Who is Lindsay Clancy? The mother on trial for allegedly murdering her three children

The livestreamed trial of Lindsay Clancy, who is accused of murdering her three children, has attracted intense public interest around the world and sparked a debate about maternal mental health.

Warning: This report contains references to self-harm, suicide, and child murder which some readers may find distressing

Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan were found dead by their father Patrick Clancy in the basement of their family home in Massachusetts on 24 January 2023.

His now ex-wife Lindsay Clancy, 36, who worked as a labour and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, had also tried to take her own life and has been left paralysed from the waist down.

She had been discharged from a psychiatric hospital just 19 days earlier, after her mental health deteriorated following the birth of her youngest child.

There is no dispute she strangled her daughter and two sons to death, but prosecution and defence lawyers disagree over whether she should be held criminally responsible. The couple are now divorced.

The trial does not centre on whether Lindsay Clancy killed her children, but on her state of mind at the time.

What happened?

Patrick Clancy was the first witness to give evidence at Plymouth Superior Court, describing the horror of returning home to find his dead children.

In a harrowing seven-minute 911 call played in court, he can be heard telling a dispatcher: "She killed the kids!"

He has said in interviews that he forgives his wife, who he viewed as ill, not evil.

The jury has heard that in the months after the birth of her third child, Lindsay Clancy's mental health collapsed and she was left unable to sleep and stricken with thoughts about harming herself.

She sought care from experts in post-pregnancy mood disorders, was put on multiple psychiatric medications, and when nothing worked, checked in to a psychiatric hospital.

On the day of the killings, she said she heard voices telling her: "This is your last chance. Kill the children so you can kill yourself," according to her lawyer Kevin Reddington.

What is the case against Clancy?

Prosecutors allege she made a calculated decision to intentionally kill her children and contrived to get her husband out of the house by sending him on errands.

They have pointed to normal activities she performed that day, including taking her children to the doctor and playing with them in the snow.

Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham said Clancy "acted intentionally, rationally and swiftly" and bears full responsibility for the deaths.

"This was not a woman in the throes of psychosis," he said. "This is not a public debate about women's mental health and how the medical system treats women. This case is about this defendant, Lindsay Clancy."

What is the defence?

Clancy's attorney, Kevin Reddington, has argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare mental illness linked to the stress, sleep deprivation and hormonal changes that follow childbirth, at the time.

She also had bipolar disorder and antidepressants prescribed after the birth of her third child worsened her condition, he said.

"She loved those children right up to the time of their death," Mr Reddington told jurors.

Conflicting medical evidence

The jury has heard Clancy had sought treatment for severe mental health problems, including admitting herself to a psychiatric hospital.

But witnesses also noted she wouldn't always take the medications prescribed to help with her insomnia, anxiety and depression, and that she expressed fears she was addicted to some of them.

The defence has argued Clancy was overmedicated and that her care was disjointed.

Prosecutors have questioned the seriousness of her attempt to take her own life.

Her doctors have testified they never saw Clancy exhibit signs of mania or psychosis, though she did repeatedly talk of feeling suicidal.

Has Clancy given evidence?

Clancy hasn't given evidence and isn't required to do so.

But jurors have seen her, sat in a wheelchair, break down in tears at several points, including when prosecutors showed the post-mortem photos of her children.

What sentence could Clancy face?

If convicted of murder, Lindsay Clancy faces life in prison without parole.

If found not guilty because of a lack of criminal responsibility, she would be committed to a state mental health facility.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for free on 116 123 or visit samaritans.org.

(c) Sky News 2026: Who is Lindsay Clancy? The mother on trial for allegedly murdering her three children