Next week, the husband of a Massachusetts mother on trial for the alleged murder of her children is set to testify in her defense.

Lindsay Clancy, 35, is charged with three counts of murder and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Prosecutors have incorporated the charges of strangling her children into the murder accusations, as reported by WCVB.

Her legal team acknowledges that Clancy used exercise bands to strangle her three children—five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan—on January 24, 2023.

However, they contend that her actions were influenced by severe postpartum psychosis and excessive medication, arguing she should be acquitted of the murder charges on grounds of insanity.

Patrick Clancy, Lindsay’s husband and the father of the three children, will be testifying in support of her defense, according to a report by PEOPLE.

He had argued in a wrongful death suit against some of his wife’s medical providers that he believes Lindsay killed the children because she ‘started hearing a compelling and unrecognizable singular male voice that told her “this is your last chance” and that she had to “take them” with [her].’

That same voice ‘indicated to [Lindsay] that she should die… and that her children would suffer if she was gone.’

Her lawyers, however, will not be able to call others who have suffered from postpartum psychosis as witnesses when the trial starts.

In a filing seeking to get the women to testify, defense attorney Kevin Reddington said he had been contacted by 15 different people who claimed to have their own experiences with postpartum psychosis, hallucinations or drug use and were willing to testify on Clancy’s behalf. 

The lawyer acknowledged the women have no personal connection to Clancy’s case, but have ‘been victimized by the medical system that fails to recognize the severe, debilitating and devastating impact of postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis,’ the filing says, according to CBS News.

It then notes that the women have suffered from ‘suicidal ideation, infanticide ideation [and] homicidal ideation with auditory and visual hallucinations.’

In court on Monday, Reddington also argued that hearing from the other women could help jurors better understand what Clancy was allegedly going through.

‘For us to believe that somebody is hearing voices, the natural reaction from any one of us, I think in this courtroom would be “Come on. You’re not hearing voices. What are you talking about? You’re making this up. You’re trying to avoid responsibility,’ he said, according to Boston.com.

‘But it is true and it happens, and it is an affliction that people have put up with.’ 

Reddington then argued that ‘a woman who has suffered and has put up with this affliction should be able to testify and say probably in an emotionally-charged fashion, very credibly, “I too have heard these command voices. I too acted on the command voices.”‘ 

But prosecutor Jennifer Sprague argued that the women the defense sought to call as witnesses were ‘women who suffered from postpartum depression and psychosis who did not kill their children, who locked themselves in a room, to keep themselves from harming their children, who got in a car and drove away so they didn’t harm their children.’

‘And so then it becomes a trial within a trial.’

Judge William F Sullivan ultimately agreed that calling the women as witnesses would force prosecutors to call even more witnesses in rebuttal as he denied the defense’s request.

He also noted that expert witnesses can give jurors the relevant information about postpartum mental illness. 

Jurors will also hear the harrowing 911 call Lindsay’s husband Patrick made to police when he found his three children killed at their home.

In the call, Patrick explains that he found the exercise bands still wrapped around the children’s necks but that they were easy to take off.

‘The spontaneous and excited nature of the 911 call, made prior to any reflective thought, further established that the bands were wrapped around each child’s neck in a fashion that negates any theory that they were tied or knotted,’ prosecutors argued.

‘He further states he believed the bands were looped like you would tie a shoelace, but came off quickly.’

By the time first responders then arrived on the scene, ‘each band [was] lying next to each child,’ the filing alleges, according to the New York Post. 

‘The brief time between finding each child and the fact that Mr Clancy was able to remove each band so quickly’ negates the theory Lindsay may have tied the bands in a knot and walked away.

Instead, prosecutors say, the evidence suggests she ‘manually pulled the bands around each child’s neck until they died,’ showing ‘the deliberateness of her acts and the extreme atrocity and cruelty of her acts.’ 

Jury selection in the case is now scheduled to begin on July 20, when prospective panelists are expected to be asked about their own mental health history.

