Nanny says Lindsay Clancy appeared to be a loving mother before killing her 3 children

Senior Digital Editor/Producer, WCVB.com

PLYMOUTH, Mass. —

The jury in the trial for Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of strangling her three children in their home in 2023, was dismissed for the day Wednesday after medical testimony, toxicology evidence and emotional testimony from the Clancy family’s former nanny.

Lindsay Clancy trial Day 7: Key moments

• Toxicology experts testified multiple prescription medications were found in Clancy’s blood, but only one exceeded the typical therapeutic range, and it was not at a level associated with suicide attempts.
• Jurors heard additional DNA evidence involving exercise bands recovered from the Clancy home and samples collected outside the residence.
• The Clancys’ former nanny described Clancy as a loving, attentive mother who left detailed daily instructions for caring for the children.
• Clancy became emotional as jurors watched a home video of baby Callan recorded by the nanny.

Jurors hear about medications, DNA evidence

Wednesday’s testimony first focused on medications in Lindsay Clancy’s system and DNA evidence related to the 2023 events at her Duxbury home.

Clancy sat quietly in the courtroom as her lawyer argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was overmedicated. Prosecutors, however, said she acted intentionally when they allege she strangled her three children before attempting to take her own life.

Jurors heard from a forensic toxicologist who tested a blood sample from Clancy. He said the medications found in her system were not at a toxic level.

“Usually people take handfuls of pills when they’re trying to harm themselves and take their own life. That was not consistent here,” Dr. Justin Brower said.

The defense questioned the toxicologist further.

“In other words, what you’re saying, the numbers alone do not tell the tale of what happened to a particular individual?” the defense asked.

“Correct, they do not tell the entire story,” Brower said.

Jurors also heard from a forensic scientist who previously worked with the Massachusetts State Police. She discussed the DNA found on evidence in the family’s basement, where prosecutors say the children were discovered.

Former nanny takes the stand

The day’s final witness was former nanny Elaine Rossi, who cared for infant Callan Clancy beginning in September 2022 while Lindsay Clancy prepared to return to work.

Rossi testified she communicated with Clancy daily through text messages and a notebook containing detailed instructions about Callan’s feeding, sleep schedule and daily routine. She said she occasionally cared for all three children, took Cora and Dawson to activities when Clancy said she could not drive and frequently recorded videos of Callan to send to Clancy throughout the day.

Jurors watched one of those videos during testimony, showing Callan happily drinking a bottle. Clancy appeared visibly emotional as it played in the courtroom.

Rossi described Clancy as a “wonderful mom” and testified she never believed the children were unsafe. She also said Clancy spoke about struggling with postpartum issues, difficulty sleeping and seeing doctors for treatment. Rossi recalled Clancy had lost weight but never observed behavior that caused concern for the children’s safety.

Testimony adjourned just after noon on Wednesday and is expected to resume Thursday morning.

Clancy agrees to stipulated facts

Day 6 of testimony began with Lindsay Clancy agreeing to a series of stipulated facts, including toxicology evidence and chain-of-custody matters. The judge confirmed she understood that the agreement waived her right to confront certain witnesses and allowed the jury to accept those facts without additional testimony.

A trauma surgeon testified about Clancy’s treatment after she was taken to South Shore Hospital on Jan. 24, 2023. The doctor said Clancy arrived as a Level 1 trauma patient with spinal fractures, low blood pressure and hypothermia before she was stabilized and transferred for more advanced care.

Video below: Clancy speaks to judge for first time during murder trial; Result could shorten case

Investigators and Massachusetts State Police Crime Lab witnesses then described evidence collected from the Duxbury home, the hospital and Clancy’s clothing. Testimony covered prescription bottles, fingerprints, toxicology samples, a knife, exercise bands and suspected bloodstains found in the basement, bedroom, on a nightstand, near a window and on exterior shingles.

Bloodstain analyst Sherri Crook classified several marks as drip, transfer or saturation stains but said some could not be definitively categorized. During cross-examination, the defense emphasized that several stains had not received confirmatory blood testing and suggested the marks near the window could have resulted from someone climbing or hanging outside.

Court adjourned with jurors excused until the next morning.

Journals become evidence

Prosecutors read entries from the notebooks describing Clancy feeling overwhelmed by her son Callan’s sleep schedule. On cross-examination, the defense highlighted other entries in which Clancy wrote about wanting to get well, brain fog, guilt, anxiety and concerns about returning to work.

The journal and other notebooks were introduced to the case by the prosecution during the testimony of Trooper Cory Melo, who was assigned to the Plymouth District Attorney’s Office.

“Completely overwhelmed, I feel like I’m drowning,” Clancy wrote in a sentence read by the prosecution.

On cross-examination, the defense read aloud examples of Clancy expressing stress about sleep training her youngest child, Callan; guilt over using family money while not working; and concern about her relationship with her husband, Patrick.

“I want to be well,” Clancy wrote in one passage read in court.

