# The Lindsay Clancy Trial Mini Series: The Family

An episode of [True Crime Conversations](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1469153910), 24 Aug 2026, 10 min.

Audio: https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/3ea926be-9be7-482a-8ac3-a44f016e43d1/abaa347e-8ac5-454e-85f9-aa64005c285f/d9f8b67c-fa84-4188-8bef-b4aa001d9318/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=6d9fdc19-147e-4f77-8d3f-aa64005e5923

In January 2023, 36-year-old labor and delivery nurse Lindsay Clancy strangled her three young children, Cora, Dawson, and Callan, in the basement of their Duxbury, Massachusetts home before attempting to take her own life. While her defense team contends she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder, prosecutors argue her actions were planned and intentional. In episode one of our special mini-series tracking the trial, we return to the beginning of the Clancy family's story. Featuring harrowing court testimony from Lindsay's husband, Patrick Clancy, we unpack the family's life leading up to January 24, her rapidly declining mental health, and the devastating timeline of the day that shattered their lives forever. LINKS If any of the contents in this episode have caused distress, know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. Contact Full Stop Australia on 1800 385 578, 7 days, 24 hours. GET IN TOUCH Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @truecrimeconversations Want us to cover a case on the podcast? Email us at truecrime@mamamia.com.au or send us a voice note. Make sure to leave us a rating and review on Apple & Spotify to let us know how you're liking the episodes. CREDITS Host & Executive Producer: Gemma Bath Producer: Ella Maitland Video Editor: Julian Rosario Mamamia acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which we have recorded this podcast. Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:04] Speaker 1: Hi, I'm Jemma Bass, host of True Crime Conversations, and
[0:07] Speaker 1: welcome to our mini series unpacking the trial of Lindsay
[0:11] Speaker 1: Clancy in Massachusetts. The case the entire world can't take
[0:15] Speaker 1: their eyes off. We're going to be updating you multiple
[0:19] Speaker 1: times a week in this feed as the court proceedings
[0:22] Speaker 1: continue to unfold. Just a warning. This episode contains descriptions
[0:26] Speaker 1: of violence against children and suicide. A quick recap. Thirty
[0:31] Speaker 1: six year old Lindsay Clancy was charged with murdering her
[0:35] Speaker 1: three young children in January twenty twenty three. Her defense
[0:39] Speaker 1: don't deny she killed Cora, Dawson and Callen, but she
[0:43] Speaker 1: has pled not guilty by reason of insanity, and that's
[0:47] Speaker 1: what the trial is trying to determine. Her legal team
[0:51] Speaker 1: says she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder.
[0:56] Speaker 1: The prosecutions say she acted intentionally. As the trial continues,
[1:01] Speaker 1: we're going to take you back to the start. Lindsay
[1:04] Speaker 1: Clancy grew up in a quiet cul de sac in Wallingford, Connecticut,
[1:08] Speaker 1: the same house her parents still live in to this day.
[1:11] Speaker 1: Neighbors described them as wonderful, nice people, sharing memories of
[1:15] Speaker 1: Lindsay and her sister riding bikes and practicing gymnastics in
[1:18] Speaker 1: their front yard. Lindsay studied biology at university and went
[1:23] Speaker 1: on to work as a labor and delivery nurse. She
[1:26] Speaker 1: met Patrick in twenty thirteen while he was working at
[1:29] Speaker 1: a telecommunications company. They married three years later in twenty sixteen.
[1:35] Speaker 1: They had three children by twenty twenty two. Cora was
[1:39] Speaker 1: born in twenty seventeen, Dawson came along in twenty nineteen
[1:43] Speaker 1: when Cora was just shy of two, and baby Callan
[1:47] Speaker 1: was born in May twenty twenty two when his siblings
[1:50] Speaker 1: were four and two. They lived a comfortable life in Duxbury,
[1:54] Speaker 1: the kind of town associated with family orientated living. When
[1:59] Speaker 1: she wasn't on maternal leave, Lindsay was working busy shifts
[2:02] Speaker 1: at the hospital, while Patrick's work allowed him the flexibility
[2:05] Speaker 1: to work from home. Patrick testified that Lindsay was a
[2:09] Speaker 1: wonderful mother and loved her kids, and up until December
[2:12] Speaker 1: twenty twenty two, they had the help of a nanny.
[2:15] Speaker 1: She was let go a month before the killings because
[2:18] Speaker 1: they'd decided Lindsay wasn't going to return to work. Patrick
[2:21] Speaker 1: Clancy also testified that Lindsay dealt with postpart of anxiety
[2:25] Speaker 1: after the birth of each of their children, but says
[2:29] Speaker 1: it was specific to her return to work. After their
[2:32] Speaker 1: youngest birth, Patrick said Lindsay's mental health collapsed. She was
[2:37] Speaker 1: unable to sleep, experienced thoughts of self harm and periods
[2:41] Speaker 1: of mania. She sought care from experts and was put
[2:45] Speaker 1: on multiple psychiatric medications, and when nothing worked, she checked
[2:49] Speaker 1: into a psychiatric hospital. Nineteen days after she was discharged,
[2:54] Speaker 1: Lindsay strangled her three children in the basement of their
[2:58] Speaker 1: family home and then jumped at the second story window.
