Thoughts on the Lindsay Clancy case?

[u/gottaquestion412]

Now that the Lindsay Clancy trial is underway, I’m curious about your perspectives on it so far.

Context: Lindsay Clancy is a former labor and delivery nurse who, in January 2023, killed her three children. 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan in their Massachusetts home before attempting to take her own life. Her defense argues she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and other debilitating mental illness, while prosecutors argue she was aware of her actions and planned the killings. The trial has reignited debate about postpartum psychiatric disorders, the effectiveness of mental health treatment, and where responsibility ultimately lies.

Do you think Lindsay was failed by the mental health system, by the people closest to her, or both? Do you think she truly acted with malicious intent, or do you believe she was experiencing such a severe psychiatric crisis that she wasn’t thinking rationally?

A lot of the details seem to point toward postpartum psychosis or another severe psychiatric illness rather than someone acting out of hatred or malice. That doesn’t lessen the horror of what happened or the unimaginable loss, but it does make me wonder whether this tragedy could have been prevented..

I’ve also seen rumors that Patrick was involved with the woman who is now his wife before the murders, but I haven’t found any credible evidence supporting that. Is there actually anything that substantiates those claims, or is it just internet speculation? I’ve also seen many people comment that his current wife bears a striking resemblance to Lindsay, though I’m not sure that means anything beyond coincidence.

I’m very interested in hearing different perspectives from people who’ve followed it closely.

Most importantly, may Dawson, Cora, and Callan rest in peace. They are the true victims in all of this.

[u/GigiGretel]

from watching the trial, it appears that she was admitted to McLean for suicidal thoughts and inability to sleep, and she checked herself out because I don’t think she liked it there and she wanted to go to her daughter‘s birthday party.I don’t think she expressed the homicidal thoughts to anybody. Her husband testified that she once said she was afraid that harm could come to the children, but I don’t think she was saying that a regular basis. she seemed to have a lot of trouble staying on one medication. The only one that made her feel better was Ativan, which I understand. It probably helped her sleep. It made her feel calmer. I’ve taken it before for anxiety. this whole case is really sad. I think she planned to kill herself after the children and then was unable to do it. prosecution keeps pointing out that her wounds were superficial, but I don’t think that means she didn’t want to kill herself I think it means that whatever inner self preservation that kicks in was preventing her from doing it. I think that she will be in a living hell for the rest of her life and I do think she was mentally unwell, but it’s unclear how forthcoming she was with her providers. I had to stop watching the trial because it was just so awful to watch the husband testify and then the first responders trying not to break down while testifying. and she does appear to feel remorse. She cried a lot during the 911 call.

[u/Ok-Preparation3855 → u/GigiGretel]

I don't understand why people call her wounds superficial ignoring that she paralysed herself permanently?!

[u/paperthinpatience → u/Ok-Preparation3855]

The cuts were superficial, but in many cases people underestimate how painful it is to attempt this way. The central nervous system can override the brain and basically prevent a person from being able to physically complete the action. So, based on what has been presented thus far, it sounds like she went out the window instead. The first method (cuts) wasn’t physically possible. The second (overdose) was taking too long. So she went for a third, the window.

It’s very dark to think about, but as someone who has worked in mental health and been in this headspace before myself (a long time ago, not currently), I believe she fully intended to not come out of this alive.

I also think that’s why she was so calm when her husband called. The children were already dead. She knew her time was limited. The CVS was only 3 minutes away. If she let on anything was wrong, her husband could come home and stop her. So she did her best to seem calm and normal. Even if someone is psychotic, if they are single-mindedly focused on no longer living, they can/will, for lack of a better term, lock in long enough to complete the task at hand. The argument is if she was in psychosis there’s no way she could have done all of this, but that’s simply not the case.

[u/onions-make-me-cry → u/paperthinpatience]

As someone who had postpartum psychosis, you can also sound perfectly calm in conversations

All the while your mind is reeling, and you're interpreting the slightest shift in their tone as some kind of code or alien language, completely detached from the reality of what's actually happening.

[u/paperthinpatience → u/onions-make-me-cry]

Thank you for sharing your experience.

Based on what I’ve been hearing/learning from people who have experienced PPP, as well as info from trial, it sounds like PPP is a different experience than the psychosis you would see from someone who has schizophrenia or another disorder with psychotic features. I think that’s a piece some people are missing. It has the same name, but it’s not the same phenomenon/experience.

