Lindsay Clancy: Postpartum Moms to Testify in Her Murder Case

The high-profile case of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three young children, continues as her defense seeks to call women who have experienced postpartum depression and psychosis to testify in support of her insanity defense.

According to newly obtained court documents, Clancy's attorney says several mothers have come forward to share their own struggles with postpartum mental illness, including thoughts of self-harm or harming others, auditory hallucinations, and feeling compelled by those voices to act.

The defense is asking the judge to allow these women to testify, arguing that their experiences will show jurors that the symptoms are real and not fabricated to evade responsibility. The attorney notes that many of the women were afraid to reveal their symptoms at the time, fearing they would lose their children or be stigmatized as mentally ill. The filing lists more than a dozen potential witnesses identified only by initials, and the defense requests a ruling on the admissibility of their testimony before disclosing their identities and medical histories.

As previously reported, Clancy is accused of strangling her children—five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan—with exercise bands at their home in January 2023. Prosecutors allege she deliberately pulled the bands around each child's neck until they died.

Clancy's lawyers do not deny she killed the children but plan to argue she was overmedicated and suffering from severe postpartum psychosis at the time. In addition to the women, her husband, Patrick Clancy, is reportedly expected to testify for the defense, despite having lost all three of the couple's children.

The judge has not yet ruled on whether the mothers will be allowed to testify, and the trial is scheduled to begin on Monday. This case has sparked widespread discussion about postpartum mental health care and the criminal culpability of mothers with psychiatric disorders.