Lindsay Clancy trial live updates: Cops describe finding children lifeless, recall dad screaming ‘She killed the f–king kids!’

Lindsay Clancy trial live updates: Cops describe finding children lifeless, recall dad screaming ‘She killed the f–king kids!’

Editor’s note: Coverage of this case is disturbing. Scroll with discretion.


A parade of nine first responders who raced to Lindsay Clancy‘s Massachusetts home the night in 2023 when the postpartum mom killed her three young children described the scene in brutal, gut-wrenching detail Thursday.

Clancy, 35, a labor and delivery nurse, is charged with three counts of murder and faces life in prison without parole if convicted.

An 18-person jury is scheduled to visit the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts home — where Clancy also tried to kill herself after strangling her children — on Friday.

Defense lawyers have argued Clancy is not criminally responsible for killing Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis exacerbated by a dangerous cocktail of 15 psychiatric medications at the time, despite seeking mental health treatment for months.

Clancy’s then-husband, Patrick — who divorced her and remarried an NYC fertility doctor — testified for the majority of the trial’s first two days, telling jurors Wednesday that she was a “very dedicated” mother who “did everything” before the killings.

He described her spiral into mental illness in the months leading up to the horrific night of Jan. 24, 2023, including extreme anxiety, debilitating insomnia, suicidal ideations and “horrible thoughts” that she tracked in a journal.

Court has wrapped for the day, but keep reading for new details and evidence pics revealed Thursday at the Lindsay Clancy trial:

Haunting pic of pregnant Lindsay Clancy and then-husband revealed in court

A haunting photo of Lindsay and her former husband, Patrick Clancy, from a maternity shoot was on display in court Thursday.

The expectant mother and father are glowing in the image, as sunlight reflects off the water behind them, while Lindsay — ironically wearing an angelic, ethereal maternity dress popular for these photoshoots — stands close to Patrick, who is planting a kiss on the top of her head.

pic from Lindsay and Patrick Clancy maternity photoshoot
A poignant pic from a maternity photoshoot Lindsay and Patrick Clancy posed for only a handful of years ago was on display in the courtroom Thursday.CJ Gunther/Pool The Boston Herald via AP

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the photo was taken during her pregnancy with daughter, Cora, or sons Dawson or Callan.

Nine first responders testified Thursday about horror they discovered at Clancy home the night of kids’ murders

In just three hours of trial today, prosecutors called nine first responders during testimony that flew by but grew repetitive.

Most of the first responders described the horror they discovered when arriving at the Duxbury, Mass., home with Lindsay Clancy on the ground after having thrown herself out of a second-story window; Patrick Clancy screaming at the discovery of his lifeless children; and officers, firefighters and paramedics’ failed attempts to revive the three young kids.

witness on the stand looking at an evidence photo
In just three hours of trial today, prosecutors called nine first responders during testimony that flew by but grew repetitive.CJ Gunther / Boston Herald

They testified in sickening detail about the children’s blueish grey pallor and bloodshot eyes, and how the girl and her two younger brothers weren’t breathing and didn’t have pulses. The witnesses also told the jury about a distraught Patrick who screamed and tried to save his kids.

First responders also said Lindsay had cuts on her wrists and neck, and was in and out of consciousness when they found her laying on the ground in their backyard.

Clancy’s lawyer, Kevin Reddington, at one point objected to the succession of witnesses, saying they were becoming repetitive — prompting a prolonged sidebar with the judge.

Lindsay Clancy with defense attorney Kevin Reddington in court
Lindsay Clancy with defense attorney Kevin Reddington in court Thursday.CJ Gunther / Boston Herald
Lindsay Clancy with defense attorney Kevin Reddington in court
Reddington at one point objected to the succession of witnesses, saying they were becoming repetitive — prompting a prolonged sidebar with the judge.CJ Gunther / Boston Herald

But testimony continued after that break.

Then, despite Judge William Sullivan telling the jury this morning that they would hold trial until 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. today, he ended up dismissing them shortly after noon.

The jury is expected to be taken to see the Duxbury home Friday morning.

