Key moments from the Lindsay Clancy trial as the defense starts to make its case

Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial heard testimony that the Massachusetts mother had thoughts of harming her three young children before their deaths in January 2023. Clancy's mother, Paula Musgrove, testified for the defense, recounting a December 2022 conversation where her daughter expressed these disturbing thoughts.

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She told us that she had thoughts of harming the children.

Musgrove described Clancy as nervous when she revealed she had "thoughts of harming the children." During cross-examination, however, Musgrove stated she had no immediate concerns for the children's safety or thoughts of having Clancy committed to a mental health facility. She also testified that Clancy had become paranoid in the days leading up to the killings and claimed she couldn't remember events, attributing this to medication "destroying her mind."

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The medication was pretty much just destroying her mind, and it wasn't her. She said that, 'This isn't me. I just want to feel better and enjoy my kids again.'

Clancy's defense team contends she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder, and that her medication worsened her condition. Her attorneys do not dispute that Clancy caused the deaths of her children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan, in their Duxbury home. Instead, they argue she was not criminally responsible due to her mental state.

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I'm sad and depressed because I am not able to parent my third child like my first.

Conversely, the prosecution alleges that Clancy meticulously planned the murders before attempting suicide. Evidence presented includes Clancy's private writings and internet searches. Detective Timothy Chiappini read entries from Clancy's phone notes, including one stating, "I'm sad and depressed because I am not able to parent my third child like my first." Another quote attributed to Clancy expressed a desire to "feel authentically happy and not fake." Chiappini also testified that Clancy searched "Can you treat a sociopath?" four days before the killings.

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I'm on the fence about starting a new med or not. I want to feel happy, but it would be nice to feel authentically happy and not fake.