Mother in Wheelchair Faces Court Accusation of Killing Three Children

A Massachusetts mother facing charges for the tragic deaths of her three children made her initial physical appearance in court on Friday, following an incident that left her paralyzed.

At age 35, Lindsay Clancy appeared in a wheelchair, stemming from a January 2023 event where she allegedly ended the lives of her children—Cora, aged five; Dawson, three; and Callan, eight months—before leaping from a window.

The purpose of Friday’s session was to deliberate on future proceedings, including a review of her mental health assessment. Notably, Clancy’s legal representative has put forth a request for the filming of the prosecution’s evaluation process.

Entering the courtroom, she was seen wearing a cross necklace and clasping her hands, maintaining a composed demeanor as the hearing commenced.

Prior to this appearance, Clancy had been attending all preceding court sessions virtually from Tewksbury State Hospital.

Prosecutors have accused the mother of strangling her three children with exercise bands in the basement of her $750,000 Duxbury home on January 24, 2023.

After the alleged murders, she tried to kill herself by jumping from a second–story window, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. 

Clancy has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. 

Lindsay Clancy, 35, is pictured getting wheeled into court on Friday. She became paralyzed in 2023 when she jumped out of a window after allegedly murdering her three children

Clancy’s defense attorney had said his client is suicidal and that she was suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis when she allegedly committed the murders. Clancy is pictured sitting in court on Friday

Clancy’s three children and alleged victims, Cora, five (left), Dawson, three (right), and eight–month–old Callan (center), are pictured

Her defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, has said his client is suicidal and a ‘danger to herself.’ 

Around the time of the alleged murders and when she jumped from the window, Clancy was severely depressed and suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis, the attorney argued. 

At an earlier hearing, Reddington told the court: ‘She’s not a danger to others, but she’s surely a danger to herself. If this woman kills herself during this trial, which there is a very real probability that could happen, it’s on somebody, and it’s not on me.’

In January, Clancy’s husband, Patrick, filed a lawsuit accusing his wife’s doctors of ‘misprescribing’ a cocktail of ‘powerful medications’ that worsened her mental health.

The lawsuit was filed against Dr Jennifer Tufts, nurse Rebecca Jollotta, Aster Mental Health Inc, and South Shore Health System.

It details her interactions with medical providers and claims that overmedication and poor monitoring allegedly led to her children’s deaths.

‘If [the doctors] had not acted negligently, and rather had provided adequate care, it is more likely than not that Patrick and Lindsay’s children would still be alive today,’ the lawsuit stated.

From September 2022 to January 2023, Lindsay suffered from depression and was prescribed multiple psychiatric drugs including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, and benzodiazepines, per the suit.

Her attorneys claim the meds caused paranoia, suicidal thoughts, and fear of being alone, with no lab work conducted after they were prescribed.

Clancy’s court appearance on Friday was the first time she went to a hearing in person. She attended all prior hearings virtually from Tewksbury State Hospital

Clancy’s husband, Patrick, has filed a lawsuit accusing his wife’s doctors of overprescribing medications that worsened her mental health. Patrick is pictured with the couple’s children

Clancy’s attorney has argued the meds she was prescribed caused paranoia, suicidal thoughts and fear of being alone. Patrick has said they made her hear voices. The couple is pictured with two of their children

Clancy’s husband has said that she was so over-medicated that she was hearing voices in her head. 

In court on Friday, Reddington said: ‘[Clancy’s] husband actually went to the doctor the week before to ask for help and said you’re turning her into a zombie.

‘It was just a brutal, brutal existence that they were living. Her parents were aware of this, they were trying to help out the husband as well.’

Prosecutors alleged that Clancy had deliberately sent her husband out to run errands on the night of the murders so that she would have time to commit them. 

They also argued that she was not suffering from postpartum depression, and they have alleged that she used her cellphone to research ways to kill in the days before her children died.

Clancy’s parents were in the courtroom for the first time when their daughter appeared in person. 

They said that they have spent much of the last three years staying in a hotel near her hospital so that they can visit regularly. 

Outside the courtroom, Clancy’s mother, Paula Musgrove, told CBS News through tears: ‘She’s a loving mother. She always has been.’

Outside the courtroom on Friday, Clancy’s mother, Paula Musgrove, said her daughter is ‘a loving mother.’ Clancy is pictured with two of her children

Prosecutors have argued that Clancy’s actions were deliberate and that she was not suffering from postpartum depression. Clancy is pictured in court on Friday 

Her father, Mike Musgrove, told the outlet: ‘We love our daughter very much, and we’re here just to support her any way we possibly can.’ 

According to court documents reviewed by the New York Post, Clancy’s attorney has requested that her trial be split into two parts. 

Reddington wants a jury to determine whether his client was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she allegedly murdered her children. 

A second phase would have jurors determine whether she had a ‘mental disease or defect’ at the time. The second phase would only move forward if Clancy is found guilty in the first. 

At the hearing on Friday, the judge and attorneys scheduled the next court date for March 2, during which oral arguments about the bid for a split trial will be made. 

They also discussed Clancy’s upcoming psychiatric evaluation on April 10, which will be conducted by an expert chosen by the prosecution. 

When asked about his client’s current mental health state, Reddington told CBS News: ‘Not that good. Why? Because she’s living with her life, which sucks.’ 

If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.