EP. 260 - MASSACHUSETTS: THE LINDSAY CLANCY CASE PT. 2: THAT WINTER NIGHT

Murder In America

This episode provides a minute-by/minute reconstruction of the tragic events occurring on January 24, 2023, in Duxbury, Massachusetts. It fo

Key takeaways

• Lindsay Clancy had been prescribed 13 different medications in the four months preceding the incident to treat postpartum depression and anxiety.
• The three children—Cora, Dawson, and Callan—were found strangled with various colored exercise bands in the basement.
• Patrick Clancy discovered Lindsay lying in the snow outside a second-story window with significant injuries to her wrists and neck.
• Medical responders noted that Lindsay suffered from severe hypothermia and spinal fractures including C1 and C4.
• Investigators found evidence suggesting a potential overdose, including a coffee mug containing a white substance near a butcher knife.

Main topics

• Timeline of January 24th
• Postpartum mental health struggles
• Discovery of the crime scene

Notable quotes

She killed the fucking kids.

Conclusion

The episode serves as a harrowing chronicle of a family tragedy, highl

Transcript preview

Speaker 1 (0:17) This Speaker 2 (0:18) podcast is not for everyone. You have been warned. Speaker 1 (0:22) In part one of this story, we talked about the life of Lindsay Musgrove Clancy, a woman from Connecticut who always knew she wanted to work in healthcare. After college, Lindsay got married to Patrick Clancy and began a career as a labor and delivery nurse in Boston, Massachusetts. Her patients and her coworkers said that she was the perfect person for the job. Lindsay was kind and compassionate. She loved working with mothers and their babies. And soon enough, Lindsay became a mom herself. Over the years, she had three beautiful children, Cora, Dawson, and Callan. But after Callan's birth, Lindsay experienced something many mothers go through, postpartum depression and anxiety. Lindsay knew something was wrong, so she sought out psychiatric help. In the fall of 2022, after seeing a psychiatrist, she started taking antidepressants, but the medication wasn't working. Desperate for help, she continued seeing her doctor. She even changed her medication time and time again, hoping that something would work. But nothing ever did. And with each month, her mental health continued to spiral. Towards the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023, Lindsay had been prescribed a total of 13 medications. She journaled and read books about postpartum depression. She wrote in private mom forums on social media. She called two different suicide hotlines. She tried out a partial hospitalization program, and she even admitted herself into a psychiatric hospital. But in the end, nothing worked. In part one of this story, we talked about everything leading up to January 24th, 2023. And today's episode will be about that fateful day and everything leading up to Lindsay's trial. Then in part three, we will talk about the trial itself and all of the media surrounding this story. But before we get into everything, I want to add an extra disclaimer. In this episode, we will be discussing topics of suicide, postpartum depression and anxiety, postpartum psychosis, and the murder of three children who are the victims in this story. I also want to emphasize that I am not a doctor, and although I have done a ton of research on postpartum and my undergrad studies, I am not an expert. And as always, please consult your doctor about all health-related topics discussed in this episode. The last thing I want to mention is that information continues to come out about this case every day. And while we have tried our best to be as factual as possible, there's always a possibility that new information can come out, changing the story. So our main focus here is to tell you the facts, using information that has come out during Lindsay's trial. And we are going to try our best to be as unbiased as we can, so that you can form your own opinions. But with that being said, this is the story of Lindsay Clancy. I'm Courtney Brown. And Speaker 2 (3:13) I'm Colin Brown. And Speaker 1 (3:14) you're listening to Murder in America. Speaker 1 (4:14) Early morning hours of January 24th, 2023, Lindsay Clancy couldn't fall asleep. She had been tossing and turning all night long, an ongoing side effect from her medication. Lindsay's