[3:02] Speaker 1: Let's go back to that day. January twenty fourth, twenty
[3:07] Speaker 1: twenty three, began with Lindsay taking Cora to a doctor's
[3:10] Speaker 1: appointment for a routine physical. The pediatrician testified that she
[3:14] Speaker 1: didn't notice anything in either the child or her mother
[3:17] Speaker 1: that was out of the norm. After the visit, Lindsay
[3:21] Speaker 1: sent photos to her mum of the kids playing in
[3:23] Speaker 1: the snow. At four pm, she searched Kid's MiraLax on
[3:28] Speaker 1: her phone and then searched take Out three V and
[3:31] Speaker 1: Google mapped the distance. Just before five, she texts Patrick
[3:36] Speaker 1: asking him whether he'd want to get takeout for dinner.
[3:39] Speaker 1: I didn't cook anything. She wrote, It's been a long day.
[3:44] Speaker 1: Here's some of Patrick's testimony of what happened next. He'd
[3:47] Speaker 1: been working in his office in the basement. He'd been
[3:50] Speaker 1: up to see his family once or twice over the
[3:52] Speaker 1: course of the day.
[3:53] Speaker 2: When you did come up to interact with them, how
[3:56] Speaker 2: was Lindsay's mood?
[3:58] Speaker 3: She seemed happy?
[4:00] Speaker 2: And how could you tell that? What was she doing?
[4:04] Speaker 3: She was playing with the kids, and she seemed in
[4:09] Speaker 3: a good mood.
[4:10] Speaker 2: At any point during that day when you came up
[4:13] Speaker 2: or while she's texting you, did she tell you she
[4:16] Speaker 2: was having suicidal thoughts?
[4:17] Speaker 1: No?
[4:18] Speaker 2: Did she tell you she was having thoughts of harming
[4:20] Speaker 2: the kids. No? Did she ask for help or anything
[4:25] Speaker 2: that cause concern.
[4:27] Speaker 3: No, She's having one of her best days, one of.
[4:29] Speaker 2: Her best days.
[4:31] Speaker 1: Just after five pm, Patrick left the house to pick
[4:34] Speaker 1: up takeaway and head to the pharmacy on Lindsay's request.
[4:37] Speaker 2: As he left, he took.
[4:38] Speaker 1: A few minutes to pick up Callen and rock him
[4:40] Speaker 1: on his knees. He kissed Cora on the head and
[4:43] Speaker 1: spotted Dawson sitting on the couch eating chicken nuggets.
[4:47] Speaker 3: As he left.
[4:48] Speaker 1: At about five point thirty Patrick called Lindsay from the
[4:51] Speaker 1: kid's medication aisle. He couldn't find the brand she wanted.
[4:55] Speaker 2: Did she answer the car, Yes, she entered when you
[4:58] Speaker 2: called her.
[5:00] Speaker 3: Actually I think I think she didn't at first. She
[5:03] Speaker 3: called back okay?
[5:05] Speaker 2: And did you receive a call back from her about
[5:06] Speaker 2: a minute later at five point thirty four pm.
[5:08] Speaker 3: Yeah, that's great, okay.
[5:10] Speaker 2: And can you describe that phone call for us?
[5:15] Speaker 3: It was very brief. I just said I think there's
[5:17] Speaker 3: a generic brand and I said is this one? Okay?
[5:20] Speaker 3: And she said, yeah, that's fine.
[5:22] Speaker 2: And what was her demeanor during McCall?
[5:28] Speaker 3: She's pretty quiet. It sounded like she was busy. I
[5:31] Speaker 3: remember hanging up, thinking she's probably in the middle of
[5:34] Speaker 3: giving baths or something like that.
[5:35] Speaker 1: He returned home at six h nine pm. He immediately
[5:40] Speaker 1: noticed the house was unusually quiet. He yelled down to
[5:44] Speaker 1: the basement. Nothing, so he went upstairs and checked the bathroom,
[5:48] Speaker 1: the kid's bedrooms. Finally he got to his bedroom.
[5:52] Speaker 2: Were you able to get into your bedroom right away?
[5:55] Speaker 3: No, the door was locked, and that's when I knew
[5:57] Speaker 3: something was wrong.
[5:59] Speaker 2: And when you realized the door was locked, did you
[6:03] Speaker 2: have a way to unlock it.
