Lindsay Clancy’s ‘worst day’ weeks before she killed her 3 kids revealed in court
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing
Lindsay Clancy's 'worst day' came just weeks before she killed her three children, a Massachusetts court heard on day 11 of her trial on Tuesday, as her defense team argued she had been misdiagnosed and overmedicated in the run-up to the killings.
Nurse practitioner Rebecca Jollotta, of South Shore Hospital's Perinatal Behavioral Clinic, told jurors that Clancy and her then-husband, Patrick, called her on December 15, 2022 to say 'this has been the worst day for Lindsay.'
Clancy, 35, was having 'persistent and intrusive thoughts of suicide,' though with no active plan to act on them, Jollotta said, reading from her notes on the call.
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She is accused of murdering her children Cora, Dawson and Callan at the family's Duxbury, Massachusetts home in January 2023, before attempting to take her own life.
Her lawyers don't dispute that she killed her children, but are seeking a not guilty verdict by reason of insanity from Judge William Sullivan, arguing she was suffering from severe mental illness, including bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis, at the time.
Why did a nurse suspect Lindsay Clancy had bipolar disorder?
Jollotta treated Clancy between November 29 and December 13, 2022, prescribing psychiatric medication during that period.
During a December 6 appointment, she raised the possibility that Clancy had bipolar disorder, an idea Patrick rejected outright, telling her: "My wife is not bipolar."
Jollotta said her suspicion was rooted in Clancy's past reactions to antidepressants Zoloft and Prozac, including a reported 48 hours without sleep while not feeling tired, which she said could point to mania.
Combined with reports of depression and racing thoughts, Jollotta told the court she suspected a 'mixed manic, hypomanic state'.
Despite this, and despite having treated five women with postpartum psychosis alongside hundreds with postpartum depression and anxiety, she said she had no concerns at the time that Clancy was experiencing psychosis.
On the day of the 'worst day' call, Clancy went to the emergency department and considered admitting herself to McLean Hospital, before instead opting for an outpatient programme at Women and Infants Hospital in Rhode Island - a facility Jollotta had 'strongly, strongly' recommended in a December 12 MyChart message.
According to defense attorney Kevin Reddington, the hospital turned Clancy away on December 20 over concerns she was overmedicated; Jollotta said she couldn't speak to that decision, as she wasn't affiliated with the hospital.
Clancy later told Jollotta over MyChart that Women and Infants had instead recommended she seek treatment at a general mental health facility like McLean, rather than one specialising in postpartum care.
Clancy was also being treated by psychiatrist Dr Jennifer Tufts, before being admitted to McLean on January 1, 2023 and leaving after five days to attend her eldest daughter Cora's birthday.
Reddington has since asked Judge Sullivan for permission to call former McLean therapist Emily Thorndike, after she posted a TikTok video criticising the hospital's holiday staffing levels and disputing what she called 'lies' told about the facility during the trial.
Clancy and Patrick, who has since remarried, have both filed medical malpractice lawsuits against the healthcare providers involved in her care.
Dr Tufts and Jollotta are both named in the lawsuit and deny the allegations.
A spokesperson for MGH Hospital told UNILAD: "McLean Hospital is committed to providing high-quality mental health care for individuals and families across the lifespan through inpatient, residential, and outpatient services. This includes advancing the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of mental health conditions that uniquely affect women, including postpartum mental health conditions.
"Due to privacy laws, we cannot comment on any specific patient. We mourn the tragic loss of three children and the allegations in this case."
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
Thomas Bamford