Mother Testifies on Lindsay Clancy's Declining Mental State

General13 sourcesAug 18, 2026

SplitFactual rigor 51/100

The Story

The defense in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy continued calling witnesses on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, in Plymouth Superior Court.

Clancy, a Duxbury woman, is charged in the deaths of her three children in January 2023. The prosecution rested its case on Monday, and the defense began by calling Clancy's sister and mother, Paula Musgrove, to the stand. Musgrove testified that in the months leading up to the children's deaths, several of her daughter’s statements and actions unsettled her, including Clancy asking to sleep in her mother’s bed.

Musgrove also testified that Clancy told her the medication was destroying her mind and that she was having thoughts of harming her children. In December 2022, a few weeks before the killings, Clancy told Musgrove and her then-husband, Patrick Clancy, that she had thoughts of harming the children. Musgrove recalled a desperate text from Clancy in October 2022, stating, "Mom will you please come up and stay with me for a bit? I'm really sick. Something is wrong. I had horrible insomnia all night and I just don't know how I am going to get through the day. I started taking the medicine my doctor prescribed for anxiety and I think it's made things worse. It's just really scary, and I don't want to be alone."

An emergency room doctor testified as an expert witness about the injuries Clancy sustained when she cut herself and jumped from a second-story window in a failed attempt to end her life after killing her children. Clancy, 36, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the deaths of her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson, and 8-month-old son Callan.

She is paralyzed from the waist down and held without bail at Tewksbury State Hospital, where she receives treatment. Clancy admits to killing her children. Prosecutors, led by Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham, contend she acted intentionally and should be held criminally responsible, alleging she planned the murders before faking a suicide attempt. Clancy's defense attorney Kevin Reddington argues she suffered from postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder and was overmedicated, affecting her sense of reality.

What they agree on

Lindsay Clancy's murder trial is ongoing in Plymouth Superior Court, with the defense presenting its case.
Clancy's mother, Paula Musgrove, testified that Clancy expressed thoughts of harming her children in the months leading up to their deaths.
Clancy is charged with the murders of her three children, 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan, in January 2023.
Clancy admits to killing her children, but her defense argues she suffered from postpartum psychosis and was overmedicated.
Prosecutors contend Clancy acted intentionally and should be held criminally responsible.

Where they split

The Boston Globe and CBS News focus on the testimony of Clancy's mother and sister regarding her declining mental state and specific statements about harming her children.
The Daily Wire provides a detailed list of the 13 medications Clancy was prescribed over a four-month period, a detail not present in all other reports.
The Australian frames the trial as raising the "crisis of postpartum psychosis," emphasizing the broader medical context, while other outlets focus more on the legal proceedings and witness testimonies.
Twitchy includes commentary from Matt Walsh, who argues that much of postpartum depression is due to selfishness rather than hormones, a perspective not found in other news reports.