Lindsay Clancy is a former Massachusetts labor and delivery nurse who was charged with murder after her three young children were killed at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023.
The case became a national flashpoint for discussion of postpartum psychosis and psychiatric care, particularly after Clancy’s defense argued she was not criminally responsible for the killings due to severe mental illness at the time.
Her trial began in July 2026, and on September 4, 2026, the judge declared a mistrial after jurors deadlocked. This article covers her documented background and the confirmed facts of the case and trial as reported by courts and news organizations; where facts remain disputed or unresolved, that is noted explicitly.
Quick Facts
| Full Name | Lindsay Marie Clancy (née Musgrove) |
| Date of Birth | August 11, 1990 |
| Birthplace | Wallingford, Connecticut, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Former labor and delivery nurse |
| Education | Quinnipiac University; accelerated nursing program, Massachusetts General Hospital |
| Spouse | Patrick Clancy (married December 3, 2016) |
| Known For | Being charged with the murders of her three children in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in January 2023 |
Early Life and Career
Lindsay Marie Musgrove was born on August 11, 1990, and grew up in Wallingford, Connecticut. She studied at Quinnipiac University before completing an accelerated nursing program at Massachusetts General Hospital. She went on to work as a labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital for approximately nine years. She met Patrick Clancy in 2013 through a college roommate, and the couple married on December 3, 2016. They settled in Duxbury, Massachusetts, a coastal town roughly 35 miles south of Boston, and had three children: Cora, born December 24, 2017; Dawson, born September 30, 2019; and Callan, born May 26, 2022.
According to relatives and court testimony, Clancy experienced postpartum anxiety following the births of both Cora and Dawson. Patrick Clancy’s mother, Susan Clancy, described Lindsay to a grand jury as a “fun-loving, doting wife and mother” who “loved her kids.” In the months following Callan’s birth in 2022, court documents and reporting indicate Clancy was treated for worsening mental health symptoms and was, according to her attorneys, prescribed roughly 13 different psychiatric medications in the four months before the killings.
The January 2023 Killings
On January 24, 2023, prosecutors say Clancy spent part of the day with her children as usual, including a pediatrician visit and playing in the snow, before asking Patrick to go pick up takeout and medication from a nearby pharmacy. While he was out, Clancy strangled all three children — Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months — using exercise resistance bands, according to prosecutors and unsealed court documents. She then attempted suicide by cutting her wrists and neck and jumping from a second-story window, an act that left her paralyzed from the waist down.
When Patrick Clancy returned home, he found Lindsay injured outside the house and the three children in the home’s basement. Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead at the hospital that day; Callan was placed on life support and died three days later, on January 27, 2023. The state medical examiner determined the children died of asphyxia caused by ligature strangulation. Clancy herself has not disputed causing her children’s deaths; the central legal question in her case has been whether she was criminally responsible at the time.
Charges and Legal Proceedings
Clancy was arraigned on three counts of murder from her hospital bed on February 7, 2023, and pleaded not guilty. In September 2023, a Plymouth County grand jury indicted her on three counts of murder and three counts of strangulation. Her defense has argued she was experiencing undiagnosed postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings and should not be held criminally responsible; her attorneys have also pointed to what they describe as inadequate or excessive psychiatric medication management by her treating providers in the months beforehand. Prosecutors, led by Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz, have argued that Clancy acted “deliberately and meticulously” and was not in the “throes of psychosis” when she killed the children, citing evidence including her cellphone activity and the sequence of events that day.
In January 2026, Clancy filed a separate civil lawsuit against her medical providers, in which she stated that she strangled her children after hearing a voice in her head and wrote, “I lost all control. My body started acting without any control on my part.”
The 2026 Criminal Trial
Jury selection in Clancy’s murder trial began on July 20, 2026, in Plymouth County Superior Court, with opening statements and testimony starting on July 27. Over roughly a month, jurors heard from more than 80 witnesses, including Patrick Clancy, medical providers who had treated Lindsay’s mental health, and first responders who arrived at the Duxbury home. Clancy’s defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, described her in closing arguments as a “darn good mother” who received “lousy medical care” for her mental illness. Prosecutors maintained their position that she acted intentionally and rationally.
Jurors began deliberating on August 27, 2026. On September 4, 2026, after several days of deliberation, the trial judge declared a mistrial when the jury reported it was deadlocked; a defense request to question or remove a holdout juror was denied shortly before the mistrial was declared. Following the mistrial, Plymouth County prosecutors said they had not yet decided whether to retry the case, with a decision expected at a future court hearing. As of this writing, Clancy has not been convicted or acquitted of any charge, and the case remains legally unresolved.
Public Reaction and Broader Context
The case prompted extended public discussion of postpartum psychosis, a rare but serious psychiatric condition that can arise after childbirth, and of gaps in perinatal mental health care in the United States. In October 2024, Patrick Clancy spoke publicly with The New Yorker about the killings, saying, “I wasn’t married to a monster — I was married to someone who got sick.” His remarks drew attention both for their expression of empathy toward his wife and for the complexity they added to public understanding of the case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Lindsay Clancy?
Lindsay Clancy is a former Massachusetts labor and delivery nurse charged with murder in the January 2023 deaths of her three children in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
What happened to Lindsay Clancy’s children?
Her three children — Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months — were strangled at the family’s Duxbury home on January 24, 2023. Two died that day, and the third died three days later.
What is Lindsay Clancy’s defense?
Her attorneys have argued she was suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis at the time and should not be held criminally responsible for the killings, while prosecutors have argued she acted deliberately.
What is the current status of Lindsay Clancy’s case?
Her criminal trial ended in a mistrial on September 4, 2026, after the jury deadlocked. Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will seek a retrial.
Conclusion
Lindsay Clancy’s case remains an active and unresolved legal matter more than three years after the deaths of her children. The 2026 trial’s mistrial leaves open the central legal question of her criminal responsibility, while the broader public conversation her case sparked — about postpartum psychosis, psychiatric medication management and maternal mental health care — continues independently of the case’s ultimate outcome.