Their morning was spent joyfully crafting a snowman, yet as dusk settled, tragedy enveloped Lindsay Clancy’s household with the loss of her three children’s lives.
On January 24, 2023, Lindsay, who works as a labor and delivery nurse, committed the unthinkable: she strangled her daughter Cora, aged 5, along with her sons Dawson, 3, and Callan, only 8 months old. Following this harrowing act, she attempted to end her own life by jumping from the second story of their Plymouth, Massachusetts residence.
Her husband, Patrick Clancy, returned from running errands to a scene no one should ever face—his wife lying severely injured in their yard and their children lifeless in the basement.
Although Lindsay’s responsibility for her children’s deaths is undebated, the ongoing trial will determine the intent behind her actions. Her defense team posits that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time she committed the killings.
As this high-profile trial progresses, witnesses reveal more about the tragic events leading up to that fateful evening, shedding light on the circumstances preceding the heartbreaking discovery.
Here’s everything to know about the timeline the day Lindsay and Patrick’s children were killed:
Lindsay Clancy, Patrick Clancy’s Children Spent Their Last Morning at the Doctor and Playing in the Snow
The morning of Jan. 24, 2023 began much like any other. Lindsay took her daughter to a doctor’s appointment for a routine physical.
“As far as I can recall, it was a very normal visit,” pediatrician Lindsay Rosshirt testified, according to DWS News. “I mean, no kid is happy to be there for a checkup, but I didn’t notice anything out of the norm. She seemed perfectly well behaved, and mom seemed appropriate as well.”
After the visit, Lindsay sent her mother and Patrick pictures of Cora and Dawson playing in the snow and building a snowman, according to The Boston Herald.
Lindsay Clancy Conducted Searches for Children’s Medicine, Takeout
At 4:02 p.m. that afternoon, Lindsay searched “kids Miralax” on her phone, the outlet reported.
Eleven minutes later, she searched for “take out 3v,” a reference to the Plymouth restaurant ThreeV and then used Apple Maps to determine how long it would take to travel to the restaurant.
Prosecutors have argued that Lindsay was looking for a way to get her husband—who had been working from his home office in the basement that day—out of the house. Her defense attorneys argued the evidence suggests she was in the midst of a severe mental health crisis at the time.
At 4:48 p.m. Lindsay called the Kingston CVS Pharmacy to ask about about medication sold by the store.
“She was inquiring if I carried a product in stock,” general manager Angela Krause said in testimony streamed by East Idaho News. “It was like a constipation medicine.”
According to Krause, the female caller was looking for Pedia-Lax, a digestion aid for children.
“Did she appear to have any difficulty understanding you or the questions that you were asking her?” the prosecutor asked, to which Krause responded, “No, ma’am.”
Asked by the prosecutor if Lindsay’s voice was slurred or impaired, Krause replied, “Not at all. It’s a very normal interaction.”
Minutes later at 4:53 p.m., Lindsay texted her husband to ask whether he would want to get takeout that night.
“I didn’t cook anything,” she texted, according to The Boston Herald. “It’s been a long day.”
After Patrick replied affirmatively, Lindsay texted,“Okie dokie,” then added “Check the menu when you can,” according to The Daily Mail.
Lindsay called the restaurant to place an order of risotto and a Mediterranean power bowl at 5:10 p.m.
Patrick Clancy Seen On Surveillance Footage Entering Pharmacy
Patrick left the house a few minutes later. He testified July 29 that his last memory of his kids was Dawson sitting on the couch, eating chicken nuggets and green beans, per The Associated Press.
Patrick was spotted in surveillance footage shown to the jury entering the Kingston CVS pharmacy, about two miles from his home, at 5:32 p.m. and walking to the children’s medication aisle.
While he was there, he was seen in the surveillance footage calling Lindsay to ask her a question.
“She was pretty quiet. It sounded like she was busy,” he testified, per the AP. “I remember hanging up thinking she was probably in the middle of giving baths or something like that.”
Before leaving the store at 5:37 p.m., Krause testified that Patrick purchased a package of Wild Berry Skittles and the Pedia-Lax.
Patrick Clancy Picked Up Carryout Order From Plymouth Restaurant
ThreeV Restaurant hostess Saria Sweeney testified, per the East Idaho News, that Patrick picked up the take out order from the restaurant at 5:54 p.m.
The jurors were also shown footage of him entering the restaurant.
Patrick Clancy Returned Home, Places Panicked Call to 911
Patrick reportedly returned to his house at 6:09 p.m. and testified, according to ABC 13, that he immediately noticed the “house was really quiet.”
Patrick called out for his family, then searched the children’s rooms and bathroom before heading into the master bedroom.
“I just saw blood everywhere,” he testified about entering the room, “and the window was open.”
According to The Boston Herald, Patrick placed a panicked call to 911 at 6:11 p.m. after finding his wife injured, but conscious in the yard.
“Look at me,” he can be heard telling her, per the AP. “Say my name.”
While trying to help Lindsay—who had cuts to her wrist and neck—Patrick asked her what happened.
“During this time, he asked the defendant, what did you do?” Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague explained at a Feb. 7 arraignment. “She responded to him, I tried to kill myself and jumped out the window.”
Patrick told the dispatcher he wanted to go check on the children.
Moments later, he was heard howling and crying after finding the three children dead in the basement, where they had been strangled with exercise bands.
Patrick yelled, “She killed the kids!”
Cora and Dawson were pronounced dead at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth at 7:28 p.m., while baby Callan was pronounced dead three days later, according to The Boston Herald.
Prosecutors have argued that Lindsay “acted intentionally, rationally and swiftly” that day when she killed the children during the small window of time that Patrick was out of the house, per CNN.
However, her defense attorneys contend that Lindsay should not be held criminally responsible for the killings because she was in the suffering from postpartum psychosis that prevented her from thinking clearly.
Patrick Clancy—who has since remarried—has voiced support for his ex-wife telling The New Yorker in 2024, “I wasn’t married to a monster—I was married to someone who got sick.”
The murder trial remains ongoing.