The trial is then expected to last four to six weeks. 

The Houthi movement, labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S., has lashed out at Saudi Arabia, accusing it of launching airstrikes on Sanaa airport in northern Yemen. This accusation has the potential to open a volatile new chapter in the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict, further entangling Iran’s proxy forces.

Despite a 2022 truce with the Saudi-led coalition, tensions have periodically erupted, particularly after the Houthis expressed solidarity with Hamas following its incursion into Israel on October 7, 2023. Their actions have included disrupting commercial shipping in the Red Sea, and these recent hostilities could propel Saudi Arabia and the Houthis back into full-blown conflict.

Yahya Saree, the spokesperson for Houthi military forces, denounced the strikes as “blatant aggression,” claiming they shattered the calm achieved after recent attempts at de-escalation. He warned that Saudi Arabia would face serious repercussions, with the Houthis threatening retaliatory attacks, including a specific warning about targeting King Khalid Airport in Riyadh. Iran has echoed the sentiment, with Press TV declaring the strikes a violation against Yemen’s sovereignty.

At the heart of the Houthi ideology is their bold slogan: “God is great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse upon the Jews, Victory to Islam,” reflecting the group’s staunch opposition to Western and Israeli influences in the region.

Earlier on Monday, the government’s defense ministry said the runway ⁠at Sanaa International Airport had been targeted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. An armed forces spokesman later said the aircraft had landed at Houthi-controlled ​Hodeidah airport.

Salman Al-Ansari, a prominent Saudi geopolitical analyst, told News Media, “The Iranian-backed Houthi militia is now in a desperate position, attempting to demonstrate its usefulness to its Iranian masters amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran war.”

He said, “This is an action taken by Yemen’s legitimate government in response to the violation of its airspace and sovereignty. It was not carried out by Saudi Arabia or the coalition. Yemeni forces struck the runway at Sana’a International Airport after the terrorist Houthi militia defied international law by allowing unauthorized Iranian flights into Yemen, despite measures intended to prevent the smuggling of weapons and explosives.”

According to Al-Ansari, “The Houthis know that these flights can land normally if they follow the agreed-upon route through a Jordanian airport, for inspection purposes. The Houthis are currently at one of their weakest points, particularly after Yemen’s legitimate government consolidated effective authority over 80% of the country’s territory. This is a marked departure from the past, when the legitimate government was fragmented between two rival camps.”

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, Lebanon and other Sunni Gulf countries have expressed concerns about the Iranian regime’s plan to establish a so-called “Shiite crescent” that stretches from Iran to Lebanon and includes such terrorist proxies as the Houthis and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Al-Ansari noted that “By confronting the Houthis, Yemen’s legitimate government is not only defending its own sovereignty; it is helping safeguard the region and the wider world from Iran’s network of terrorist proxies.”

Nadwa Al-Dawsari, an expert on Yemen and an associate fellow at the Middle East Institute, told News Media that, “The Houthis’ warning that the strike on Sana’a airport ‘will not go unanswered’ should be taken seriously. But the significance of the incident extends well beyond the prospect of retaliation.”

She said, “The dispute was never really about civilian aviation or simply returning a Houthi delegation from Tehran. The Yemeni government had agreed to facilitate the delegation’s return aboard a Yemenia aircraft. The issue was the Iranian aircraft itself.”

She added that “By proceeding with the Mahan Air flight despite Yemeni objections and ensuring that it reached Houthi-controlled Yemen anyway, Iran and the Houthis were sending a political message: Tehran intends to normalize direct and public ties with Houthi-controlled Yemen and is willing to challenge the restrictions that have governed access to the country since 2015.”

The U.S. government sanctioned Mahan Air for its role in supplying weapons and technology to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah. 

Al-Dawsari said, “What we are increasingly seeing is a pattern in which Iran and its proxies create facts on the ground, betting that regional and international actors have little appetite for escalation and will eventually adjust to them. We have seen the same approach in the Strait of Hormuz.”

