
Massachusetts' latest high-profile murder trial got underway Monday. Lindsay Clancy is accused of killing her three young children at her Duxbury home in 2023, and in court, the prosecution and her defense made their case with opening statements. Then the first witness was called: her ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, who gave at-times emotional testimony about their kids. Get a recap on court proceedings and analysis on the legal strategy as we begin a new season of "Commonwealth Confidential."
Loading summary
Ryan Reynolds
Hi, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Are you looking for a beach read this summer? May I suggest your big wireless build? It's got suspense, mystery, a slightly flat emotional arc, and a shocking twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time. Fortunately, though, Mint's story is better. Every plan, $15 a month, even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending, zero tears. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Save upfront payment
Mint Mobile Announcer
of $45 for three months, $90 for six months or $180 for a 12 month plan. Required $15 per month equivalent taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy. See Terms
Narrator
Tonight, a mother on trial accused of killing her own children.
J.C. Monahan
This is not a public debate about women's mental health. This case is about this defendant, Lindsey Clancy.
Michael Coyne
This is a woman that did not get the medication, did not get the medical treatment that she so deserved.
Narrator
Clancy's ex husband, the first witness called to the stand.
Michael Coyne
I would ask her in the morning how she's feeling, how she slept every day.
Narrator
Tonight we break down opening statements and the possible strategy of calling Patrick Clancy first. Commonwealth Confidential the Lindsey Clancy trial starts right now.
J.C. Monahan
Still living her nightmare. That's what defense attorney Kevin Reddington said today about his client Lindsey Clancy. Good evening everyone. I'm J.C. monahan.
Glenn Jones
And I'm Glenn Jones. She killed her three children while her now ex husband was out grabbing the takeout she ordered. The prosecution says it was all a calculated plan. But the defense says despite ongoing medical care, her condition deteriorated to psychosis.
J.C. Monahan
Our Mary Marcos was in court for the first day of trial. She joins us live outside Plymouth Superior Court with more on today's opening statements. Mary
Mint Mobile Announcer
J.C. glenn. Today we learned the Clancy's looked like any other family before this tragedy. And I want to warn you that we saw some of the aftermath today and it's graphic,
Michael Coyne
sadly. A gift saying he cuz kids.
Mint Mobile Announcer
This is the knife prosecutors say Lindsey Clancy used moments after strangling her three
Michael Coyne
children and threw herself out the window, striking her head on the ground.
Mint Mobile Announcer
Her ex husband Patrick Clancy was the first witness to take the stand.
Michael Coyne
Cora's into princesses.
Mint Mobile Announcer
Jurors saw photos and videos leading up to when 5 year old Cora, 3 year old Dawson and 8 month old Callan died. A clip from Cora's birthday and a day at the Cape Codder water park
Michael Coyne
that Cora and then Lindsay that go
J.C. Monahan
down the slide together.
Mint Mobile Announcer
Yeah, but prosecutors say those images don't tell the whole story. They argue Lindsay Clancy carefully planned the murders.
J.C. Monahan
She knew exactly what she was doing. She drew her husband out of the house, their father, so that she had the opportunity and the time to carry out these murders.
Mint Mobile Announcer
Attorney Kevin Reddington countered that Lindsay was dealing with severe postpartum psychosis, showing a timeline of when she desperately tried to get help. She's now paralyzed from the waist down.
Michael Coyne
She's living her own hell. She knows what happened with those kids.
Mint Mobile Announcer
Jurors also heard texts from January 24, 2023, the day the children died. Patrick testified Lindsay took Cora to the doct and built a snowman with the kids while he worked from home.
Michael Coyne
No, she was. She was having one of her best days.
Mint Mobile Announcer
Hours later, she texted him about dinner if.
Michael Coyne
Do you want to get takeout? I haven't planned anything.
Mint Mobile Announcer
That's when the judge adjourned for the day, right before Patrick could testify to the moment he came home. Ability court is in recess until 9am Wednesday morning. That is when the jury will hear from Patrick Clancy. What happened next? Live in plymouth, Mary Marcos, NBC10 Boston.
