Mum ‘sent husband out to get takeaway and killed 3 children’ | US | News

Currently, a jury is being selected that will decide the fate of an accused mother. He strangled his three young children to death exercise with resistance bands after sending her husband out for takeout. Lindsay Clancy, from the US state of Massachusetts, pleaded not guilty to murder charges following the tragic deaths of her five-year-old daughter Cora, three-year-old son Dawson and eight-month-old baby Callan. The trial, expected to last several weeks, will be held in Plymouth, just south of Boston, and will closely examine the rare condition known as postpartum psychosis. Five jurors were selected on Monday, and a full panel of eighteen is expected to meet in the coming days to hear this harrowing case.

The court heard that on the evening of January 24, 2023, the mother told her husband, Patrick Clancy, that she was too tired to cook after a long day looking after the children. She asked him to go out to buy some baby medicine and takeaway food. But when her husband returns home The affluent coastal community of DuxburyHe encountered a terrible scene. His wife lay barely conscious outside the property, having cut her own wrists and neck before falling 20ft from a second floor window.

She allegedly confessed to him that she had attempted suicide and explained that the children were in the basement. Emergency services arrived at the scene and found that all three children had been strangled using exercise bands. That same evening, it was announced that Cora and Dawson had tragically died; Baby Callan fought for his life but died in hospital a few days later.

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington does not dispute that his client killed his children, but plans to pursue an insanity defense, arguing that his client’s own actions were completely out of control.

Under Massachusetts law, the defense must convince jurors that a serious mental disease or defect meant Clancy was not criminally responsible at the time of the murders, Metro reported.

Attorney Shari Karney said: “Mental illness and legal insanity are not the same thing. This distinction may ultimately determine the outcome of this case.”

The NHS defines postnatal psychosis as a rare, serious mental health illness that can affect a person soon after having a baby. “Postnatal psychosis is very different from the ‘baby blues’,” the NHS adds. “This is a serious mental illness and should be treated as a medical emergency.”

“This whole case is a tragedy of extremes,” he told the court.

The paralyzed mother, who is detained in a state hospital, claims that she heard voices ordering her: “This is your last chance. Kill the children and kill yourself.”

Prosecutors maintain that the murders were planned and deliberate. They claim the mother had previously searched online for “ways to kill” and “can you cure a sociopath”.

Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague branded the defendant “selfish” and read aloud a chilling note the mother wrote five months before Callan’s birth: “I think I’m angry at my other children because they keep me from treating Cal like my first baby… I want to feel love and connection with all my children.”

Earlier this year, she and her husband filed a lawsuit against medics, alleging they failed to treat her severe post-natal psychiatric condition despite her pleas for help.

Patrick is on both the prosecution and defense witness lists and has publicly stated that he has forgiven his wife. In a GoFundMe post, he described his pain as “excruciating and brutal” but urged the public to remember his true nature.

“The real Lindsay generously showed love and compassion to everyone – me, our children, our family, our friends, and her patients. Every fiber of her soul is filled with love. My only wish for her now is that she somehow finds peace,” he said.