She said, “The episode also highlights the Houthis’ growing importance within Iran’s regional network. While other members of the Axis of Resistance have been weakened in recent years, the Houthis have emerged as Tehran’s most capable and strategically important partners, particularly in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.”

According to Reuters, the Saudi ​government’s communication office did not immediately respond to the accusations.

Muhammad Al-Farah, a member of the Houthi Political Bureau, wrote on Telegram, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), that the alleged Saudi attack will lead to the Bab al-Mandab Strait joining the Strait of Hormuz with respect to disruption and possible closure. As a result, the price of a barrel of oil will rise to $200 and the attacks give the Houthis a reason to “strike back and liberate Yemen from occupation.”

A State Department spokesperson told News Media that, “We are aware of these reports and monitoring closely. The United States and Saudi Arabia share a strategic partnership that has only grown stronger under President Trump. The United States stands firmly with Saudi Arabia against Iranian aggression, including Iranian-supported Houthi attacks, and remains committed to the Kingdom’s security and regional stability.”

The spokesperson added, “We continue to actively enforce the Trump Administration’s designation of the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and condemn Iran’s flagrant violation of Yemen’s sovereignty in support of their Houthi proxies.

“The Administration’s National Security Strategy states that our core interests in the region include ensuring freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and preventing the export of terrorism.  It is critical to continue efforts to counter the Iran-backed Houthis and other terrorist groups in Yemen who threaten these U.S. interests.”

After announcing her plans for a hike in a final Facebook post, an Australian tourist has mysteriously gone missing. This 26-year-old woman has not been seen for over three weeks.

On June 20, Sally Grace Contarino last communicated with a male friend on Facebook, mentioning her intention to hike Lone Mountain, as detailed in a report from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police obtained by 8 News Now.

Investigators reveal uncertainty about whether Contarino had company during her excursion. Authorities have previously issued warnings that she may be experiencing severe emotional distress and could require medical care.

The last known location for her was around 1 p.m. on June 20, near 9700 West Skye Canyon Drive, according to officials.

This northwest Las Vegas location is situated near a bustling intersection that includes fast-food outlets, a gas station, and various other businesses.

Contarino was due to fly home to Melbourne on June 21 but never boarded her scheduled return flight, police said.

The report said she traveled from Melbourne to Nevada on June 13 and later confirmed to her sister that she had arrived at the Bungalows Hostel on Las Vegas Boulevard in downtown Las Vegas on June 18.

Investigators also noted she was using the WISE money transfer app and owned an Apple cell phone.

An influencer’s creepy video, taken with Meta glasses, hauntingly shows the missing woman in her last known moments.

The footage captures him approaching the 26-year-old — just days before she failed to board her flight home to Melbourne and has not been heard from since June 20.

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Contarino appeared in the mysterious video outside a 7-Eleven on Boulder Highway near Flamingo Road, where a man known as “@epicdamianpov” approached her while she smoked a cigarette.

In the clip, he says, “Hello. Sorry, I saw you. I just saw that you were very beautiful. I was wondering if I could get your number, by chance.”

Contarino smiles before replying, “I have a boyfriend.”

“Oh, okay, yeah, sorry. Are you waiting for him or…?” he asks.

“No,” she responds. “I’m just gonna have a cigarette…”

“Oh, okay, yeah, of course,” the man says before walking away.

The video, later shared by “Real Vegas Locals,” had been viewed more than 814,000 times on Instagram as of July 13.

Police said Contarino was last seen wearing a gray-blue sweatshirt, jean shorts, black-and-white shoes and carrying a purse.

She is described as having brown hair and brown eyes, standing about 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighing around 130 pounds.

The search has also drawn in Australian authorities after the missing persons report was first made to Victoria Police, which then notified Interpol US. The Deputy Consul-General from the Australian Consulate in Los Angeles also contacted Las Vegas Metro Police, according to the report.

Contarino’s family, including her sister, has since traveled to Las Vegas to find her and learn what happened.