A childhood friend of Lindsay Clancy told jurors that Clancy had warned her about experiencing disturbing “dark thoughts” just days before the Massachusetts mother killed her three children.
The testimony came Thursday, Aug. 6, as prosecutors continued presenting evidence during the second week of Clancy’s murder trial. Clancy is charged in the deaths of her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months old, who were killed at the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023.
Three of Clancy’s friends and her former father-in-law testified during the proceedings, providing jurors with accounts of her behavior and mental state in the months leading up to the killings.
Friend Recalls Warning About ‘Dark Thoughts’
Amy Bevins, who had known Clancy since childhood, told the court that Clancy appeared relatively normal when they attended a breakfast with friends in November 2022.
Her behavior appeared different, however, in the weeks that followed.
Bevins testified that shortly before the killings, Clancy sent her a text message explaining that medication she was taking had caused her to experience what she described as “dark thoughts.”
The message was not entirely negative, according to Bevins. She said Clancy appeared hopeful because she was transitioning to another medication and believed the change could improve her condition.
The testimony is significant because Clancy’s mental health is at the center of the defense case.
Clancy does not deny killing her children. Her attorneys argue that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and had been overmedicated, leaving her unable to appreciate the nature or consequences of her actions.
Bevins also told jurors that she visited Clancy after the killings while Clancy was in custody. The two did not discuss the children or the deaths during that meeting. Bevins said Clancy’s sister had previously advised her not to raise those subjects.
Friends Describe Sleep Problems and ‘Brain Fog’
Another friend, Bethany DeCollibus, also testified about seeing Clancy at a birthday celebration for her daughter Cora in January 2023.
DeCollibus recalled that Clancy had previously discussed problems with sleep. At the birthday gathering, Clancy reportedly said she felt “like a zombie.”
DeCollibus said she was concerned about Clancy’s apparent difficulty sleeping.
Andrea Hennigan, another friend who also worked as a nurse, provided additional testimony about Clancy’s condition.
Hennigan said Clancy had talked about struggling with sleep as early as November 2022. She later mentioned experiencing what she described as “brain fog.”
Taken together, the testimony gave jurors a picture of a woman whose friends had noticed changes and difficulties in the months preceding the killings.
Former Father-in-Law Recalls Clancy as a Good Mother
After the three friends testified, prosecutors called Christopher Clancy, the father of Patrick Clancy and grandfather of the three children, to the witness stand.
Christopher told jurors that he considered Lindsay a good mother and generally believed she appeared normal in the months before the tragedy.
He did recall occasional moments when she seemed nervous or unusually blank, but he did not describe her behavior as consistently alarming.
Christopher also recalled receiving a phone call from his son Patrick on the night the children were killed.
Describing the news, Christopher told the court simply: “It was terrible.”
His testimony provided another perspective on Clancy’s behavior before the killings and her relationship with the children.
Mental Health Remains Central to the Case
The testimony from Clancy’s friends comes as prosecutors and defense attorneys continue presenting competing interpretations of her state of mind.
Prosecutors are seeking to establish the circumstances surrounding the killings and Clancy’s behavior beforehand.
The defense, meanwhile, is building its argument around postpartum psychosis and the effects of medication. Her attorneys contend that she was experiencing a severe psychiatric crisis and therefore should not be held criminally responsible for the deaths.
Clancy allegedly strangled her three children with exercise bands before jumping from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt. She survived but suffered severe spinal injuries that left her paralyzed.
As the trial continues, jurors are hearing increasingly detailed accounts from people who interacted with Clancy in the weeks and months before the tragedy — including friends who say she spoke openly about insomnia, cognitive difficulties and troubling thoughts shortly before her children were killed.
