,” and said the two were close. Susan added that Lindsay was open with her about her mental health struggles and often turned to her for help.
Jurors were shown text messages Lindsay had exchanged with Susan, in which she confessed to developing a dependence on benzodiazepines and being unable to fall or stay asleep without them.
“I’m not okay and I’m terrified of taking meds tonight,” Lindsay wrote on November 30, 2022 — just two months before the killings.
One day earlier, on August 17, 2026, Lindsay’s mother, Paula Musgrove, testified that her daughter’s mental health began to decline in October 2022. Jurors were shown a text Lindsay sent her mother during that period.
“Mom, will you please come up and stay with me for a bit? I’m really sick. Something is wrong,” Lindsay wrote. “I had horrible insomnia all night, and I just don’t know how I am going to get through the day. … It’s just really scary, and I don’t want to be alone.”
Musgrove also recalled that her daughter appeared nervous during an incident in December 2022, in which Lindsay told her and Patrick that she “had thoughts of harming the children.”
Lindsay’s sister, Allison Ozga, testified the same day and described a December 2022 phone call in which Lindsay allegedly admitted to having suicidal thoughts every day for a month.
Legal Expert Says Lindsay Clancy’s Jury Faces an ‘Agonizing Choice’
Family Law Specialist Rachael Bennett exclusively told Us that the jurors have a difficult decision ahead of them.
“Since she has already stipulated that she did commit the murders, Lindsay’s defense seems their focus is really more on explaining to the jury why the murders happened,” Bennett said, adding that the defense is trying to give the jury “context to her mental state.”
Bennett noted she believes the “testimony from her family members will hold some pretty significant weight for the jury,” pointing to the accounts from Susan and Musgrove. If “the jury believes that her loved ones all independently observed her in some state of psychiatric crisis” and “that it never truly relented over months,” Bennett explained, the testimonies will “seriously strengthen the defense’s argument that her actions were not intentional.”
“Ultimately, I think this case is going to force the jurors to make a pretty agonizing choice,” Bennett continued. “Do they see a woman who was, like, desperately trying to navigate a failing mental health system until she was just completely overcome by a psychotic break? Or do they see a woman struggling with depression who understood exactly how sick she was and deliberately chose to take action on her darkest thoughts?”
Bennett called the case “heartbreaking either way,” and said the outcome will likely come down to “intent and what kind of punishment fits the crimes that resulted from that intent.”
Prosecutors Argue Lindsay Clancy Knew What She Was Doing
Prosecutors have taken a very different view of the evidence. They argue Lindsay intentionally killed her children after sending Patrick out to run errands, purposefully removing him from the home so she would be alone with the kids.
Patrick had gone to pick up dinner on January 24, 2023, and returned home about 25 minutes later to discover Lindsay had jumped from the second story of their home in an apparent suicide attempt. He called 911 and found the couple’s three children had been strangled after he discovered exercise bands tied around their necks.
Cora and Dawson were taken to the hospital and pronounced dead, while Callan died a few days later. Lindsay was left paralyzed from the waist down and is currently being held at the public Tewksbury Hospital in Massachusetts.
Prosecutors have pointed to Lindsay’s suicide attempt immediately after the killings as an indicator that she was aware of what she had done.
If you or someone you know is pregnant or just had a baby and is in crisis, help is available. Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline for free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
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