J.C. Monahan
All right, Mary, thank you. Joining us tonight is NBC10 chief legal analyst, Michael Coyne, and of course, our courtroom insider, Sue o'. Connell. So, as you just heard Mary talk about, there was only one witness that took the stand today after opening statements. They have a list of about 200 potential witnesses, and they chose Patrick Clancy, her husband at the time, now ex husband, to go first. Let's start with Michael. What do you think of that decision?
Michael Coyne
It's an interesting choice. I don't think it's the way most people would have started the trial. When the government's presenting its case, you would oftentimes like to build a little momentum to provide the information and set the table to put him on first. It's a very dramatic witness, a very dramatic testimony. It was painful to watch. But to allow a lot of that evidence to come in to support her, and that's what a lot of it did today, is talk about her medical attempts to try and get treatment, her medicine. She was under the loving nature she had for the kids and caring for them. I don't think that that's the way most people would have tried this case to begin with. He's going to be a witness at some point to. To lead off with. With him as a witness, I think might have been a mistake.
Glenn Jones
Sue, before we get to you, let me just play this clip. Because today, the commonwealth was precise, focusing specifically on drugs, how many drugs, detailed nap schedules, while Patrick Clancy was focused on big picture and context. Let's listen to this back and forth about meds.
J.C. Monahan
30 pills.
Sue O'Connell
Okay?
Michael Coyne
I mean, I don't have those exactly numbers on how many she took, but there was. There were adjustments made on the dosage of the Ativan, so that aligns with.
Mint Mobile Announcer
But the question was, were you aware that only six pills were taken out of this prescription?
Michael Coyne
No, but I think the context is important.
Glenn Jones
I think the context is important. So it read to me like Patrick and the Commonwealth were at times adversarial. How did it read in the room?
Sue O'Connell
Well, exactly like that. The issue here is if anyone has been with someone or taken mental health meds, they try to.
Ryan Reynolds
You.
Sue O'Connell
You go up a certain level. You step up. You don't just go right to the level. Sometimes the doctors write you several prescriptions because that's how the insurance company will cover it. So we don't know. I don't know. That might have been the only. Only Ativan bottle that she had from a prescription, or maybe she had other prescriptions. So he wanted to add the context. I believe, and I'm projecting here a little bit from my own experience that, you know, maybe just three pills were taken from one bottle, but she might have had another prescription at another dosage of the other bottles, and that he might have felt that that was not enough information. It was a breadcrumb that the prosecution left for the jury, which I understand, but it is far from the full picture of the medical. The prescriptions that she was written now.
J.C. Monahan
And he's not a doctor. He's the husband. So we're really. We're just getting into this. Michael, with a great point of whether or not that made sense to make him the first witness. He. You could see him. He was very stoic for much of it, but clearly holding back emotion. And it came out when he hadwas asked to describe his three children, that Cora was into princesses, that Dawson was a big fan of Paw Patrol. I mean, if that doesn't break your heart, is he' sand then making him look at the photos of these happy times that they had together? How does a lawyer handle getting that information across without looking like you're exploiting this man's pain or what happened?
Michael Coyne
Well, I'm not sure they were successful at that. And I think his point about it relates to context. You need to put it in context. Might have been a breadcrumb of a different sort. Telling the jury. She's trying to play you here. She's not giving you the full story as to what the woman I married and the woman that was the mother of these three kids. And I think that will come back to haunt the government at a later point.
Sue O'Connell
Yeah. I mean, the story that the jury first hear. He's the first witness.
Glenn Jones
Right.
Sue O'Connell
And there's no. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm sorry that you have to go through this. I'm sorry that you're here. There's obviously boundaries that the lawyers want to do. You're not always offering condolences, but I think in this case, you could have. And we came back from lunch, and the first thing we do is we dive right into the photos of the children, which is the most heartbreaking part of it. So I think that we all felt, at least in the press pool, when there were 40 observers there as well, 40 regular folks. It just felt very jarring, and that he was being taken advantage of. He is a victim in this case. Right. And I don't think that they. That the prosecution treated him as a victim.
Glenn Jones
To Sue's point there, Michael, just a legal question for you. Could Patrick Clancy, if he chose, invoke his Fifth amendment right, which says, I don't want to testify against my spouse in a criminal trial? I know that they are split now, but does that constitutional protection work in this situation?