psychiatrist, Dr. Jennifer Tufts, had just increased her dosage on the new antidepressant she was taking, amitriptyline. It was the 13th medication she had been prescribed in the last four months. But soon enough, the morning light began to shine through Lindsay's bedroom window. By the end of that day, that window would hold an entirely different purpose. But for now, the light shining through meant it was time to get up and start her day. Just like she had done for the past few months, Lindsay got up, got dressed, and made breakfast for her children, five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan. After breakfast, Lindsay got Cora dressed for her doctor's appointment. Cora had been having some stomach problems. There was also concern she might have a UTI. Cora's preschool teacher said that she hadn't been feeling well the day before. So at 8 a.m., Lindsay and Cora arrived at her pediatrician's office. As she and Cora waited in one of the rooms, Patrick sent her a text message. It was a picture of Dawson with his arms in the air. He was so excited because he addressed himself for the very first time. Lindsay liked the photo with the heart emoji. She then sent a picture of Cora sitting on the examination table. Patrick responded, Speaker 2 (5:40) Cutie. Speaker 1 (5:41) Lindsay loved her children. There's no denying that. It was exactly why she was sitting at the doctor's office with Cora that morning. The Clancy children had been to the doctor a lot in the past couple months. As Lindsay's mental health worsened, she had become overly paranoid about her children's health. According to Patrick, when Cora had a stomach ache, Lindsay worried that it was a problem with her liver. Symptoms of a UTI made her think there was something wrong with Cora's kidneys. A small vein on Cora's nose had Lindsay believing that she had a gene mutation. So if any of her children weren't feeling well, Lindsay was quick to get it checked. But Patrick would later say that he wasn't concerned about Cora's stomach issues, and he hoped that after speaking with Cora's pediatrician, it would, quote, bring Lindsay back to reality. Speaker 2 (6:28) The Clancy's had been seeing their pediatrician, Dr. Lindsay Roschert, for the last four years. And through her time knowing the family, Dr. Roschert believed that Lindsay was a great mom. On that morning, as Lindsay sat across from her telling her Cora's symptoms, nothing seemed amiss. Dr. Roschert suggested that Cora might be constipated. So she recommended Miralax, a stool softener. She told Lindsay that if Cora still wasn't better, she should schedule another appointment in two weeks. During this appointment, they also tested Cora's urine. Luckily, everything looked fine. Speaker 1 (7:00) Around this time, Patrick sent Lindsay another text message. Speaker 2 (7:03) How's it going? Speaker 1 (7:05) Good. Her urine looked good, so nothing's wrong with her kidneys. Phew. Speaker 2 (7:09) Good. Speaker 1 (7:10) After Cora's doctor's appointment, they made their way back home to 47 Summer Street in Duxbury, Massachusetts. It was a cold winter morning. Heavy snow had fallen the night before. Lindsay pulled her black Kia Sorento into the driveway. Then, once inside, she and Cora removed their winter clothing. Patrick had a busy workday ahead, so he went down to the basement to work, while Lindsay took over watching the three children. Now Cora and Dawson didn't have preschool on Tuesdays, so Lindsay did her best to fill the day with fun activities. That morning, the kids made art projects. Lindsay made them lunch. Then later that afternoon, Lindsay even took the children to the backyard to build a snowman. When they were finished, she took a picture of Cora and Dawson standing next to the snowman and she sent it to her mom, Paula. Paula later texted her back saying, that's a big roll of snow. I was wondering if you got enough for the kids to play. And it's a pretty nice day to give them something to do on a day without school. Get the hot chocolate ready. Speaker 2 (8:13) Lindsay also sent the picture of Cora and Dawson to Patrick. Moments later, he responded, Oh wow, you're a good mama. Speaker 1 (8:20) The image of that day was about as picturesque as it can get. The Clancy's were a respected family. Lindsay, a labor and delivery nurse. Patrick worked for Microsoft. They lived in a nice home. They had three