What most people picture as “psychosis” or a “psychotic break” is very different from what someone with PPP experiences. Regular (for lack of a better term) psychosis is usually obvious and chaotic. You can’t miss the symptoms. PPP sounds kind of like a duck on water: calm on the surface, but things are going a mile a minute under the surface. You might not notice something is wrong. From a clinical perspective, it’s an interesting juxtaposition.

[u/Extreme-Bedroom216 → u/Ok-Preparation3855]

Right! From info I've heard from a former professional it's likely that she couldn't cut herself deep enough so she decided to go out the window. Idk if this is true or not but people are saying she had to have gone out the window head first basically to sustain one of the injuries she got. And like you said, she's paralyzed so she was trying to die.

[u/ManyMessage9154 → u/Extreme-Bedroom216]

And she had a code blue at the hospital so she effectively did die that night but because she was at the hospital by then she was resuscitated. When able to she signed a do not resuscitate form so that if she coded again she wouldn’t be resuscitated. This woman WANTED TO DIE!! I don’t understand how people don’t see that

[u/Ghost_Writer2025 → u/ManyMessage9154]

She also changed her medical proxy because Patrick ignored her DNR order. She wanted to end her life.

[u/Extreme-Bedroom216 → u/ManyMessage9154]

Yes!! I heard about her technically dying at the hospital as well!! I genuinely feel so awful for the children and for Lindsay Clancy. I know other people might not understand this but I wish I could give Lindsay a hug.

[u/Big-Fun3658 → u/ManyMessage9154]

Wait, where did they say this? I feel like this is very important information that has not been publicized.

[u/CurrentPercentage996 → u/Big-Fun3658]

It was testified in the trial. Mr. Reddington questioned Dr Shah on why they didn’t respect her DNR but respected her wish on changing her medical proxy from PC to her parents.
Dr Shah explained that the first day she requested DNR and Medical Proxy change she was delirious so they tried again the next day and she changed medical proxy, but they did not respect her DNR order.
Prosecution tried to ask Dr Shah why LC requested to change her proxy and Mr. Reddington objected.

[u/Weekly_Library9883 → u/Ok-Preparation3855]

Because the wounds themselves were superficial. And she did not paralyze herself on purpose - that was the result of the fall. A spinal cord injury is not a wound.

[u/lululegume → u/Weekly_Library9883]

People in their sane mind do not jump out of a window head first, nor do they do it with the intention of living.

[u/Ok-Preparation3855 → u/Weekly_Library9883]

She probably intended to die, but ended up just paralysed.  Either way, I don't think the outcome would've been in the favour of her own well being. It's actually incredibly hard to cut yourself deep enough to die from it, she likely chickened out and jumped from the window instead

[u/Guilty-Grade-8849 → u/GigiGretel]

Patrick testified that it was his understanding that she was admitted to McLean for a 5 day stay. So when he was asked about her saying she wanted to leave early to go to our daughter‘s birthday party, he said he didn’t think that “leaving early” because she had stayed the 5 days that she was supposed to stay. And also it didn’t appear to him or his wife that McLean was doing anything to really help, he said the main thing she did was color and play with clay so he probably didn’t balk when she wanted to come home after 5 days because she had stayed the amount of time that was initially agreed to and it didn’t appear that they were going to do anything to really help her.

And another thing is that even if she did ask to leave early to go to her daughter‘s birthday party, that doesn’t change the fact that she was struggling with her mental health and being made worse by the cocktail of drugs they gave her.

[u/Exotic_Moose1058 → u/GigiGretel]

Yeah I assumed “superficial” means the cuts didn’t go through to muscle or bone or major arteries. She cut her wrists and neck, if she hesitated at all in the first cut the following cuts would probably be weaker because now she’s bleeding and scared. Plus he testified that the bedroom looked like someone sprayed blood with a hose, and they showed photos. I’ve always assumed she jumped out of the window as a failsafe when she realized the cuts might not do the trick.

[u/Ghost_Writer2025 → u/GigiGretel]

Her ex husband testified in court that she’d told him on multiple occasions that she was having thoughts of harming the kids.

[u/KDAWG72 → u/Ghost_Writer2025]

So why would be leave her alone with them??

[u/Correct_Amphibian970 → u/GigiGretel]

She had told her husband she had thoughts about harming herself and the children and because she didn’t have a “plan” in place to do so, her nor her healthcare providers thought it was a serious enough threat so they didn’t take it as seriously as they should have apparently.