Lindsay Clancy’s final texts to husband before she killed their 3 children revealed in court
Warning: This article contains discussion of child abuse and suicide which some readers may find distressing.
The final text exchange between Lindsay Clancy and her husband, Patrick, before she allegedly killed their three children was shown to jurors during her murder trial in Massachusetts.
Messages presented in court Thursday, August 13, 2026, showed the couple discussing takeout, their youngest child and an appointment involving their daughter earlier that day.
The seemingly ordinary conversation took place hours before Patrick returned to the family's Duxbury home and found their children unresponsive.
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Texts were presented by Massachusetts State Police Trooper Timothy Chiappini, who analyzed data from Clancy's cellphone, according to the New York Post.
Clancy, now 36, is accused of killing Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months old, on January 24, 2023.
She has pleaded not guilty and her defense argues she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible.
What did Lindsay Clancy text her husband before the killings?
The conversation about dinner began at 4:53 p.m., when Clancy asked Patrick whether he wanted takeout from ThreeV, a local restaurant.
She told him she had not cooked because it had been a long day. Patrick agreed and asked what she wanted to order, while also checking whether their baby had woken up.
Clancy replied that Callan had only taken a short nap.
A few minutes later, at 5:07 p.m., Clancy sent her order: a Mediterranean Power Bowl.
Patrick responded one minute later with his choice of scallops and pork belly risotto.
Patrick had left the house to pick up medication for one of their daughters at a nearby CVS before collecting the food. He returned shortly after 6 p.m.
According to testimony reported during the trial, Patrick then discovered Cora and Dawson unresponsive and Callan critically injured.
He also found Lindsay outside after she had attempted suicide by jumping from a second-story bedroom window.
The couple had also exchanged messages that morning about Cora's medical appointment.
After the appointment, Clancy told Patrick that their daughter's urine test had looked good and that there were no signs of kidney problems. Patrick responded by calling her a 'good momma'.
The messages were introduced as part of a wider examination of Clancy's phone during the trial. Jurors have also heard evidence about internet searches and private notes recovered from the device, including material relating to mental health, psychosis and suicidal thoughts.
The evidence is being considered as Clancy's defense seeks to establish that she was experiencing severe postpartum psychosis around the time of the children's deaths.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, have argued that she should be held criminally responsible.
The case remains ongoing, and the allegations against Clancy have not been determined by a jury.
Timeline of Lindsay Clancy case
May 2022
Lindsay gives birth to her third child, Callan.
She’s open about her postpartum struggles with her other two kids on social media. Six weeks after Callan’s birth, she posts that she’s feeling ‘dialed in’ while focusing on exercise, nutrition, and mindset, and ‘it has made all the difference’.
September 2022
As the end of her maternity leave nears, Lindsay, who works as a labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, starts to experience anxiety about returning to work.
She visits two different psychiatrists and receives a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.
Lindsay is prescribed several different psychiatric medications.
October 2022
According to court docs, she writes in a note on her phone: “I think I sort of resent my other children because they prevent me from treating Cal like my first baby. And I know that’s not fair to them. I know that. I was feeling so depressed last evening when Cora and Dawson came home from school, I know it runs off on them, so we had a pretty rough evening, I want to feel love and connection with all my kids.”
December 2022
Lindsay undergoes an evaluation at the Women and Infants Hospital Center for Women’s Behavioral Health. She is not diagnosed with postpartum depression, prosecutors say.
Lindsay’s husband Patrick tells police she is having suicidal thoughts and thoughts of harming their children, according to his testimony in court.
1-5 January, 2023
Lindsay admits herself to McLean Hospital for psychiatric treatment. She is discharged after five days as clinicians do not believe she poses an imminent danger to herself or others, prosecutors say.
22 January, 2023
Lindsay, Patrick, Cora and Dawson have dinner at family friend Kyle Carney’s home. Kyle later tells police that Lindsay ‘seemed fairly normal’.
23 January, 2023
According to prosecutors, Lindsay pens a note on her phone which says she has ‘a touch of postpartum anxiety’ about going back to work.
24 January, 2023
Prosecutors allege the following took place this day:
Morning: Lindsay takes Cora to a scheduled pediatrician appointment. After returning home, they play in the snow with Dawson. She sends photos of the kids to Patrick and her mom.
4:02pm: Lindsay searches for ‘kids Miralax’ (a laxative) on her phone, and 11 minutes later looks up ‘take out 3v’, referring to restaurant ThreeV in Plymouth. She uses Apple Maps to calculate how long it would take to drive from the family’s home to ThreeV.
4:47pm: Lindsay rings a CVS in Kingston to ask if they have any Miralax in stock. A manager tells her they don’t, but they do have similar medications.
The manager later tells authorities that she did not slur her words or sound impaired during the call.
4:35pm: Lindsay texts Patrick, who is working from home: “Any chance you want to do takeout from 3V … I didn’t cook anything … It’s been a long day.”
Patrick says yes, and Lindsay asks him to ‘check the menu when you can’.
5:10pm: Lindsay calls ThreeV to place the order.
5:15pm: Lindsay allegedly texts Patrick: “Pedialax liquid stool softener.” He then leaves to pick up the medication.
5:33pm: When Patrick arrives at CVS, he rings Lindsay, but she doesn’t pick up. She rings back one minute later and confirms the medication.
5:54pm: Patrick gets to ThreeV, pays for the food and leaves.
6:09pm: Patrick returns home. “The first thing he noticed was the silence,” prosecutors say. “He did not see or hear the defendant or the children.”
Patrick calls for his wife but gets no response. He discovers their second-floor bedroom is locked. Patrick eventually manages to get in the room but sees blood on the floor. He runs outside and finds Lindsay lying on the ground, according to prosecutors.
6:11pm: Prosecutors say that Patrick rings 911 and Lindsay is saying: “I tried to kill myself.”
He is then said to ask Lindsay: “Where are the kids?” She responds: “In the basement.”
While on the call, Patrick goes down to the basement and is heard ‘screaming in agony’,
Cora and Callan are discovered on the floor of the den. Dawson is found in his dad’s home office.
When officers arrive at the scene, Patrick alleges: “She killed the kids.”
Lindsay is taken to hospital, where she is treated for injuries that leave her paralysed below the waist. The three children are also rushed to hospital.
7:28pm: Cora and Dawson are pronounced dead. Callan is medically flown to another children’s hospital.
25 January, 2023
Police issue Lindsay an arrest warrant, charging her with two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation or suffocation, and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
27 January, 2023
Callan is pronounced dead at 11.18am.
According to Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague, Lindsay later wakes up and uses a whiteboard to ask: “Do I need an attorney?”
6 February, 2023
While in the presence of a psychologist hired by her lawyer, Lindsay calls Patrick and tells him she had a ‘moment of psychosis’ and heard ‘a man’s voice telling her to kill the kids and kill herself’ after he left on January 24.
7 February, 2023
On the day of her arraignment, Lindsay’s attorney says that she’s still suicidal. She pleads not guilty to three counts of murder.
October 2024
Patrick asks the public to forgive Lindsay, telling The New Yorker: “I wasn’t married to a monster - I was married to someone who got sick.”
January 2026
Lindsay and Patrick file a civil lawsuit, accusing medical providers of not properly diagnosing, treating and monitoring her for a ‘severe postpartum psychiatric condition’.
9 July, 2026
The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office says the three counts of strangulation would be subsumed into the murder charges.
27 July, 2026
Lindsay’s murder trial begins.
Topics: Lindsay Clancy, True crime, Mental Health, Massachusetts, Parenting
Thomas Bamford