beautiful children. Children who were running around in the backyard, laughing and playing in the snow. Patrick Clancy later said that throughout the day, he would go upstairs from time to time and everything seemed completely fine. The kids were having fun and Lindsay seemed to be happy. Speaker 4 (8:49) No, she's having one of her best days. Speaker 1 (8:52) But sadly, everything was about to change. Now this next part is where things are being heavily debated online. So we will tell you what happened next, based on the evidence later uncovered. Speaker 2 (9:05) At 4.02pm, Lindsay grabbed her phone and looked up Miralax, the stool softener that Cora's pediatrician recommended. She looked up if there was a kid's version. And there was. It's called Pedialax. The next thing we see on Lindsay's phone is a restaurant. She looked up a place called 3V, and at 4.13pm, she put the restaurant into her Google Maps to see how far away it was from their home. It was 5.8 miles. Now, from here, about 30 minutes pass with no phone activity. Then at 4.43pm, she looks up 3V's menu. Speaker 1 (9:38) Next, at 4.48pm. Lindsay called their local CVS to ask if they carried Pedialax, and the employee, manager Angela Krause, confirmed that they did carry it. She said it would be found on aisle 13 and 20. So with the confirmation that they had the medicine Cora needed, Lindsay hung up. Angela Krause would later say that Lindsay sounded completely normal. Nothing seemed amiss. Speaker 2 (10:03) Now, from here at 4.53 p.m., Lindsay sent a text to Patrick, who was still working down in the basement. Speaker 1 (10:10) Any chance you want to do takeout from 3B, I didn't cook anything. It's been a long day. Speaker 2 (10:16) Patrick could later say that this was an unusual request. They usually got takeout from Chestnut Street Grill, a restaurant that was only 2.8 miles from their home. They had eaten at 3B before, but it was a further drive, about 5.8 miles away. But nonetheless, Patrick agreed on picking up takeout from 3B. Lindsay responded, Okie dokie. Check the menu when you can. Soon after, Patrick texted Lindsay his order. Then at 5.10pm, Lindsay called the 3V restaurant and placed a takeout order. She got a Mediterranean bowl without protein for her and the scallop and pork belly risotto for Patrick. She also told them that Patrick would be picking up the order. Once again, the hostess at the restaurant said that Lindsay sounded completely normal. Speaker 1 (11:00) Now at this point, Patrick was finishing up work. So once he came up the basement stairs, Lindsay asked him, could you pick up Cora's medicine from CVS while you're out? Patrick agreed. He would later say that before leaving, he grabbed Callan and swung him between his legs. He kissed Cora on the forehead and then waved goodbye to Dawson, who was sitting on the couch eating chicken nuggets and green beans. Patrick then put on his coat and yelled out to his family, I'll be right back. Now, later on, Patrick would be asked a very important question. If your wife told you she had thoughts of harming your children, why would you leave her alone with them? Patrick would later say that he had no reason to fear leaving the children with Lindsay. She seemed to be having a good day. In the weeks leading up to January 24th, he had already gone out several times while Lindsay stayed home with the kids. She had been interacting with them, sending photos, and appearing more like herself. He said that nothing that afternoon suggested anything was wrong. Patrick later told the New Yorker, quote, So what do you do? Somebody's having a great day. Should I call the hotline? End quote. Now at 5.15 p.m., Lindsay texted him a picture of the pedialax he was supposed to pick up from CVS. Patrick also claims that he left the house at 5.15 p.m. But footage from inside the CVS shows Patrick walking through the doors at 5.32 p.m., 17 minutes after he said he left his house. Now, the CVS is just a three-minute drive from their home, and it's unclear why there are 14 minutes unaccounted for. But before Patrick Clancy is even seen walking into the CVS, we want to discuss some activity going on at the Clancy home. At 5.23 p.m., Lindsay's Apple Watch that she always wore. is shut off. However, it's unclear whether it was manually turned off or if it died. At 5.24 p.m., one minute after Lindsay's Apple Watch is shut off, Patrick Clancy