[6:05] Speaker 3: Yeah. The previous owners, when they installed the doorknobs, had
[6:09] Speaker 3: these like these keys that they taped to the back
[6:14] Speaker 3: of each door. So I got the one from Courer's room,
[6:17] Speaker 3: and then I started unlocking the knob.
[6:21] Speaker 2: And when you unlocked the door to your bedroom, did
[6:25] Speaker 2: you go in? Yeah? And what did you see when
[6:29] Speaker 2: you opened the door and went in?
[6:32] Speaker 3: I just saw blood everywhere and the window is open.
[6:37] Speaker 2: Did you walk into the room and over to the window? No?
[6:42] Speaker 2: How far into the room?
[6:43] Speaker 3: Did you get? Probably one or two steps? And then
[6:47] Speaker 3: I immediately turned around and went outside.
[6:49] Speaker 1: At six eleven pm, Patrick made a panicked call to
[6:53] Speaker 1: nine to one one after finding Lindsey injured outside on
[6:57] Speaker 1: the floor but conscious. She had cuts on her wrist
[7:01] Speaker 1: and neck, and was suffering from a spine injury that
[7:04] Speaker 1: would leave her permanently paralyzed. During the seven minute call,
[7:09] Speaker 1: she can be heard moaning and struggling to talk in
[7:11] Speaker 1: the background as he tells her to wake up.
[7:13] Speaker 3: Yeah, I said, what happened?
[7:15] Speaker 2: And what was her response?
[7:17] Speaker 3: She said, I tried to kill myself.
[7:21] Speaker 2: Did you ask her anything else?
[7:25] Speaker 3: I said, where are the kids?
[7:26] Speaker 2: And what was her response?
[7:28] Speaker 3: She said, they're in the basement.
[7:29] Speaker 1: She said nothing, however, about their condition. He told the
[7:32] Speaker 1: court he stayed with her for the four or five
[7:35] Speaker 1: minutes it took for first responders to arrive, and then
[7:38] Speaker 1: he got up and ran to the basement. Still on
[7:41] Speaker 1: the line to nine one one, he can be heard yelling,
[7:44] Speaker 1: she's killed the kids' So Cora?
[7:48] Speaker 2: And how did she look?
[7:51] Speaker 3: She had a band around her neck?
[7:53] Speaker 2: And was that an exercise band?
[7:55] Speaker 3: Yeah?
[7:57] Speaker 2: And do you recall whether she was what position she
[8:03] Speaker 2: was in, whether face up or face down?
[8:04] Speaker 3: She's face down?
[8:06] Speaker 2: And when you saw her in that condition, what did
[8:10] Speaker 2: you do?
[8:12] Speaker 3: I immediately ran over and tried to take the band off.
[8:15] Speaker 2: Were you able to get the band off?
[8:16] Speaker 3: Yeah?
[8:17] Speaker 2: And do you recall how you got the band off?
[8:20] Speaker 3: I think I untied it.
[8:21] Speaker 2: And when you say untied it, was it in a
[8:23] Speaker 2: knot that you had to put everything down and unknotted?
[8:27] Speaker 2: Or how was it tied?
[8:29] Speaker 3: I'm not sure I fully remember.
[8:33] Speaker 2: Do you recall describing it previously as when you initially
[8:37] Speaker 2: tie your shoes but then don't do the.
[8:38] Speaker 1: Bull Callen was found next to Cora in the same
[8:42] Speaker 1: position with an exercise band around his neck. They were
[8:46] Speaker 1: both placed next to a couch in the main space
[8:49] Speaker 1: in the basement. Dawson was found in Patrick's office on
[8:53] Speaker 1: the other side of the basement. He also had a
[8:56] Speaker 1: band around his neck. Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead
[9:00] Speaker 1: that night. Baby Callen was pronounced dead three days later.
[9:05] Speaker 1: On February seven, fourteen days later, Lindsay Clancy was formally
[9:10] Speaker 1: charged and arraigned via zoom while in her hospital bed,
[9:14] Speaker 1: Missus Lancy.
[9:15] Speaker 4: On DARKA two three five nine one five three. The
[9:17] Speaker 4: Court has a complaint charging you on to two sixty
[9:20] Speaker 4: five Section one, count one murder juvenile wan count two
[9:24] Speaker 4: to sixty five Section one murder juveniles Count three two
[9:28] Speaker 4: sixty five fifteen D big egg strangulation of suffocation juvenile
[9:32] Speaker 4: wan how four to sixty five fifteen D Big egg
[9:36] Speaker 4: strangulation suffocation Jukelile two.
[9:39] Speaker 1: Coming up. In the next mini episode following the trial
[9:42] Speaker 1: of Lindsay Clancy, we delve into the aftermath of this
[9:46] Speaker 1: horrific crime, including what Lindsay said to her husband in
[9:49] Speaker 1: a phone call from hospital and what Patrick's life has
[9:52] Speaker 1: looked like during the three year wait for trial.

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