Prosecutors: Mass. mom made plans to kill her 3 kids

DUXBURY, Mass. (WPRI) — A Duxbury woman accused of strangling her three young children to death was arraigned Tuesday afternoon.

Lindsay Clancy, 32, appeared in court via videoconference from her hospital bed. She’s charged with two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation, and assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors said Clancy planned to kill her children, allegedly sending her husband to pick up food from a restaurant they don’t normally visit and using Apple Maps to see how long he would be away from the house.

Prosecutors also revealed Clancy killed her children in the basement using exercise bands, which they said would’ve taken several minutes to cause death. That, according to prosecutors, meant she had sufficient time to think about what she was doing.

“The defendant is a danger to herself and others. 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. “She did so with premeditation and extreme atrocity and cruelty.”

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The state said Clancy had previously expressed thoughts of killing herself and her children.

Clancy’s attorney argued she needs continued care at the hospital where she’s admitted.

“We all know that this is an individual who is in dire medical condition,” her attorney, Kevin Reddington, said. “We all know that this woman is, as counsel concedes, apparently a danger to herself. I question whether she would ever make it to a trial. She’s suicidal.”

The judge allowed Clancy to keep receiving treatment at the hospital and determined she is not a flight risk. The judge did not set monetary bail.

Clancy has been hospitalized since officers responded to her home on Jan. 24 when she jumped out of a window in a suicide attempt. That’s when officers found her three children who appeared to have been strangled.

Five-year-old Cora Clancy and 3-year-old Dawson Clancy were both rushed to the hospital where they were pronounced dead. Her 8-month-son Callan Clancy was also hospitalized and died several days later.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz told 12 News he anticipates Clancy could face a third murder charge.

“This is district court level, there’s always going to be amendments to the things that move forward,” Cruz explained. “And I even anticipate that as it moves forward there will be [three counts].”

Clancy’s doctor said Tuesday she is paralyzed from the waist down due to the injuries she suffered in her fall. Her attorney claimed she sought treatment for post-partum depression and possibly post-partum psychosis.

“She’s in a very surreal state. It feels very dreamlike to her, as she’s described on multiple occasions,” Dr. Paul Zeizel, a psychologist, said.

Her husband, Patrick Clancy, previously released a statement asking everyone to forgive her.

“I want to ask all of you that you find it deep within yourselves to forgive Lindsay, as I have. The real Lindsay was generously loving and caring towards everyone – me, our kids, family, friends, and her patients,” he said. “The very fibers of her soul are loving. All I wish for her now is that she can somehow find peace.”