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· collected 2026-08-04 · by Neal Riley, Kristina Rex, Penny Kmitt
Plymouth Superior Court is hearing testimony from doctors who treated Lindsay Clancy and her children on the night of their murder. Clancy's diary excerpts were read in court, showing that she felt overwhelmed and desperate for a mental break before killing her three children. In one entry, she wrote "I feel like I'm drowning every day" due to the pressure of caring for them. The prosecution alleges Clancy made a calculated decision to strangle her 5-year-old, 3-year-old, and 8-month-old on January 24, 2023.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-21,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Lindsay Clancy, the mother from Massachusetts, is on trial for the murder of her three children: Cora (5), Dawson (3), and Callan (8 months). Her defense team argues that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings and was not acting intentionally. However, prosecutors claim that she made a deliberate decision to strangle her children on January 24, 2023, inside their home in Duxbury.
The trial has seen emotional testimony from doctors who treated Clancy and her family on the night of the murders, as well as excerpts from Clancy's diary being read aloud in court. In one entry, she wrote that she was "completely overwhelmed" trying to care for her three children and felt like she was "drowning every day". The defense team has been trying to paint a picture of Clancy as someone who was struggling with her mental health, rather than a calculating killer.
In an attempt to support this narrative, defense attorney Kevin Reddington asked a hospital psychiatrist, Dr. Sejal Shah, if someone experiencing psychosis can still communicate and make plans. Dr. Shah agreed that they could, which Reddington argued meant that Clancy's actions on the night of the murders were not necessarily intentional.
Written for “Lindsay Clancy Trial” on 2026-08-31,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The article presents a generally neutral tone, but slightly sympathetic towards Lindsay Clancy through its framing of her diary entries as a manifestation of her mental health struggles and desperation for help. For example, the article notes that she 'wanted to be well' and felt 'horrified' after the murders, which could be seen as implying that she was not fully in control of her actions.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score +0.35 for article 343 · logged 2026-08-04
The
resumed in Plymouth Superior Court on Monday after a week of emotional testimony in the case of the Duxbury, Massachusetts, mother who admitted to killing her three children.
asserted
who → resume → children
The day started with doctors who treated Clancy and her children on the night of the murders taking the stand, and finished with the jury hearing excerpts from her diary.
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jury → start → diary
Prosecutors allege that she made a calculated decision to strangle 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson and 8-month-old Callan on Jan. 24, 2023.
asserted
she → allege → Jan.
The defense says she was overmedicated and committed the killings during an episode of extreme
.Lindsay Clancy's diary read in court
Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham read aloud from Lindsay Clancy's diary, which police seized with a search warrant.
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police → say → warrant
Clancy wrote that she was obsessed with her infant son's sleep schedule.
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she → write → schedule
"Hearing him cry for one-plus hours and not intervening just about killed me.
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him → hear → me
I even said the words 'I want to die' to Pat while he was crying," Clancy wrote.
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Clancy → say → Pat
Clancy also said she was "completely overwhelmed" trying to take care of her three kids.
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she → say → kids
"I feel like I'm drowning every day," she wrote.
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she → feel → ?
In an entry dated Nov. 18, 2022, Clancy wrote, "It's like I'm so desperate to get a mental break from taking care of everyone that my mind is trying to make something physically wrong with me."
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mind → date → me
On cross-examination, defense attorney Kevin Reddington also read aloud some diary passages for the jury.
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Reddington → read → jury
"I now have horrible insomnia and anxiety which is causing depression," Clancy wrote.
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Clancy → have → depression
"I have no appetite, I don't know what's wrong with me.
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what → have → me
I want help.
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I → want → help
I want to be well."
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I → want → ?
Clancy also wrote that she had "crazy brain fog" and worried about not being able to function when she returned to work, Reddington noted.
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Reddington → write → work
"I feel completely disconnected with my baby.
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I → feel → baby
I feel like I'm going through the motions every day," Clancy wrote.
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Clancy → feel → motions
Clancy also said she felt "horribly guilty" about her marriage with her now ex-husband Patrick.
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she → say → husband
"I want to connect with Pat again," she said.
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she → want → Pat
"I know he needs it, I need it."
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I → know → it
Lindsay Clancy wrote she was "horrified" after murders
Dr. Jhilam Biswas, a forensic psychiatrist at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston, described visiting her for 20 to 30 minutes on Jan. 26, 2023.
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Biswas → write → Jan.
Clancy had just recently arrived at the Boston hospital after being transferred from South Shore Hospital.
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Clancy → arrive → Hospital
Clancy was still intubated, partially paralyzed from jumping out of her second-story bedroom window, and Dr. Biswas gave her paper to answer questions.
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Biswas → intubate → questions
She asked Clancy how her mood was that day.
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mood → ask → Clancy
"She wrote, 'horrified,'" Dr. Biswas testified.
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Biswas → write → ?
"She seemed very anxious."
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She → seem → ?
Dr. Biswas said one of the first questions Clancy asked was whether she had an attorney.
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she → say → attorney
She also wrote down "Is my body broken?" and "Are my legs straight?" and asked Dr. Biswas if she could have visitors, and where her family was.
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family → write → visitors
Psychiatrists evaluated Lindsay Clancy in hospital after murders
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Psychiatrists → evaluate → murders
The 26th witness called by the prosecution was Brigham & Women's Hospital psychiatrist Dr. Sejal Shah, who first met Clancy on Jan. 29, 2023, five days after the murders.
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who → call → murders
Lindsay Clancy told her she wanted to change her healthcare proxy from her ex-husband Patrick Clancy to her parents.
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she → tell → parents
According to Dr. Shah, Clancy said she was initially delirious and experiencing some visual hallucinations in the hospital.
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she → accord → hospital
Dr. Shah said that could have been due to anesthesia and a lack of oxygen.
uncertain
that → say → oxygen
Dr. Shah spoke to Clancy on Feb. 21, 2023, before she was transferred out of the Brigham to a rehabilitation hospital.
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she → speak → hospital
Clancy reported feeling "down" about her current situation.
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Clancy → report → situation
"She said her thoughts about what she had done were not constant throughout the day, correct?" prosecutor Jennifer Sprague asked.
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Sprague → say → day
"Correct," Dr. Shah replied.
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Shah → reply → ?
"So she wasn't thinking about killing her children throughout the day, every day, correct?" Sprague asked.
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Sprague → think → day
"Correct," Dr. Shah said.
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Shah → say → ?
…and 48 more, not listed.