Exercise bands in an evidence photo from inside the Clancy home
Exercise bands in an evidence photo from inside the Clancy home the night of the murders. Lindsay Clancy used the workout equipment to strangle her three children, prosecutors say.AP
n evidence photo from inside the Clancy home
One Duxbury cop said Thursday that he and his partner ran inside the house and found dad Patrick Clancy in the basement, where he told them, “I can’t wake them up.”AP

Trial ends abruptly for the day so lawyers can ‘hammer out’ issues: judge

Judge William Sullivan just abruptly dismissed the jury for the day shortly after noon, despite telling them this morning that the trial would run until 3 or 4 p.m.

There are a “couple of issues that we have to kind of hammer out and get done,” Sullivan said. “Rather than you wait around — and we are not sure how long that is going to go — I’m going to excuse you for the day.”

Judge William Sullivan
Judge William Sullivan just abruptly dismissed the jury for the day shortly after noon Thursday.BH
Prosecutor in Plymouth County Superior Court
Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague during the trial in Plymouth County Superior Court on Thursday.BH

Still, the judge said, “it’s my impression we are ahead of schedule at this point.”

The trial is expected to take as long as two months, with more than 200 witnesses slated to testify.

Sullivan told the jury to come back at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning.

After the panel exited the room, the judge called a recess for the day and everyone exited the court.

Paramedic gave Lindsay Clancy NARCAN but it didn’t wake her up: testimony

Paramedic Robert Costanzo testified about treating Lindsay Clancy when he arrived at her house.

He said they put a neck brace on her, put her in the ambulance and she was “moaning and groaning” but not speaking or awake.

Costanzo then gave her NARCAN in case she had taken opioids. She stirred but didn’t wake up.

Lindsay Clancy being wheeled into Plymouth Superior Court
Lindsay Clancy being wheeled into Plymouth Superior Court on Thursday morning. The accused murderer is paralyzed from the waist down from trying to kill herself after strangling her kids.CJ Gunther / Boston Herald
Duxbury Police Officer Stephen Hall pointing at evidence photo during testimony
Duxbury Police Officer Stephen Hall describing the crime scene to the jury Thursday.BH
The yard outside the Clancys' Duxbury, Mass., home
The spot in the Clancys’ backyard where first responders found Lindsay Clancy on Jan. 24, 2023, after she leapt from a second-story bedroom window in a botched suicide attempt.AP

Kevin Reddington, Clancy’s lawyer then asked Costanzo if he knew that Clancy had fractured her cervical spine and every rib in her body.

Costanzo responded he didn’t know about the injuries.

Paramedic recounts 8-month-old Callan had ‘deep strangulation marks’ on his neck

Paramedic Jennifer Stratton told the jury how when she got to the basement she started tending to Callan by performing CPR on him.

She testified that none of her and others’ attempts to bring the infant back worked.

Lindsay and her baby son, Callan
Lindsay and her baby son, Callan, in an undated photo used as trial evidence.Plymouth Superior Court
Lindsay Clancy in court
Clancy in court Thursday.CJ Gunther / Boston Herald

“He had deep strangulation marks around the entire circumference of his neck,” she noted of Callan, who was wearing onesie pajamas.

At one point they removed the PJs to try to put an IO line — similar to an IV, but goes directly into bone marrow — into him, but they were unable to get it in.

Eventually they decided to bring the boy to the ambulance.

“I scooped him up in my arms and carried him to the truck,” she recalled.
dic tells jury about attempting to revive Cora, 5

Paramedic Patrick Dwyer briefly testified about his efforts to bring back 5-year-old Cora.

Cora Clancy and her younger brother Dawson playing outside their house in the snow in an undated evidence photo.
Cora Clancy and her younger brother Dawson playing outside their house in the snow in an undated evidence photo.Plymouth Superior Court
Crime scene photos from inside the Clancy home
Crime scene photos from inside the Clancy home on the night of the murders show blood on the floor.AP

Dwyer said he and others performed chest compressions on the little girl and put a bag valve mask on her but she didn’t regain a pulse or start breathing again.

He and others eventually brought her to the hospital.