sends a work email. Later at trial, attorney Kevin Reddington asks Patrick if the email was sent from his Surface Pro, which is the laptop he worked from in the basement of their home. Speaker 5 (13:09) Does it indicate the date and the time? Very tough. Who sent that? It does, Speaker 4 (13:18) yep. Speaker 5 (13:19) It's Speaker 4 (13:21) January 24th at 524. Speaker 4 (13:29) I don't know, actually. It could have been sent from my iPhone. Speaker 1 (13:32) At 5.32 p.m., eight minutes after sending that work email, we see Patrick walk into the CVS. Surveillance footage shows him walking straight to the pediatric aisle at the end of the store. Patrick scans the shelves for the stool softener, but he can't find it. He later said that it was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and almost all of the medications were not fully stocked. Now, he said that they had a generic brand of PDLX, but not the brand that Lindsay requested. So, wanting to get the correct one, he pulled out his cell phone and called Lindsay at 5.33 p.m., but it rang and rang without an answer. Speaker 2 (14:14) Back at the Clancy home, even though Lindsay's Apple Watch is turned off, we still see some movement. Around the time that Patrick calls her at 5.33pm, Lindsay's iPhone shows that she went up a flight of stairs. Then, at 5.34pm, just one minute after Patrick calls her, Lindsay calls him back. Here's Patrick describing that phone call. Speaker 4 (14:36) It was very brief. I just said, I think there was a generic brand. And I said, is this one okay? And she said, yeah, that's fine. Speaker 6 (14:43) And what was her demeanor during the call? Speaker 4 (14:49) She was pretty quiet. It sounded like she was busy. I remember hanging up thinking she's probably in the middle of giving baths or something like that. Speaker 2 (14:58) The conversation only lasted 14 seconds, but according to Patrick, Lindsay confirmed that the generic medication was fine. So from there, Patrick walked to the register and purchased the medication as well as a pack of Wildberry Skittles. He then left CVS at 5.37pm and drove to 3V to pick up their takeout. Now, 3V was about 4.5 miles from the CVS, roughly a 10 minute drive. Footage from the restaurant shows Patrick walking inside at 5.54pm. After speaking with the hostess, she hands over the food that was under his name and he leaves at 5.55pm. Patrick was in and out of the restaurant in about a minute. Then from there, he gets in his truck to drive back home. The trip from the restaurant back to their house in Duxbury took him roughly 12 minutes. Speaker 1 (15:46) According to Patrick, he arrived home at 6.09pm. He parked his white Chevy Silverado. next to Lindsay's black Kia SUV in the driveway. Then, with the CVS bag and the takeout in hand, he entered the house through the side door near the garage. Patrick said he took off his boots and placed the CVS bag and the takeout bag on the kitchen island. But something was odd. The house was eerily quiet. He couldn't hear his three children or Lindsay. Patrick said he called out, saying that he was home, but there was no answer. So from there, he walked towards the basement door. He noticed that the door was shut, but the light was on. Now, this wasn't unusual. Patrick always tried to keep the door shut, and Lindsay had the habit of keeping the light on. So, Patrick opened the door. In front of him were the stairs leading down into the basement. Patrick said he called out, but again, no answer. For a moment, he said he wondered if Lindsay had left the house. He tried to remember whether he had seen her car in the driveway. He later admitted that sometimes it was hard to tell in the dark because her car was black. But it's here where he pulled out his cell phone and called Lindsay at 6.09 p.m. However, again, she didn't answer. Patrick said he then walked away from the basement and went upstairs to the second floor of the home. He said he checked the bathroom, thinking the children might be taking their baths, but they weren't in the bathroom. Next, he started checking the children's rooms, but behind each and every door was an empty room. However, there was still one room to check, he and Lindsay's room. As he approached the door, it was closed. So he reached out his hand and twisted the knob, but it didn't budge. The door was locked. Patrick would later say that it was in that