A mother of six feels that the three young victims of Lindsay Clancy have been overlooked amid the support for Clancy, who is currently on trial for their murders. Clancy, 36, faces three counts of first-degree murder related to the deaths of her three children — Cora, Dawson, and Callan, all under six years old — who were found strangled in their Duxbury, Massachusetts home in January 2023. After the prosecution concluded its case on Monday, Clancy’s defense began to argue that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis during the incident.
Bethany Mandel, a conservative columnist and fellow mother, expressed in an interview that the focus on Clancy means that her children are not being remembered properly. “We all know her name,” Mandel pointed out, referencing the attention Clancy has received. “Very few people know the names of her children,” she added.
Disturbingly, Mandel noted the numerous supporters outside the Plymouth Superior Court wearing pink. They claimed their presence was to advocate for maternal mental health awareness rather than to condone Clancy’s actions. “We don’t see any of them standing out there with a button with the three children’s faces on them,” she remarked, highlighting how little acknowledgment the victims are receiving in the discourse surrounding the trial.
Should Clancy be found not guilty by reason of insanity, she would not be released; rather, she would be confined to a state psychiatric facility and reviewed periodically. Jonathan Hatami, a deputy district attorney in Los Angeles, stressed that the conversation around the trial has shifted towards Clancy’s behavior rather than focusing on the tragic loss of her children. “This shouldn’t be about the defendant,” Hatami argued. “It really should be about the victims and what the defendant did to those victims,” he emphasized, expressing disappointment over the direction of the dialogue.
In the aftermath of the children’s deaths, Patrick Clancy, Lindsay’s husband, had called for forgiveness for her actions, suggesting that she was a loving person. This sentiment reveals the complicated emotions surrounding the tragedy.
Expert witnesses have testified regarding Clancy’s mental state at the time of the killings, with discussions focusing on whether she was in a state of psychosis. Dr. Phillip Resnick, a forensic psychiatrist, indicated that she seemed functional before experiencing a hallucination, while other experts maintained that her actions were calculated, arguing for her criminal responsibility.
Closing arguments in this murder trial may begin shortly, as the jurors are preparing to deliberate soon.