Physicians, nurses describe Clancy’s injuries

Dr. Sejal Shah testified about working with Lindsay Clancy at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, starting on Jan. 29. Shah said Clancy was initially confused and delirious after spinal surgery, but later denied suicidal or homicidal thoughts and appeared focused on rehabilitation. Clancy also asked for her health care proxy to be changed from her husband to her parents.

The defense questioned Shah about Clancy’s diagnoses and medications prescribed before the killings. Shah explained some medications carry warnings about possible suicidal thoughts.

Nurses Rachelle Amedee and Meghan Collins testified that Clancy arrived at the ICU at Brigham and Women’s Hospital early in the morning on Jan. 25, and was assigned constant supervision. Amedee said Clancy required resuscitation that first night.

Amedee said Clancy, who was intubated, was able to use a whiteboard to communicate starting on Jan. 28. The nurse said Clancy described being confused and unable to feel her lower extremities.

On cross-examination, Amedee confirmed that records indicated Clancy had a known history of postpartum depression.

Earlier Monday, prosecutors called emergency department doctors who described treating the children. One described receiving Cora Clancy at Beth Israel, where she was declared deceased. Others described Callan Clancy’s arrival and treatment at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he was eventually declared brain dead, and life support was removed three days later.

The final physician testified about Lindsay Clancy’s arrival at South Shore Hospital with lacerations on her neck and wrist, and a spine injury.

Background of the Clancy case:

• Lindsay Clancy faces three murder charges in the 2023 deaths of her children, Cora, Dawson and Callan.
• She also jumped from a second-floor window, leaving her partially paralyzed.
• In a civil case, Lindsay Clancy alleges a “catastrophic failure” of multiple medical providers in diagnosing and treating her psychiatric condition.
• Her trial began on July 20. Although her legal team offered to stipulate to the deaths of the children, meaning they entered into a voluntary agreement on factual points, she has pleaded not guilty.
• She is being held at Tewksbury State Hospital.
• The jury is made up of 12 women and six men. They will not know until the presentation of the case is concluded who will deliberate and who will be an alternate.

This case involves issues of mental health. If you or someone you know needs help, you can talk with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or sending a text message to 988, or you can chat online here.

Lindsay Clancy jury visits key locations

The first week of testimony in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial ended after the judge, jury and attorneys visited locations connected to the case, including the Clancy family’s former home in Duxbury.

The jury also retraced the route prosecutors say Lindsay Clancy sent her husband, Patrick Clancy, on the day of the killings, including stops at a CVS and a restaurant in Plymouth.

Day 4: Court adjourns after more emotional testimony, tour of Clancy family home

Expert testimony expected to be crucial

Retired District Court Judge Jim Barretto said the case is expected to center on competing psychiatric experts.

“The defense, of course, is expected to call experts supporting its claim that Lindsay Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis and lacked criminal responsibility. And of course, we’ll hear from prosecution — the prosecution — who’s expected to present experts disputing that conclusion,” retired District Court Judge Jim Barretto said.

The defense is expected to argue that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis and lacked criminal responsibility at the time of the killings.

Prosecutors are expected to present experts who dispute that conclusion.

Video below: Reporter Sera Congi describes court during 911 call

Prosecutors must prove criminal responsibility

The prosecution has the burden of proving Clancy was legally sane when the children were killed.

To secure a conviction, prosecutors must prove the killings were committed with premeditation or with extreme atrocity or cruelty.

Opening statements delivered

The state laid out for the jury of 12 women and six men the alleged events that led up to the children’s deaths on Jan. 24, 2023, and warned the jurors they would hear graphic testimony as she urged the group to use their common sense and life experiences as they listen to the case.

Video below: Prosecution’s opening statement

Plymouth County Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham started by telling the jury the children were strangled “meticulously.”

“One by one, she wrapped exercise bands around each one of the kids’ necks and pulled until their little bodies were limp and lifeless,” Buckingham said.

The state argued Lindsay Clancy understood her actions and made a deliberate choice.

“She heard a voice, a male voice, a voice that she had never heard before, a voice that she had never heard again. That voice told her it was her last chance; she had to kill her kids so she could kill herself. She immediately took action when she heard the voice with no direction or details from this so-called voice, and she killed the children,” Buckingham said.

Video below: Defense’s opening statement

Lindsay Clancy’s defense team plans to use the insanity defense, arguing that she suffered from postpartum psychosis and was overmedicated at the time of the alleged crimes.

In his opening statement, Reddington said his client knows she killed her children but questioned what was going on in Lindsay Clancy’s mind.

“After the second child she had postpartum … You will hear evidence that was one of the issues that was important because it can lead to (being) bipolar. One of the things you don’t do if someone is bipolar, you don’t put them on an antidepressant, on Zoloft. It messes with your brain, and it was done in this case,” Reddington said.

Reddington showed the jury graphic photos of Lindsay Clancy in the hospital after she jumped out of her bedroom window in an effort to head off any move by the prosecution to make the attempted suicide appear to be fake.