moment. when he knew something was terribly wrong. Speaker 4 (17:40) Yeah, the previous owners, when they installed the doorknobs, had these keys that they taped to the back of each door. So I got the one from Cora's room, and I started unlocking the knob. Speaker 1 (17:54) When Patrick finally opened the door, he found another empty room, one that looked nothing like the room he slept in the night before. For one, the bed had been pulled away from the wall and a window was wide open. A cold winter breeze rushed into the room, making the curtains flap against the wall. Lindsay's cell phone was right there on the bed. But most notably was the crimson red around the room. Patrick said the blood was everywhere. On the floor, on the nightstand near the bed, on the walls. Speaker 4 (18:25) It was everywhere. It was, um... It looked like it was sprayed almost with like a hose. And there was a huge puddle in the middle of the room and it was sprayed all over pretty much every surface. I remember it was on the doorknob. Speaker 1 (18:41) Now Patrick claimed that he only took a few steps into the room, but seeing the blood and seeing that the window was opened, he immediately turned around and ran down the stairs. He exited the house through the back sliding glass door and quickly scanned the backyard where he said he made a shocking discovery. There, lying in the snow, directly beneath the open second story window was his wife, Lindsay Clancy. She was lying face up. She had cuts on both her wrists and another cut across her throat. Patrick ran to her side and saw that Lindsay was still alive. And it's there where he asked her, what happened? Lindsay was barely conscious, but Patrick said that she told him, I tried to kill myself. He said he asked where the kids were and Lindsay responded, quote, they're in the basement. Speaker 6 (19:28) I said, where are the kids? And what was her response? She said they're in the basement. And at that time, she didn't tell you? that they needed help or they were in danger or they were injured, correct? Correct. Speaker 2 (19:42) Patrick said he pulled out his cell phone and attempted to call 911, but he had trouble. He said his phone kept switching between Wi-Fi and the cellular network so the call wouldn't go through. He said for a brief moment, he almost started screaming for the neighbors, but finally, after a couple of minutes, the call went through at 6.11 p.m. Now, the 911 call hasn't been released to the public. but there is a transcript that Courtney and I will read from. Speaker 2 (20:08) My wife tried to commit suicide. Speaker 1 (20:11) Explain how she tried to commit suicide. Where is she now? Speaker 2 (20:14) Stay awake. How old Speaker 1 (20:16) is she? Speaker 2 (20:17) 31 to 33. Is she awake? Yes. Is she breathing? Yeah. Lindsay, what did you do to your neck? She's talking. When? Last half hour. How far did she Speaker 1 (20:27) fall? 20 feet. Is she responding normally? A little bit. Wake up. What part of the body was injured? Neck. She's breathing. Speaker 2 (20:35) Lindsay, look at me. Look at me. Speaker 1 (20:37) Are there weapons? I Speaker 2 (20:38) don't see any. Where are the kids? Do not move Speaker 1 (20:41) her. Speaker 2 (20:41) Open your eyes. Can someone... Okay, Lindsay, look at me. Open your eyes. I'm going to tell you how to stop the bleeding. It's not bleeding. It's open wounds. She's in the backyard. Is there something on your neck? A knife or something? Can you put pressure on it? Lindsay, wake up. Put pressure on the cut. Lindsay, look at me. Say my name. She's conscious. Don't Speaker 1 (21:02) move her. Tell her to be still. I'm going to stay on the line with you. Is there a fence? Right Speaker 2 (21:07) here, right here. I need you to stay and go check on my kids. Speaker 1 (21:11) Now, as you just heard, during the 911 call, two officers arrived on scene. Their names were Stephen Hall and Brian Josephine of the Duxbury Police Department. Officer Josephine was the first to arrive, about three to four minutes after Patrick called 911. Here he is explaining what he saw when he walked into the backyard. Speaker 3 (21:31) Away, I observed two parties, one lying in the ground and one standing over it. Speaker 2 (21:38) Obviously, the person on the ground was Lindsay, and the person standing over her was Patrick. But here's what Officer Josephine observed next. Speaker 3 (22:07) saw me because I was illuminating the yard with my flashlight, and then that's when me and him crossed paths. Speaker 1 (22:12) Patrick had stayed by Lindsey's side for several minutes until police arrived. And when the officers stepped into the backyard, that's when he went inside to check on the children. Here is Officer Josephine explaining Patrick's movements. Speaker 3 (22:26) He was heading, I believe, up towards the deck. Yeah, obviously I didn't know it at that time, but... He was just walking past me pretty fast in an abrupt manner. Speaker 2 (22:37) From here, the officers turn their attention to Lindsey. Here's Officer Hall explaining what he saw. Speaker 8 (22:44) She was on the ground, if you were looking at the backyard on the right side. She had cuts to both wrists and to the left side of her neck. Speaker 1 (22:54) But strangely enough, none of her wounds were actively bleeding. The officers also saw that Lindsay was still conscious, but barely. Speaker 8 (23:04) Semi-conscious, in and out of consciousness. She would wake up and move around and then kind of just go still Speaker 2 (23:12) again. In her semi-conscious state, Officer Josephine said that he started talking to Lindsay. Speaker 3 (23:18) I was just trying to get basic information, where she was hurt, where she needed attention, anything I could do to kind of help her until fire arrived. Speaker 1 (23:27) But it appeared as if Lindsay was unable to speak. Her head would move around, but when they asked her questions, all she could do was moan. It was clear she was in a lot of pain. Now, while the officers were with Lindsay in the backyard, they heard the sounds of sirens coming from down the street. More help was right around the corner. Officer Hall ran out the back gate and waved the fire department over, but it's around this time when they heard a sound. Speaker 8 (23:54) Yeah, I heard a loud scream from inside. It was just a sound. Myself and Officer Joseph, he ran towards the slider and entered into the house. Speaker 1 (24:04) Once inside, the officers were standing in the kitchen, but they followed Patrick Clancy's voice and eventually found him in the basement. Speaker 3 (24:12) So we went down the stairs and there was a picture at the bottom of the stairs, I believe, of Lindsay and Patrick. And the basement splits off into two, a right and a left area. and the screams were coming from the right area, so that's where we directed our attention to first. Speaker 1 (24:28) Upon turning the corner, they saw Patrick. He was coming from a back room. When he uttered a sentence, they would never be able to forget. Quote, she killed the fucking kids. Here is Officer Josephine describing that moment. Speaker 3 (24:42) Upon his observation of us, myself and Officer Hall, he proceeded to head in our direction, leaving that room. And at that point, he looked up and he screamed, she killed the fucking kids. Speaker 1 (24:55) Now, according to Patrick, moments earlier, once the officers arrived on scene, he went into the house to check on his children. He said he knew exactly where to look because Lindsay told him they're in the basement. So Patrick ran down the basement steps, still on the phone with 911. As he went down the stairs, he began calling out for them. Guys, guys, Patrick yelled, no answer. Once he made it down the stairs, he said he spotted Cora lying on the floor in the den area. She was face down with a black exercise band tied tightly around her neck. Based on the 911 transcript, here is what was said. Speaker 1 (25:47) Tragically, next to five-year-old Cora was eight-month-old Callan, also face down with a blue exercise band around his neck. Patrick said he rushed over, turned them on their back, and immediately began untying the bands. He later described the knots as similar to, quote, when you initially tie your shoes but don't do the bow, end quote. But after untying Cora and Callan, Patrick said he started looking for three-year-old Dawson. He said he checked the bathroom. then crossed to the other side of the basement and looked in the exercise room, but nothing. Then he entered his office that was right beside the small exercise room, and that's where he found him. Dawson was just to the left of the door. Patrick said it was clear he was already dead. Like his siblings, Dawson also had been strangled with an exercise band, a yellow one, that