Donations to a fundraiser for Lindsay Clancy’s parents have now topped $1 million, with supporters continuing to contribute at a rapid pace as organizers push toward a newly raised fundraising goal.
The campaign posted an update on Friday, shortly after Clancy’s trial came to an abrupt halt, announcing that the target had been increased to $3 million.
The development followed the end of Clancy’s intense six-week trial, which resulted in a mistrial after the 12-member jury could not reach a unanimous decision, with one juror reportedly preventing a full acquittal.
Clancy, a former nurse and mother, had been facing first-degree murder charges in connection with the deaths of her three young children: five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan.
Prosecutors alleged that she killed the children at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, in 2023 before attempting to end her own life.
Clancy’s defense argued that the shocking triple-killing was a result of postpartum psychosis and a failure in maternal healthcare.
While the prosecution argued that she was a killer, hundreds of supporters who never met Clancy have begged to differ, offering financial support to her parents Michael, 70, and Paula Musgrove, 73, during the trial.
However, the GoFundMe, launched by total stranger to the family Brandee Mulligan, is replete with messages of support for Lindsay directly, despite its existence also sparking backlash.
Amid speculation that the fundraiser is being investigated, a GoFundMe spokesman confirmed to the Daily Mail that it is ‘verified’ and reports it is being disabled are ‘not accurate.’
A fundraiser has already raised over $1 million for Lindsay Clancy’s parents
Lindsay Clancy’s multi-week murder trial ended in a mistrial on Friday. She has returned to a psychiatric hospital until prosecutors decide how to proceed
Lindsay Clancy was on trial for the murder of her three children, Cora, Dawson, and baby Callan, pictured above with their father, Patrick
‘This fundraiser for the Musgrove family remains verified at this time,’ the spokesman said.
Donations have poured in every few minutes, ranging anywhere from $5 to thousands.
The top donation came from an anonymous donor who contributed $5,000. Another woman, Nicole Klaucens, also donated $5,000 to Clancy’s parents.
Janet Pescio donated $5,000, while Luisa Espinosa Davilla donated $2,500. Multiple donors contributed over $2,000 to the fundraiser, while at least 11 people donated over $1,000.
Mulligan wrote in the fundraiser’s description that the funds are intended to help Clancy’s parents with travel costs while attending her court proceedings.
‘Their lives have largely been put on hold while they have continued doing what parents do: showing up for their child during the unimaginable. That has come at an enormous financial cost,’ Mulligan wrote.
She added that the fundraiser’s organizers understand there are mixed emotions about Clancy’s trial, but clarified that the money was meant to help two parents, regardless of how people feel about the case.
‘The money belongs to Mike and Paula. The purpose of this fundraiser is to give them back some of the financial stability they have lost over the last three years and allow them to decide what they need as they eventually begin figuring out what life looks like after this trial,’ the description continued.
‘At some point, the court proceedings will end. Mike and Paula will still have a life to return to. There will still be bills, a home, lost savings, and years of putting their own lives on hold while they stood beside their daughter.’
The fundraiser is to help Clancy’s parents, Paula and Mike Musgrove, pictured above in court on September 1
Paula and Mike Musgrove have continued to support their daughter in court. The couple is seen emotionally listening to testimony on August 13
The Wisconsin woman who launched the fundraiser said all the money will directly benefit Paula and Mike
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The fundraiser’s goal was initially set at $2 million, but has been pushed to $3 million after the mistrial.
Mulligan explained in an update that the goal was raised after the legal process was extended, forcing Clancy’s parents to stay in Plymouth County.
Mulligan, a 42-year-old mother of three from the Wisconsin town of Oconomowoc, previously told the Daily Mail that she was motivated to launch the fundraiser because she felt helpless not doing anything.
‘I just was one of the millions of people watching the case, and I was like, what can we do? And so, I put it together and the response has been overwhelming. There’s so many people that want to support it and it’s been incredible,’ she said.
Mulligan told the Daily Mail that she initially wanted to help pay for the lawyer directly but later learned that GoFundMe’s terms prohibit ‘the legal defense of financial and violent crimes, including those related to money laundering, murder, robbery, assault, battery, sex crimes or crimes against minors.’
Instead of helping with Clancy’s legal fees, she decided to help the Musgroves with their expenses.
‘I’m an impulsive person and I use TikTok and I’m like, here’s my idea, OK, I’ll just do it,’ she said. ‘I don’t have any contact with them. I did it without even asking permission and it was just kind of an, “Oh my God, I hope this works out,” kind of thing,’ Mulligan said.
Immediately after the killings, the Musgroves relocated 150 miles from their Wallingford, Connecticut, home to their daughter’s coastal hometown of Duxbury, Massachusetts. Paula testified in court that they had been staying in a series of hotels.
The Musgroves were not wealthy before the tragedy – they bought the three-bedroom home where they raised Lindsay and her social worker sister Allison, 38, for $172,000 in 1996.
‘Her parents have had literally their whole lives uprooted,’ said Mulligan. ‘The support is to Paula and Mike, but in some ways it’s because they’re supporting Lindsay.’
She added that she does not mind what the money is spent on, and trusts it will be used wisely, for whatever need is most pressing.
However, not everyone feels compelled to help Clancy’s family. Another fundraiser on GoFundMe has been titled ‘Lindsay Clancy is an awful person!’
‘My name is Tony and if and if Lindsay Clancy GoFundMe is successful because she *illed kids then a single father of two should be able to be successfully obtain a house and some extra funds,’ the description read.
‘I’m an active father who would do anything for the two greatest things I have ever been involved with.’
The prosecution expressed a similar sentiment during the grueling and emotional trial. Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz told reporters after the trial wrapped that the case was: ‘About getting justice for those three little babies. We’re here at this courthouse today because those children are not.’
A fundraiser titled ‘Lindsay Clancy is an awful person!’ was launched after one benefiting her parents gained traction
Clancy killed her children with exercise bands in 2023. Her lawyers argued that her actions were a result of significant mental illness and postpartum psychosis
Cruz argued that the case was not about gaps in the healthcare system.
‘This case, however, was about Lindsay Clancy and the cruel, calculated killing of three innocents,’ he contested.
Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague said in her closing argument that Clancy was a ‘functioning mom’ who planned the killings, not someone who had been suffering from postpartum psychosis and was unaware of her actions.
Despite the prosecution’s painting of the killings, 11 out of 12 jurors reportedly sided with the defense’s depiction of Clancy.
The case has now reached a state of limbo until a status hearing on September 29.
Prosecutors can retry the case with a new jury or offer a plea deal. Clancy’s defense team may also push to drop the charges altogether.