Firefighter testifies about failed efforts to revive Dawson, 3

Duxbury fire Cpt. Keith Nette testified briefly about how he attempted to revive Dawson, 3, through multiple methods.

Nette said they tried to intubate the boy, they also gave him epinephrine and tried to get the boy to start breathing again by using a bag valve mask and chest compressions. All the efforts failed, Nette said.

Dawson Clancy holding up a picture he drew
First responders desperately tried to save Dawson Clancy, 3, a captain with the Duxbury, Mass., fire department testified Thursday.Plymouth Superior Court
Duxbury, Mass., fire department Cpt. Keith Nette
All their rescue methods failed, Cpt. Keith Nette told the court.AP

They then brought Dawson to the hospital where Nette eventually saw dad Patrick Clancy after all of the children were declared dead.

He said the father was upset so he gave him a chair so he could sit down.

Retired firefighter recalls first responder carrying child with blue face, marks on neck

Loring “Chuck” Nudd, a firefighter and EMT at the time, was called as back up to Lindsay Clancy’s home.

When he arrived, he saw an officer “carrying a child,” so Nudd — who has since retired — told him to put the child, Dawson, on a stretcher.

Dawson, 3, with siblings Callan, 8 months old, and Cora, 5.
Dawson, 3 (center), with siblings Callan, 8 months old, and Cora, 5.Plymouth Superior Court
Loring Nudd testifies.
Loring Nudd testifies on day three at the Lindsay Clancy Trial.AP
Lindsay Clancy in court
Lindsay Clancy in court Thursday during first responders’ testimony.CJ Gunther / Boston Herald

He said Dawson’s face was “blue” and he had “marks around his neck.” His “body was pale,” Nudd told the jury.

Nudd eventually brought the boy to the hospital.

Paramedic recalls ‘very chaotic’ scene at Clancy house the night of the murders

Duxbury Fire Department Capt. PJ Hussey testified about a “very chaotic” scene when he arrived at Lindsay Clancy’s house on Jan. 24, 2023.

Hussey, a paramedic, said when he arrived he heard a man screaming, and looked through a basement window to see Patrick Clancy unwrapping something from Dawson’s neck.

paramedic testifying at lindsay clancy trial
Duxbury Fire Department Capt. PJ Hussey testified Wednesday about a “very chaotic” scene when he arrived at Lindsay Clancy’s house on Jan. 24, 2023.AP
Lindsay Clancy at the defense table
Lindsay Clancy at the defense table Thursday in Plymouth County Superior Court in Plymouth, Massachusetts.CJ Gunther / Boston Herald
Dawson Clancy, 3, celebrates after fully dressing himself for the first time, in a photo taken by his father, Patrick Clancy, the morning of Jan. 24, 2023, the day the 3-year-old was killed.Plymouth Superior Court

 

Dawson’s face was “blue,” he said.

As things unfolded “it turned very chaotic very quickly” with multiple people needing medical attention so Hussey called additional ambulances to the scene.

Cop describes finding 8-month-old boy and 5-year-old girl lifeless in the basement

Officer Josephine returned to the basement after bringing Dawson, 3, outside to the ambulance to find two more lifeless children in the basement, 5-year-old Cora and 8-month-old Callan.

EMTs were already attending to the two kids and rushed Callan outside to the ambulance while Josephine took over giving chest compressions to Cora.

Lindsay Clancy with daughter Cora and son Callan
Lindsay Clancy with daughter Cora and son Callan in an undated photo shown to the jury this week.Plymouth Superior Court

Cora, like Dawson, had a “pale tint, blueish lips, blood-shot eyes, blood vessels popped” but she also had blood in her mouth and there was blood pooled on the floor near her, Josephine said.

He said “it felt like forever” that he was giving chest compressions to the 5-year-old girl, so he called for backup.

Eventually Cora we brought to the ambulance as well and Josephine and another cop went to the kitchen where the children’s father, Patrick Clancy, was “frantic” and “in shock.”

He was “still screaming and losing himself,” Josephine recalled.

