A Massachusetts mom allegedly strangled two of her young children and attempted to kill her seven-month-old baby before trying to jump to her death in a tragic murder-suicide attempt gone wrong. Lindsay Clancy, 32, of Plymouth, was charged on Wednesday night with two counts of murder and three counts of strangulation.
Of the two children she killed, one was her 5-year-old daughter and the other was her 3-year-old son, according to District Attorney Tim Cruz. The incident happened when her husband had gone out to grab food on Tuesday night. This came as it was revealed that Clancy opened up about her battle with postpartum anxiety on social media months before killing her children.
Killing Her Own Children
Clancy is recovering after the suicide attempt but is in police custody. Police responded to the family’s house in Duxbury, a town about 35 miles southeast of Boston, after Clancy’s husband dialed 911 at around 6 pm on Tuesday to report that she had jumped from a home window, according to Cruz.
“First responders subsequently located three children in the home under the age of 5 unconscious, with obvious signs of severe trauma,” Cruz said.
Police arrived at the scene and found her two children, Cora, 5, and Dawson, 3, unresponsive. They were rushed to the hospital where they were pronounced dead.
Her third child, a young boy, who will be eight months old on Thursday, is reportedly still fighting for his life. He is still receiving care at Boston Children’s Hospital after being airlifted there.
Cruz claimed that Clancy appeared to have strangled her kids, albeit the medical examiner will soon reveal the precise cause of death.
Clancy was treated on the scene right away before being transferred to a local hospital. “This is an unimaginable, senseless tragedy, and it is an ongoing investigation,” Cruz said.
Rita Musgrove, the great-grandmother of the kids, told NBC Boston that when she spoke to their mother last week, nothing appeared out of the ordinary.
“It’s a pretty shocking thing, and it is heartbreaking,” she said as she left flowers at a memorial outside the family’s home.
Donna Jesse, the aunt of the children, stated, “They were just beautiful, beautiful children- Well cared for – they were just beautiful. They had a beautiful life.”
Husband Out for Lunch
The incident happened when Clancy’s husband Patrick had “popped out for 25 minutes” to collect a takeout order. This came as it was revealed that Clancy shared on social media a few months back that she was struggling with her mental health after giving birth. Police also suspected the same thing from the very beginning.
Clancy had been on leave from her position as a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. He returned to find his wife unconscious after plunging from the second-floor window of their home.
Clancy opened up about her struggle with postpartum anxiety on Facebook in July months before the terrible tragedy that occurred at her Duxbury home on Tuesday, according to the Boston Globe.
The mother of three wrote in another post six weeks following the birth of her third child about feeling “dialed in” once again.
According to the outlet, she claimed that she was concentrating on fitness, nutrition, and her mindset, saying that “it has made all the difference.”
On the Facebook page, the post is hidden from the general public.
According to sources who spoke to CBS Boston, investigators are looking into the possibility that Clancy had postpartum psychosis.
The incident has left the entire neighborhood in shock, especially the first responders who arrived on the site and saw the terrible scene.
During the news conference on Wednesday, police officers were spotted sobbing, and the State Police Association of Massachusetts urged its members to use the resources that are available to deal with the situation.
