More than three years after three children died in a Duxbury, Mᴀssachusetts home, a Plymouth Superior Court jury has the case and has not decided it. After closing arguments on August 27 and two days of talks, the panel went home for the weekend. Deliberations are scheduled to start again Monday, August 31, at 9 a.m. ET.

The question is not whether Lindsay Clancy caused the deaths of Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months, on January 24, 2023. The defense has not contested that. The fight is over criminal responsibility: whether she understood the wrongfulness of what she did and could obey the law, or whether severe postpartum mental illness — the defense says postpartum psychosis, worsened by a changing mix of psychiatric drugs — took that capacity away.

From a coastal family home to a five-week trial
Clancy, now 36, grew up in Wallingford, Connecticut, trained as a nurse, and worked for years in labor and delivery at Mᴀssachusetts General Hospital. She married Patrick Clancy in 2016. The couple later lived in Duxbury with their three children. After Callan’s birth in 2022 she sought care for insomnia, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Relatives and her lawyers have said she looked for help repeatedly, including hospital stays and visits to multiple clinicians. She and Patrick later filed malpractice suits arguing providers missed how dangerous her condition had become. Providers who have answered those claims have denied liability.

On the evening of the killings, prosecutors say she sent her husband out for food and a pharmacy stop. He came home to a scene that led to a 911 call later played for the jury. Callan was taken to hospitals and died days later. Clancy was badly hurt after jumping from an upper-floor window and has appeared in court in a wheelchair; her lawyers have long said the fall left her paralyzed below the waist.

Jury selection began in mid-July 2026. Opening statements and testimony started July 27. By the time the evidence closed, jurors had heard from about 85 witnesses over 21 days of testimony: roughly 72 for the state, 10 for the defense, and three prosecution reʙuттal experts. Patrick Clancy testified first and at length. The jury later visited the former family home. Separate strangulation counts were dropped before trial as redundant to the murder charges.

Journals became a centerpiece. Entries from late 2022 into early 2023 described overwhelm, guilt over sleep training and breastfeeding, fear about returning to work, and what she called “crazy brain fog.” Those pages were used by both sides: the defense as proof of a collapsing mind; the prosecution as proof she was still tracking her life in detail.

What each side told the jury at the end
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington’s closing framed Clancy as “a darn good mother” who lived for her children until, in his words, medication and “lousy medical care” destroyed her grip on reality. He pointed to notes showing her mental state sliding, to a serious suicide attempt that both sides’ experts acknowledged, and to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick, who testified she was frankly psycH๏τic and not in control. He also attacked the thoroughness of the police work. After court he said his client was nervous and scared.

ᴀssistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague did not deny mental illness or the suicide attempt. She said the real issue was whether Clancy knew right from wrong. The state argued she moved through that day as a functioning parent — including a doctor visit with her daughter — sent her husband away, and later asked for a lawyer. Sprague told jurors the killings were a choice, that Clancy did not always tell mandated reporters or doctors the full truth, and that the medical system was not on trial. A prosecution reʙuттal psychiatrist, Dr. Gregory Saathoff, who has worked with the FBI, testified she could still tell right from wrong and pointed to what he called preparatory planning.

The courtroom was crowded. Some spectators wore pink. Clancy was seen wiping her eyes before closings. Jurors and the defendant were described as emotional during parts of the final arguments.

The choices on the verdict slips
There is a slip for each child. The twelve jurors must be unanimous. The options are: not guilty; not guilty by lack of criminal responsibility; first-degree murder (life without parole); second-degree murder (life with the possibility of parole); or manslaughter (up to 20 years). First-degree murder in this case can rest on deliberate premeditation or extreme atrocity or cruelty. Lack of criminal responsibility is Mᴀssachusetts’ version of what other states call an insanity defense. It would not mean walking free. A judge can order commitment to a psychiatric hospital after a hearing if release would pose a serious risk of harm. An first stay can be six months; later stays can be a year at a time, with no automatic cap.

Where things stand this weekend
Thursday’s first session lasted about three and a half hours. Friday added more than six and a half. Together that is about ten hours. The only reported jury question so far asked to see prescription bottles and a knife tied to her medications and her attempt on her own life. Judge William Sullivan sent the panel home with the usual warning not to discuss the case or look it up. Some local legal analysts have said a verdict may not come until early next week.

Whatever the jury does, the case has already become a public argument about postpartum psychosis, overmedication, and how much a parent’s documented suffering can change criminal blame. That argument is now inside a deliberation room, not a courtroom.