Michael Coyne
No, other than for communications, private confidential communications they had among themselves, that would still be protected. But the divorce would terminate the ability not to testify against your spouse, even
Glenn Jones
though they were married at the time of the incident.
Michael Coyne
Yeah. It's. Marriage must be at trial, and it must be a criminal case. The marriage is no longer in existence.
Courtroom Insider / Additional Narrator
Okay.
Glenn Jones
The defense will get a chance to cross examine Clancy when the trial resumes Wednesday. But as far as their opening statements, they took aim heavily at all the medications Lindsey was prescribed. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington Showcased the list. 13 total meds in all. The prosecution said in their openings that this is not about how the medical industry treats women. But doesn't the jury have to agree that postpartum issues is a major. As a major issue that needs attention in order for them to buy what the defense wants them to believe?
Michael Coyne
I think they do, and I think he tried to sell that in the opening, and I think he did effectively put into the record, put into the jury's mind that the medical profession failed. Lindsey Clancy here, and the evidence will support that. You know, even with the government's first witness, we heard a lot about all the medicines and all the attempts to get treatment and no one being able to sort it out. Even a woman who was a delivery room nurse. I mean, she brought children into this world. And I think they've made that case pretty clear already in the opening. And they have yet to call a witness because of who the government called and the evidence that came in through the witness already. And we haven't even seen her testify under attorney Reddington's question.
Sue O'Connell
You know, the prosecution did a very nuts and bolts efficient right to the fact that opening, which was very fine and good. But then Kevin Reddington gets up and starts arguing the case, and he's bringing photos in, which are not exhibits, are not evidence, just kind of show and tell. And I learned things because I haven't been following the case. I'm acting like a juror. So the story that the defense wanted to tell, he got to tell with pictures.
Michael Coyne
And he will introduce those photographs at some point, but he. He was allowed to use them during the opening as well, which I agree with Sue. I thought it was incredibly effective at giving us facts that many of us didn't know.
Glenn Jones
All right, Michael and Sue, stay right there. Don't go anywhere. We've got much more to talk about after the break, including this.
J.C. Monahan
Well, why bring the. Bring this case to trial? Was delayed more than once. And before we go to break, we would like to remember the young victims in this case, Cora Dawson and Callan Clancy. They will not be forgotten. Stay with us. Commonwealth Confidential will be right back after this.
Ryan Reynolds
Hi, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Are you looking for a beach read this summer? May I suggest your big wireless bill? It's got suspense, mystery, a slightly flat emotional arc, and a shocking twist where you realize you've been overpaying the entire time. Fortunately, though, Mint's story is better. Every plan, $15 a month, even unlimited. That's it. Happy ending, zero tears. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Save upfront payment
Mint Mobile Announcer
of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for a 12 month plan. Required $15 per month, equivalent taxes and fees. Extra initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes. Me slow when network is busy. See terms.
J.C. Monahan
The murder of Lindsey and Patrick Clancy's three children made national headlines in January of 2023. More than three years later, the case has finally gone to trial.
Glenn Jones
So tonight, let's catch you up to speed on what's transpired since this tragedy occurred.
Courtroom Insider / Additional Narrator
Soon after the murders, a GoFundMe was created to support Clancy's husband, Patrick. More than a million dollars was raised. And on January 28, Patrick also issued a public message expressing forgiveness for his Wife. He wrote, quote, I want to ask all of you that you find it deep within yourselves to forgive Lindsay as I have. All I wish for her now is that she can somehow find peace. Weeks later, on February 7th, Lindsay Clancy was arraigned from her bed at a Boston Hospital. On September 15, a grand jury indicted her, handing down three counts each of murder and strangulation. On October 26, she was arraigned again, this time from Tewkesbury Hospital, where she continues to be treated. Fast forward a year later to October 2024. Patrick speaks with the New Yorker for an article titled A Husband in the Aftermath of His Wife's Unfathomable Act. During that interview, he defends his wife's saying, quote, I wasn't married to a monster. I was married to someone who got sick. In December of 2024, defense attorney Kevin Reddington filed a notice to pursue a lack of criminal responsibility defense, which is more commonly known as not guilty by reason of insanity. Nearly a year later, in November 2025, Reddington lost his bid to move the trial out of Plymouth county, arguing extensive media coverage had made it impossible to seat an impartial jury. However, the judge did agree to his request to delay the yet again, this time to the summer of 2026. As the trial approached, Redington and Clancy would be willing to admit to killing her kids, but that's only if the trial was split into two phases. One to determine whether she committed the murders and the second to determine whether she is criminally responsible. But in April of this year, the judge denied that request. Finally, in May, prosecutors and the defense revealed more than 200 witnesses could be called in what could be a weeks long trial.
