The final text-message exchange between Lindsay Clancy and her then-husband before their three young children died contained no obvious warning of the horror that prosecutors say was about to unfold.
Instead, the Massachusetts couple discussed takeout, a baby’s short nap and what they wanted for dinner.
The messages were presented to jurors Thursday during Clancy’s murder trial in Plymouth Superior Court. She is accused of killing the couple’s children—Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan—inside their Duxbury home on Jan. 24, 2023.
Follow @allchronologyClancy, now 36, has pleaded not guilty. Her attorneys are seeking a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, arguing that she was experiencing severe postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors contend that her actions were planned.
At 4:53 p.m. on the day of the children’s deaths, Clancy reportedly texted her husband, Patrick, with an ordinary suggestion.
“Any chance you want to do take out from ThreeV,” she wrote, referring to a local restaurant. “I didn’t cook anything. It’s been a long day.”
“Yeah,” Patrick replied.
“Okie doke,” Clancy responded. “Check the menu when you can.”
Patrick later asked what she planned to order and whether Callan had awakened from his nap.
“It was just a short nap,” Clancy told him.
A few minutes later, at 5:07 p.m., she selected a “Mediterranean Power bowl.” Patrick responded one minute later that he would order scallops and pork-belly risotto.
The casual conversation took place shortly before Patrick left to buy medicine for one of their daughters and collect the family’s dinner. When he returned shortly after 6 p.m., he encountered a devastating scene.
Patrick first found Clancy critically injured in the backyard. According to testimony, she had wounded herself before jumping from a second-story bedroom window. The fall left her partially paralyzed.
Inside the home, he discovered Cora and Dawson unresponsive. Callan was still alive but gravely injured. All three children subsequently died.
Prosecutors allege Clancy strangled them while her husband was away. The defense is not disputing that the children died by her actions; the central question for jurors is whether her mental condition made her criminally responsible under Massachusetts law.
State Trooper Timothy Chiappini, who analyzed Clancy’s cellphone, read the final messages aloud in court.
Jurors also heard texts exchanged earlier that day after Clancy took Cora to a medical appointment.
“Her urine looked good so nothing going wrong with her kidneys, phew,” she reportedly wrote to Patrick.
“Oh wow. You’re a good momma,” he replied.
The contrast between those affectionate, mundane messages and the events that followed is likely to become an important part of how both sides present their cases.
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington argues that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis and heard voices directing her actions. The defense maintains that severe mental illness—not a rational desire to harm her children—explains what happened.
Prosecutors have offered a sharply different interpretation. They allege that Clancy intentionally arranged for Patrick to leave the house and planned the killings because she wanted relief from the demands of caring for the children.
Jurors have also been shown internet searches made on devices used by the couple during the weeks before the deaths. Among the phrases presented in court were searches concerning suicide methods and the location of the carotid artery. Another search reportedly asked whether a sociopath could be treated.
The defense and prosecution are expected to dispute what those searches reveal about Clancy’s intentions and state of mind.
A private phone note from November 2022 was also read to the jury. According to testimony, it indicated that Clancy had considered having a fourth child—a detail that may complicate the prosecution’s claim that she simply wanted to escape motherhood.
Jurors were additionally shown surveillance footage of the family visiting a science museum on Jan. 8, 2023, just over two weeks before the children died. The footage showed Clancy carrying Callan against her chest and interacting with Cora and Dawson as they explored the exhibits.
The case has drawn national attention because it sits at the intersection of unimaginable family tragedy, criminal responsibility and the frequently misunderstood dangers of postpartum psychiatric illness.
Postpartum psychosis is a rare but serious medical emergency that can involve hallucinations, delusions, confusion and dramatic changes in behavior. Its existence alone does not determine legal insanity; jurors must evaluate the evidence under the specific standard established by Massachusetts law.
Follow @allchronologyAfter three weeks of testimony, the trial remains unresolved. Jurors were scheduled to return Monday.
Clancy is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Ultimately, the panel must decide whether the ordinary texts reflected deliberate concealment—or whether they came from a severely ill woman whose mental state had become detached from reality.
For Patrick Clancy, however, they remain the final everyday messages exchanged before a routine dinner errand ended in the loss of all three of his children.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental-health crisis or suicidal thoughts in the United States, call or text 988 for confidential, 24-hour support.
