Plymouth, Mass. — Prosecutors alleged Tuesday that Lindsay Clancy, a Duxbury, Mass. mother accused of killing her three children, planned the murders in advance and was of sound mind at the time of their deaths, CBS Boston reports. Clancy remains hospitalized and her defense attorney says she’s paralyzed from the waist down.
Clancy was arraigned by video conference from her hospital bed. Her defense attorney and the prosecutor attended in person with a judge at Plymouth District Court during the hearing.
The 32-year-old is accused of killing her three young children at their home last month. Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, said she’s paralyzed after attempting to take her own life that night.
Prosecutors said during the arraignment that Clancy asked her husband, Patrick, to pick up children’s medication from CVS and takeout food from a restaurant in Plymouth. She allegedly researched how long the trip would take to know how long she would be alone with the children.
When Clancy’s husband returned, he told police, he went upstairs and found the couple’s bedroom door locked. He said he was able to unlock it and found blood in front of a mirror near an open window.
Patrick saw his wife in the back yard conscious but seriously injured and called 911. He can be heard on the call asking his wife what she’d done, to which she allegedly replied, “I tried to kill myself.”
“Where are the kids?” prosecutors said Patrick can be heard asking on the 911 call. Lindsay Clancy allegedly replied “In the basement.”
Patrick Clancy rushed to the basement, where prosecutors said he can be heard on the call screaming “in agony and shock” as he discovered the children had been strangled using exercise bands.
“She planned these murders, gave herself the time and privacy to commit these murders, and then she strangled each child in the place where they should have felt the safest – at home with their mom,” Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague said.
Watch Complete Arraignment:
According to Reddington, Clancy was overmedicated in the months before the tragedy, prescribed as many as 12 different medications for postpartum psychosis.
Patrick was never told not to leave her alone with the kids, Reddington said.
The prosecution said that on February 5, Lindsay Clancy used a doctor’s cell phone to call her husband, leaving a voicemail saying that she loved him. They said she called again a day later, and this time he answered.
Lindsay allegedly told her husband that “She heard a voice and had ‘a moment’ of psychosis.” She allegedly told her husband she heard a man’s voice telling her to kill their kids and herself because it “was her last chance.”
Reddington said “She’s not OK at all” and said Lindsay is “definitely a danger to herself.”
Prosecutors asked for Lindsay to be held without bail. A judge instead ordered that she remain hospitalized until medically cleared to be moved to a new rehabilitation facility that includes around-the-clock care. If she recovers from her injuries, she could be placed on house arrest.
Lindsay Clancy received treatment after experiencing suicidal thoughts in December and from January 1-5. She allegedly kept notes that resembled journal entries in the months leading up to her children’s deaths. Prosecutors said she “meticulously detailed her daily activities” and her “writing was clear, precise and articulate.”
Prosecutors said she had mentioned “a touch of postpartum anxiety” about returning to work and was initially diagnosed with a generalized anxiety disorder.
Lindsay Clancy allegedly wrote on a white board while hospitalized following the children’s deaths, asking if she needed an attorney. Prosecutors argued that showed she knew what she had done.
Patrick Clancy said there had been no indications that his wife was a danger to the children or herself, saying she “was having one of her best days.”
In a statement shared earlier via a GoFundMe page on the family’s behalf, Patrick Clancy wrote, “The shock and pain is excruciating and relentless. I’m constantly reminded of them and with the little sleep I get, I dream about them on repeat.
“Any parent knows, it’s impossible to understand how much you will love your kids until you have them. The same goes for understanding the devastation of losing them. Cora, Dawson, and Callan were the essence of my life and I’m completely lost without them.”
Click here for a list of mental health resources, including suicide prevention hotlines. A new maternal health hotline has also been established for mothers or pregnant people who are struggling with their mental health. Anyone in need of assistance can call 1-833-9-HELP4MOMS or 1-833-943-5746. You can call or text to receive support from trained counselors.
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