J.C. Monahan
Okay, we are back now with NBC10 chief legal analyst Michael Coyne and courtroom insider Sue O'. Connell. Sue, I'm going to go to you because you were in the courtroom today. As we've been discussing right out of the gate, we have this emotional testimony. I also, the camera went in on Lindsay right as Patrick was coming in. We don't know when the last time was that the two of them have seen each other. Can you describe a little bit about what it was like to be in that room?
Sue O'Connell
It's just such a very sad, oppressive, somber experience. And it's the. Just the overwhelming presence of these children doesn't go away. You know, some cases, the victim sometimes goes to the background because of what's happening in the courtroom. But so far, and I don't think it's going to happen, obviously, this is a horrific tragedy. You know they are present. And I said, I posted today that if you just showed me a video of the jurors today and didn't tell me what was going on, I would say they are listening to some horrific testimony. And this is a very serious case. So the somber feeling there, like I said, about 40 folks, public that have come in to watch it, there have been 40 press people. And it really is just a very sad, oppressive experience. And very, very somber and solemn.
Glenn Jones
Michael, let's talk a little bit more about the defendant, because she's there at the defense table. She wiped away tears at one point during the first day of this trial. Kevin Reddington came over to comfort her after he gave his opening statements. What impact is she likely to have, even though she's probably not going to speak?
Michael Coyne
I think it will be significant. I mean, how a defendant, how the government witnesses present themselves in the courtroom. Jurors take a look. They try to be careful. They try to make sure that what they're doing at the end of the day is right. And a lot of times what you want is the jury to empathize with the defendant. This is going to be a very difficult one to do that. But they want to. They want the jurors to see her as their sister, their cousin, someone that they can associate with. And she presents such a sad figure. So did. So did he, by the way. I mean, their lives have been destroyed regardless of what happens at this trial. And I think the jury will not only see that and does see that in her, but feel it. And that may mean that they are more receptive to a not guilty by reason of mental disease.
Sue O'Connell
And remember, she's in some of these photos, too. I can see who she was, and now they see who she is, and it is very not there. Very stoic, very quiet, and very sad. So from here to. There is a comparison that they're also making.
Glenn Jones
We're still so early on in the trial, and I think you've mentioned already there have been some reactions from jurors. Is that mainly to what they are hearing from Patrick Clancy, or is it actually the site of Lindsey Clancy there?
Sue O'Connell
I think. I think it's. Again, it just is what it is.
Glenn Jones
This is a horrific, heavy weight in the room.
Sue O'Connell
Terrible. And just the photo of the children coming up, you know, there were jurors wiping tears away. Again, this doesn't mean they think she's guilty or they think she's not guilty. She's admitted to killing them. And this is a horrific situation. And I think that they're all feeling it.
J.C. Monahan
We're just getting started. I mean, we haven't gotten to really the gruesomeness which will really kick off on Wednesday when they have to get into Patrick finding her first, not knowing what had happened to the kids inside the house. I don't know what that's going to be like. I know they said the autopsy photos and 911 call will not be released. In other words, it will happen in court, but we won't see or hear it. But the jurors do. And sue, you're going to have to.
Sue O'Connell
Yeah, yeah. I mean I, you know, from my experience at the John o' Keefe trial, just looking at some of the autopsy photos, you know, some of the jurors had a hard time with that, obviously. And this is going to be even, even worse. You know, so focusing on, you know, the loss of these two, these three children and you know, all the families that have been devastated. You know, her parents are there in the room, the grandparents, his parents are involved in this, the community at large. And again, you look at this family and they look like a family you might know. I mean that's also part of it. So that is just a horrific change here. So it's really going to be a lot for everybody in there.
