The husband of a Massachusetts mother accused of strangling the couple's three young children to death in 2023 took the stand at her trial Monday as the first witness.
Patrick Clancy testified that his wife Lindsay Clancy experienced mental health issues after the births of their children, indicating that at one point, she was suicidal and had thoughts about harming their kids, according to ABC Boston affiliate WCVB-TV.
Lindsay Clancy, a former nurse, has pleaded not guilty to three murder charges in connection with the deaths of her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson and infant son Callan on Jan. 24, 2023.
Clancy attempted suicide on the night of her children's deaths at the couple's house in Duxbury, a small seaside town about 30 miles south of Boston, according to local authorities.
First responders rushed to the home that night after receiving a 911 call from a man about his wife's suicide attempt and subsequently found three young children inside the home who were "unconscious with obvious signs of severe trauma," Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said when charges against Clancy were announced in 2023.
Clancy was left paralyzed as a result of the suicide attempt and is being held at a state hospital. She appeared in court Monday in a wheelchair.
Patrick Clancy has said previously that he forgives his wife.
"Our marriage was wonderful and diametrically grew stronger as her condition rapidly worsened," he wrote in a statement shared on Jan. 28, 2023. "I took as much pride in being her husband as I did in being a father and felt persistently lucky to have her in my life."
Patrick Clancy did not share details at the time on his wife's "condition."
In opening statements Monday, Lindsay Clancy's defense attorney said she was suffering from "psychosis" at the time of her children's deaths.
"This is a woman that did not get the medication, did not get the medical treatment that she so deserved," Kevin Reddington said in court.
The prosecution argued that Lindsay Clancy is "criminally responsible" for the deaths of her children.
"People with mental illness commit crimes everyday and are responsible for them," Plymouth County assistant district attorney Shanan Buckingham said in opening statements. "The fact that someone may suffer or have a mental illness, a mental disease or defect is not the end of the inquiry when it comes to guilt or innocence."
The trial is scheduled to resume Wednesday.
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. Free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You are not on your own.
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