[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Lindsay ClancyThe mother who allegedly killed her three children, claimed to a psychologist that she heard a “male voice” urging her to kill her children before the tragic incident.
As we reported, the 32-year-old nurse and the delivery General of Massachusetts hospital he is on a week off with his wife Patrick Clancyand his children Cora5, Dawson3, and 8 months Callan. Patrick left home on January 24th to run errands, leaving the children with just 20 minutes with his wife … a decision that would turn out to be fatal.
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When his father came home, according to Plymouth Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague, he was met with a terrifying sight. He found a broken window in the upstairs bedroom along with blood on the frame, not long after finding his wife in the front yard with injuries – she had tried to kill herself. Later, on the phone with the police, the father screamed “like it got louder”. That’s when he finds Cora, Dawson, and Callan with sports bands wrapped around their “little necks”. He then reportedly shouted, “They’re killing the children!” when first responders arrived. Cora and Dawson passed on the same day, but little Callan was held for three days before finally falling ill. So, very sad…
Lindsay allegedly struggled with postpartum depression and psychosis, and although never officially diagnosed, she was on medication – but could the medication be to blame?
prosecutor Kevin Reddington claimed in court Tuesday that the mother of three had been “unable to express happiness, or sadness, or tears” in the time before the alleged murder took place and that her prescriptions for drugs including Seroquel and Prozac had “homicidal ideation” as a result:
“[Clancy] there is … a beautiful person who has been destroyed by this medicine … She is a shell of herself, not her personality. It wasn’t until the end when he was in so much pain that he voluntarily surrendered.
Just heartbreaking…
He also noted Lindsay suffered a spinal cord injury after jumping from the window of her home that left her paralyzed from the waist down:
“He can’t walk … he can’t even go to the bathroom.”
Reddington said the women were failed by the health care system because of the way they treated women with postpartum depression and psychosis. In her journal, she talks about her children’s lives and how they suffered, noting that she had a “touch” of postpartum anxiety before killing them. He also said Lindsay told a psychologist she heard a “male voice” telling her to commit the murder. Cool…
Auditory hallucinations are a serious complication of both Prozac and Seroquel, so it’s possible that this poor mother was experiencing side effects from the drugs.
The 32-year-old appeared in court via video call from the hospital he is currently in on Tuesday where a judge refused bail and said he should remain in the current facility pending further assessment. She appeared emotional and wiped away tears as prosecutors said she was “obvious” during the killings and “invented” a scenario in which her husband abandoned her so she could hold their children. In response to Reddington’s claim that she heard voices, prosecutors argued that her condition had improved since she lived in it McClean Hospital before January:
“[Clancy] strangling children where they should feel safest: at home, with their mothers.
His difficult court case was only a few weeks after Patrick apologized to his wife, writing in GoFundMe for medical and family expenses:
“I want to ask you all that you find inside yourself to forgive Lindsay, as I did. Lindsay was the one who truly loved and cared for everyone – me, the children, family, friends, and patients. Her heart was full of love. All I want now is he can find peace.
Mental health, especially that of mothers, needs to be discussed more openly and freely. About 20% of all pregnant women experience some form of depression or anxiety. If we know better treatment methods, we can learn to avoid such tragic events.
Our hearts go out to the Clancy family.
[Image via YouTube/WCVB Channel 5/GoFundMe]