J.C. Monahan
Michael and sue, as always, thank you so much. Thank you for going along this ride with us. We appreciate it. A reminder, by the way, before we go, if you are pregnant or you're a new mom or you are in crisis, you the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides free confidential support 24. 7 in English and Spanish, call or text. The hotline 1-833-852-6262.
Glenn Jones
Also there is a suicide and crisis lifeline. Here's the number on your screen, 988. If you're looking for help or 988lifeline.org and be sure to stay with us for continuing coverage of the Lindsey Clancy trial. Every night at six seven we'll have a recap of the case and you can also submit questions to commonwealth.confidentialbcuni.com we'll try to answer as many questions as we can here every night.
Michael Coyne
Yeah.
Narrator
Maxing is so maxing right now, bro. Get ready for spicy chicken maxing because Carl's Jr. Is saving you big with a 5.99 maxed out double stack, double stack double stacked spicy chicken sandwich. Seriously, just 5.99 double stack spicy chicken. This is unreal value in the bromosphere. The new spicy chicken Max wallet friendly Max tasty only at Carl's Jr available for limited time at participating restaurants. Taxon included. Not valid for use within a combo or a combination with any other offered discount.
Podcast: The Lindsay Clancy Trial: Commonwealth Confidential
Host: NBC10 Boston
Air Date: July 27, 2026
Episode: Lindsay Clancy trial begins: Analysis on openings, ex-husband's testimony
The episode gives an in-depth look at the opening day of the Lindsay Clancy trial. Clancy, a Duxbury mother, is accused of killing her three children. NBC10 Boston’s J.C. Monahan and Glenn Jones, alongside legal analyst Michael Coyne and courtroom insider Sue O’Connell, break down the legal strategies, the emotional testimony of Clancy’s ex-husband Patrick, and the significance of the evidence so far. The episode blends detailed legal analysis with courtroom observations, painting a vivid picture of a case rooted in tragedy, mental health complexities, and community grief.
"This is not a public debate about women's mental health. This case is about this defendant, Lindsay Clancy."
— J.C. Monahan, 00:36
"It's just such a very sad, oppressive, somber experience... the overwhelming presence of these children doesn't go away."
— Sue O’Connell, 14:47
"Cora was into princesses... Dawson was a big fan of Paw Patrol."
— Michael Coyne referencing Patrick Clancy’s testimony, 06:43
"He is a victim in this case. Right. And I don't think that the prosecution treated him as a victim."
— Sue O’Connell, 07:47
"So he wanted to add the context... it was a breadcrumb that the prosecution left for the jury, which I understand, but it is far from the full picture..."
— Sue O’Connell, 06:00
"She presents such a sad figure... their lives have been destroyed regardless of what happens at this trial."
— Michael Coyne, 15:57
On the prosecution’s approach:
"She knew exactly what she was doing. She drew her husband out of the house, their father, so that she had the opportunity and the time to carry out these murders."
— J.C. Monahan (03:04)
On Patrick Clancy’s role as first witness:
"It's an interesting choice. I don't think it's the way most people would have started the trial... I think might have been a mistake."
— Michael Coyne (04:15)
On the emotional turmoil in court:
"If that doesn't break your heart, is he’s sand then making him look at the photos of these happy times that they had together?"
— J.C. Monahan (06:43)
On defense strategy and public expectations:
"I wasn't married to a monster. I was married to someone who got sick."
— Patrick Clancy, quoted from The New Yorker article, 13:07
On Lindsay Clancy's condition:
"She's living her own hell. She knows what happened with those kids."
— Michael Coyne (03:14)
This episode sets the tone for a deeply emotional and legally complex trial. Analysts suggest both prosecution and defense have staked out clear narratives: one of methodical malice versus one of mental illness-induced tragedy. The emotional testimony of Patrick Clancy and the sobering presence of Lindsay Clancy loom large. The hosts underscore that, whatever the verdict, the human tragedy at the heart of the case—the loss of three young children—remains unforgettably palpable for everyone present.
If you or someone you know is struggling with postpartum mental health or suicidal thoughts, resources are available: