Please Note: This article contains details about the deaths of children that some readers may find distressing.
The trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Duxbury mother accused of killing her three young children in January 2023, began this week with jurors hearing detailed, difficult testimony from Patrick Clancy, Lindsay’s ex-husband, as well as first responders and witnesses who described the scene inside the family’s home.
On Friday, July 31, jurors left the courtroom to visit the Duxbury home where prosecutors say the killings took place, before Lindsay attempted to take her own life. The visit gives jurors a chance to see the property firsthand and connect those images to the physical layout described throughout testimony.
The visit follows testimony Thursday from first responders called to the home, who described what they found after Patrick returned from his errands.
Jury Tours Sites Central to the Prosecution’s Timeline
(Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Plymouth Superior Court Judge William Sullivan said jurors would also tour a CVS in Kingston and a restaurant in Plymouth’s Cordage Park — both stops Lindsay’s then-husband Patrick made on the night of Jan. 24, 2023, before he returned home and found the children unresponsive.
Prosecutors argue Lindsay deliberately sent her husband out to pick up takeout and children’s medication so she would have time alone with the kids to carry out what they describe as a premeditated plan. The jury view follows three days of testimony and evidence in Plymouth Superior Court, where prosecutors and the defense have presented competing accounts of the deaths.
How Will the Site Visit Impact Lindsay Clancy’s Case and Jury?
David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Legal analysts say Friday’s jury view could carry real weight moving forward, even though it comes down to a single, narrow question for jurors — not whether Clancy caused her children’s deaths, which she has never disputed, but whether she understood what she was doing at the time.
Seeing the home’s actual layout, including the second-floor window and the basement where the children were found, gives jurors a physical frame of reference for testimony they’ve already heard, and may shape how they weigh the prosecution’s argument that her actions were deliberate rather than the product of a psychotic break.
CBS News Boston legal analyst Jennifer Roman has said the prosecution’s related theory, that Clancy’s suicide attempt was staged rather than genuine, may not land as intended with jurors, since the severity of her injuries from the fall arguably undercuts that claim.
What Jurors Have Seen and Heard So Far
Jurors have already been shown photographs of the exterior and interior of the family’s former home, including the second-floor window prosecutors say Lindsay jumped from after the killings, along with photographs and 3D renderings of the basement where Patrick discovered the children.
According to testimony, baby Callan was found with a faint pulse and was rushed to a hospital. Cora and Dawson were later pronounced dead at the scene. Callan died several days later.
The Case Against Lindsay Clancy
Clancy does not deny that she strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan with exercise bands — her defense is built entirely around whether she can be held criminally responsible, arguing she was in the grip of postpartum psychosis at the time. Prosecutors, meanwhile, have argued her actions were deliberate and planned. She has pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder.
Her defense has argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time and was overmedicated, a condition they say left her unable to conform her behavior to the law.
What’s Next in the Trial?
After Friday’s site visits, jurors are expected to return to Plymouth Superior Court for additional witness testimony, including from South Shore Hospital medical staff who treated Lindsay for injuries sustained in the fall that left her paralyzed. The trial is ongoing.
How to Watch the Lindsay Clancy Trial Live?
Court TV is providing gavel-to-gavel coverage of the trial, streaming live on its website at CourtTV.com as well as on its YouTube channel, where each day’s proceedings are posted under titles like “LIVE: MA v. Lindsay Clancy.” Court TV also airs the trial on its cable and satellite channel for viewers who prefer traditional TV.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or a suicidal crisis, you can reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988. You can also chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline here.
