By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-06 21:30:36 | Updated at 2026-08-07 23:41:28
1 day ago
Lindsay Clancy's close friends revealed their haunting texts and conversations with the 'loving mother' now accused of murdering her children during day eight of her high-profile trial.
The former labor and delivery nurse is charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months, inside the family home in the wealthy coastal suburb of Duxbury back on January 24, 2023.
After strangling the children with exercise bands in the basement, Clancy cut her wrists and neck before jumping from a second-floor window.
The 35-year-old has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, arguing she was suffering from severe postpartum depression and psychosis at the time.
Inside Plymouth County Superior Court on Thursday, several of Clancy’s friends, nurse colleagues and people close to the family took the stand.
Each witness resoundingly described Clancy as a loving mother and caring person.
While several people close to the family knew that Clancy was struggling with her mental health and was not sleeping, they all said that there was no major change in her demeanor in the lead-up to the killings.
But Clancy did confide in her longtime friend that she had ‘dark thoughts’ just days before that tragic day.
Lindsay Clancy is seen on Thursday morning during her trial for the murder of her three children
Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan were found dead inside the family's Duxburt home on January 24, 2023
Amy Bevins, who grew up with Clancy in Connecticut, testified that just a few days before the children were killed, they were texting one another.
In one message, Clancy shared that she was taking medication that was causing her to have some ‘dark thoughts.’ She said that she was coming off that medication and trying new drugs instead.
She didn’t tell her friend what the dark thoughts were, but Bevins said that her tone appeared to be hopeful.
Visibly nervous on the stand, Bevins also testified that she visited Clancy in rehab hospital in March 2023 - two months after the killings.
They made small talk and played Uno but did not talk about Clancy’s children or their deaths.
Under cross-examination, the close friend said Clancy’s sister had told her not to bring up the children to her. She believes it was a recommendation from mental health experts.
Another friend, Bethany Decollibus, similarly said she didn’t see any major changes in Clancy’s behavior or demeanor after having any of her children or in the time leading up to the killings.
But, she knew that Clancy was suffering from insomnia.
Days before the killings, Clancy told her she felt like ‘a zombie' because of this.
It was Cora’s fifth birthday party in early January and she asked Clancy how her sleep was.
She told her that ‘things haven’t got any better and that she feels like a zombie.’
Bethany Decollibus said she didn’t see any major changes in Clancy’s behavior or demeanor after having any of her children or in the time leading up to the killings
Amy Bevins, who grew up with Clancy in Connecticut, testified that just a few days before the children were killed, they were texting one another
The friends’ testimony came the same day that jurors were shown graphic autopsy photos of eight-month-old Callan and Clancy’s father-in-law Christopher Clancy testified about his former daughter-in-law.
Christopher, Patrick Clancy’s father, told the jury about the last time he saw his grandchildren in Christmas 2022.
On Christmas morning, he and his wife Sue went for breakfast at the Clancy home in Duxbury and then to mass together.
‘She was good. She looked beautiful,’ he said of Clancy, adding that she ‘was quiet.’
That was the last time he saw his grandchildren.
On the night of January 24, 2023, he remembered getting a call from Patrick telling him what had happened.
‘It was terrible,’ he said.
The children’s preschool teachers also testified about the last time they saw the children at Learning Sprouts, the school they attended.
Preschool teacher Susan Bertolo teared up as she described Cora as an ‘amazing’ and ‘wonderful’ little girl.
The day before the children died, Cora had come to preschool as normal.
But she was not quite herself that day, she said. Cora needed to use the bathroom more than normal and said her tummy hurt, which left the staff a little concerned.
This was relayed to Clancy at pickup, preschool teacher Stephanie Williams testified.
Christopher Clancy, Patrick Clancy’s father, told the jury about the last time he saw his grandchildren in Christmas 2022
She said that she had a doctor's appointment for Cora the next day and scooped up the little girl from her cot, saying: 'Oh baby, come on let's go get Dawson and we'll go home.'
Like her friends and father-in-law, several preschool teachers were asked if they noticed anything different about Clancy that day - or any other day.
They each said no and referred to her as a ‘loving mother.’
The testimony is a key part of the state's case. Prosecutors are arguing that Clancy was of sound mind at the time of the killings.
However, the defense is arguing that she was in a severe state of postpartum psychosis and depression - meaning she cannot be held criminally responsible for killing her children.
The trial continues.
