“She was a wonderful mother.”
In a quiet yet assertive voice, Lindsay Clancy’s nanny took the witness stand, painting a heartfelt and positive picture of the woman accused of killing her own children. Clancy, currently on trial, stands as the focal point of this grave proceeding.
The testimony highlighted Clancy’s deep concern for her children’s well-being, particularly for her five-year-old daughter Cora, three-year-old son Dawson, and Callan, her eight-month-old baby. She worried intensely about her infant’s sleep and eating patterns.
According to the family’s nanny, Elaine Rossi, nothing in Clancy’s behavior ever suggested mistreatment or concern when it came to her kids.
Rossi’s testimony became the highlight on the seventh day of Clancy’s trial, which is taking place at Plymouth County in Massachusetts. Clancy, a mother of three, faces a potential life sentence for the tragic deaths of her children, which occurred on January 24, 2023, in their Duxbury, Massachusetts home—a town known for its prosperity and charm.
The former delivery nurse strangled the children with exercise bands in the basement then tried to kill herself – cutting her wrists and neck before jumping from the second-floor bedroom window.
While prosecutors allege she was of sound mind and planned the killings, Clancy’s defense argues she is not guilty by reason of insanity, because she was suffering severe postpartum depression and psychosis at the time.
Last week, jurors heard heartbreaking testimony from Clancy’s husband Patrick Clancy – who returned home to find his wife injured and children dead. Choking up on the witness stand – in what marked the first time he had seen his now-ex-wife since that tragic day – he also described Clancy as a devoted, loving mother whose mental health was spiraling.
Elaine Rossi said she was hired as a nanny for the Clancy family after Lindsay posted an advert on Facebook about needing a nanny for Callan in July 2022
Lindsay Clancy, the mother on trial for killing her three children in January 2023, broke down in court on Wednesday when a video of her youngest child was played
Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan were found dead inside the family’s Duxbury home on January 24, 2023
Now, on Tuesday, jurors finally heard from someone else able to give a unique insight into what life was like inside the Clancy home at that time.
As the family nanny – who Cora and Dawson affectionately called ‘Laney’ – Rossi saw firsthand how Clancy interacted with her children in the months leading up to the killings.
She also had a distinctive perspective of the mom-of-three’s mental health struggles.
Rossi began working for the Clancy family in September 2022 after responding to a job advert posted by Clancy that July.
She worked for the family three days a week, in the mornings.
The plan had been that she would take care of Callan when Clancy went back to work around Thanksgiving so she started two months early so she could get to know the family.
While her main care was for Callan, she said she sometimes spent time with Cora and Dawson and also did food prep, laundry and light housekeeping in the home. Dawson and Cora were often at school during that time.
Clancy would leave her instructions about Callan’s care in a yellow notebook.
In the yellow book were notes around Callan’s sleep and schedule – something that Rossi said Clancy was concerned with.
‘Bottle when he wakes up,’ one note read.
‘Nap two,’ read another.
As an experienced nanny, Rossi testified that the instructions were ‘not at all’ unusual, overbearing or controlling.
Inside the courtroom, Clancy bowed her head and clasped her hands tightly on the defense table as ‘Laney’ flicked through the notebook.
The mom-of-three then crumpled into sobs when a brief heartbreaking video of the nanny feeding Callan a bottle of milk was shown in the courtroom.
Leaning over the defense table, she put her head in her hands and cried. Two rows behind her in the public gallery, her parents Mike and Paula Musgrove also grew emotional and looked down.
Across the room, a brief ‘aw’ sound could be heard coming from someone watching the adorable baby seemingly so content and happy.
When asked if she ever had any concerns about leaving Clancy with the children, Rossi was adamant she did not.
‘Not at all. She was a wonderful mom,’ she said.
She recounted one moment when Dawson – who was ‘full of energy’ – had struck his baby brother. Rossi remembered Clancy handled the situation appropriately, removing Dawson from the room and then consoling Callan. She had then spoken to Dawson about his behavior.
‘I observed a wonderful mom who loved her kids,’ she testified.
‘I did love Lindsay, yes,’ she later said.
While she never had any concerns for Clancy’s care of her children, Rossi revealed she was aware of some of the mom-of-three’s struggles.
Clancy had told her about her plans to stop nursing Callan so that she could start taking medication. She had also spoken to her about struggling with ‘postpartum and insomnia,’ she said – so much so that Clancy began sleeping in the basement. Clancy had also lost weight.
It was early December when she stopped working for the Clancy family.
Clancy had decided that she wasn’t going to return to work so she and Patrick told Rossi they would have to let her go.
The nanny’s insight into what Clancy was like as a mother came after toxicology and DNA experts also took the stand.
It was testimony that repeatedly prompted objection and rebukes from Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington who at one point leaped to his feet, waved his arms and proclaimed it was ‘gobbledy-gook’ as a DNA expert spoke.
The clip showed the baby’s nanny feeding him a milk bottle
She would mainly care for Callan (pictured with Lindsay), but also spent time with Cora and Dawson. She also did food prep, laundry, and light housekeeping in the home
One day earlier, Clancy had broken her silence in the courtroom to agree to a stipulation of facts – agreeing to chain of custody matters in a move that meant the prosecution would no longer have to call dozens of witnesses to simply be able to admit certain pieces of evidence.
Despite this, the technical descriptions and explanations of some pieces of evidence, such as blood stains and DNA on the exercise bands, kept coming.
Forensic toxicologist Justin Brower, who works at a private lab in Pennsylvania, revealed how a mix of drugs were found in Clancy’s blood following the tragic night in January 2023.
These drugs included two antidepressants, one anti-seizure medication which is also used to treat bipolar and one anti-psychotic drug, which can also be used for insomnia.
He testified that three of the drugs found in her system were at therapeutic levels – meaning that he would not expect to see them in someone suicidal.
However, the antipsychotic drug Seroquel was around double the level he would have expected to see.
The extent to which Clancy had taken a cocktail of drugs – and how high the doses were – is a key element of the case.
Her defense is arguing that she was in a state of psychosis – possibly triggered by being severely overmedicated.
She had been prescribed at least 13 medications in the months leading up to the killings.
However, the prosecution has sought to argue that Clancy did not take all the medication she was prescribed.
If convicted, Clancy will be sentenced to life without parole. If acquitted by reason of insanity, she will be admitted to a psychiatric hospital.
The trial continues