Patrick Clancy, father of Lindsay Clancy’s three children and her then-husband, was “screaming and losing himself,” one of the first responders to the murder scene told the jury Thursday. Patrick is pictured in court Wednesday.via REUTERS
Lindsay Clancy in court
Lindsay Clancy turns away as first responders testify Thursday about the crime scene at her Duxbury, Massachusetts, home the night she strangled her children.CJ Gunther / Boston Herald

Lindsay Clancy’s 3-year-old son’s face was grey, with bloodshot eyes: cop

Officer Brian Josephine said when he came upon Lindsay Clancy’s 3-year-old son laying in a room in their basement he was blue with bloodshot eyes.

The Clancy family
The Clancy family in a fall 2022 photo, only two to three months before mom Lindsay fatally strangled all of her children. Dawson is pictured top left, with dad, Patrick.Plymouth Superior Court

“His face was white, grey. [His] lips were blue, eyes were blood-shot, looked like blood vessels were popped in his eyes,” the cop said.

Josephine tried to check for a pulse but “I knew it wasn’t going to be good.”

“I moved the head and that’s when I observed some red marks on the right side” of Dawson’s neck, Josephine told the jury.

‘She killed the f–king kids!’ cop recalls Patrick Clancy screaming

Duxbury Police Officer Brian Josephine, who was with Officer Hall, said when they went to the basement they heard Patrick Clancy scream: “She killed the f–king kids!”

Josephine then followed Patrick into a room in the basement where Dawson was on the floor, lifeless.

Lindsay Clancy at the trial
Lindsay Clancy at trial Thursday with defense attorney Kevin Reddington.Reuters
Scene evidence from inside the Clancys' Duxbury, Mass., home
Scene evidence from inside the Clancys’ Duxbury, Mass., home on Jan. 24, 2023, the night of the triple murder. A yellow exercise band can be seen at left. Mom Lindsay, who says she was under severe postpartum psychosis at the time, used the bands to strangle her kids, prosecutors say.AP

“We looked inside the room where we observed what appeared to be a child laying motionless on the floor,” Josephine said. “He was laying on his back close to the gym bag.”

Cop wipes his eyes as he recalls seeing kids ‘motionless’ in Lindsay Clancy’s basement while medics tried to revive them

Officer Stephen Hall said when he went back down to the basement on the other side of the room he saw “two children on the floor motionless.”

Duxbury Police Officer Stephen Hall wipes his eyes as he testifies he “heard a scream from inside” from Patrick Clancy.AP

The cop said EMTs and paramedics were working to try to revive Cora, 5, and Callan, 8 months.

The cop wiped his eyes twice and spoke in a somber tone.

Stephen Hall said when he went back down to the basement on the other side of the room he saw “two children on the floor motionless.”AP

‘I can’t wake them up!’ Patrick Clancy yelled to cops after discovering his three kids strangled: testimony

Duxbury Police Officer Stephen Hall testified he “heard a scream from inside” the house as from Patrick Clancy tried to save his strangled kids.

The cop and his partner ran inside and found Patrick in the basement as he said, “I can’t wake them up,” the officer told the jury.

Inside the Clancy’s home, where the kids were found unresponsive.AP

Hall first saw Dawson, 3, lying on his black in a diaper.

“He was discolored, like a blueish, purple,” Hall recalled.

Hall and his partner ran the toddler outside to paramedics before coming back in to look for more kids, he said.

Lindsay Clancy was in and out of consciousness, moaning in pain

When Duxbury Police Officer Stephen Hall arrived at Lindsay Clancy’s home he saw a distressed Patrick Clancy and Lindsay laying on the ground.

Lindsay was laying on her back on the ground in the backyard of her Duxbury home below her bedroom window and “semi-conscious,” the officer testified.

Outside the Clancy’s home, where Lindsay jumped out of the window.AP

She was “in and out of consciousness,” the cop said. “She would wake up and move around and kind of go still again.”

“She sounded like she was in pain,” he said, adding that she was moaning.

Meanwhile, Patrick had run inside to find the kids, the cop said.

Police officer who responded to murder scene called to the witness stand

Duxbury Police Officer Stephen Hall has been called as the first witness to testify Thursday.

He responded to the Clancys’ home the evening of the murders on Jan. 24, 2023.