Yesterday, July 23, marked the end of week one of the MA v. Lindsay Clancy trial. Not much happened this week; however, there’s enough to sum up.

Case Overview

On January 24, 2023, Lindsay Clancy strangled her three young children – Cora (5), Dawson (3), and Callan (8 months) – with exercise bands at her Duxbury, Massachusetts home while her husband, Patrick, was out running errands. After committing the murders, she attempted suicide by jumping out of a second-story window, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Despite seeming straightforward on the surface, there is much debate surrounding the reason why Lindsay killed her three children.

According to the prosecution, Lindsay planned the murders of her children and was of sound mind while doing so. On October 25, 2022, she wrote a journal entry that read, “I think I sort of resent my other children because they prevent me from treating Cal like my first baby.” In court proceedings, they’ve alleged that, in the days leading up to January 24, Lindsay actually began experiencing mental clarity rather than deterioration. She also reportedly searched for ways to kill and whether a sociopath can be treated.

According to her defense, Lindsay murdered her children because of a mix of the side effects caused by overmedication and postpartum psychosis. She reported experiencing anxiety, depression, and insomnia following Callan’s birth in May 2022, resulting in her seeking treatment. From September 2022 to January 24, 2023, Lindsay had been either prescribed or administered a total of 13 medications. With every one, her mental health deteriorated. In December 2022, she was allegedly experiencing auditory hallucinations, suicidal ideation, and thoughts of harming her children. Lindsay had allegedly taken herself to the hospital multiple times and was actually told by a doctor that her symptoms were being caused by overmedication. On January 24, she was in the process of tapering off her prescriptions, and, on this same day, according to Lindsay, she heard a voice encouraging her to kill her children before she ultimately did.

Admittedly, I find myself bouncing between the two viewpoints and am waiting to hear what comes out at trial. Regardless, a jury of 12, picked by both the prosecution and the defense, will decide whether Lindsay Clancy is criminally responsible and, by extension, her fate.

Jury Selection & What’s Next

Jury selection began on Monday, July 20, in Plymouth Superior Court. Due to the sensitivities of this case, the court was seeking to fill 18 jury seats – 12 being deliberating jurors and the other six being alternates.

On Monday, five jurors were seated, but one of these jurors would be excused the following day. On Tuesday, seven jurors were seated, and another six were seated on Wednesday. Despite entering Thursday needing to fill only one seat, the court ended up filling three; two more jurors were excused. According to the New York Post, at least one of the three excused jurors asked to be dismissed after being seated because they didn’t think they could emotionally handle being a juror in this case. According to Boston reporter Kristina Rex, many women told the judge that they could not sit on the jury because they are mothers and didn’t think they could handle hearing the evidence. Kristina further stated that she saw a woman crying as she left the courtroom after being excused on Monday.

At Wednesday’s closing, the initial schedule was to find the remaining juror on Thursday, use the remaining time on Thursday to discuss the remaining motions, and then deliver opening statements on Friday. Since jury selection took longer to finish than expected, the judge heard arguments on the outstanding motions and announced that his decisions would be issued today. Opening statements have been pushed to Monday, with testimony subsequently following. The trial is expected to last between four and eight weeks.