Key Moments from Thursday's Testimony in the Lindsay Clancy Trial

On Thursday, a jury in Massachusetts heard new details in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, a 36-year-old former nurse accused of killing her three young children. The children — Cora, age 5; Dawson, age 3; and Callan, age 8 months — died on January 24, 2023. Clancy's lawyers say she was suffering from a serious mental illness and did not fully understand what she was doing. Prosecutors say she knew what she was doing and had planned it.

One of the biggest pieces of evidence on Thursday came from Clancy's phone. A State Police sergeant told the jury that just four days before the killings, Clancy had searched 'Can you treat a sociopath?' on the internet. Investigators also found searches about hallucinations, psychosis, mental health disorders, and methods of suicide. Another officer testified about a family computer that had accessed a page about suicide methods months earlier.

The defense attorney, Kevin Reddington, challenged who actually made those searches. He pointed out that a search for suicide methods happened within hours of a search for country singer Tom T. Hall, who died by suicide, suggesting Patrick Clancy — Lindsay's husband and a guitar player — might have made those searches. Investigators admitted they could not always prove exactly who was using a shared home computer. This was an important point for the defense, because a search on a shared device does not prove Lindsay made it.

Clancy also kept a digital journal on her phone, where she wrote about feeling sad and disconnected from her youngest child. In one entry from October 2022, she wrote: 'I'm sad and depressed because I am not able to parent my third child like my first.' Her phone also had positive notes to herself, such as 'I am strong' and 'I am a great mom.' The defense argued all of this shows a woman who was deeply struggling with her mental health.

Jurors also heard about text messages between Lindsay and Patrick Clancy on the day the children were killed. The messages seemed normal and friendly — the couple talked about their day, their children, and plans for dinner. At one point, Patrick wrote to Lindsay: 'You're a good mama.' Prosecutors say these texts show Lindsay was thinking clearly, while the defense says ordinary texts cannot tell us what was happening inside someone's mind.

The jury was shown two very different types of video evidence. First, they watched footage from a family trip to the Museum of Science in Boston on January 8, just over two weeks before the killings, which showed the family enjoying a normal outing. Then, they were shown video from inside the home after the killings, which included disturbing images from the crime scene. The contrast between the cheerful family video and the crime scene footage was striking.

After the jury left, prosecutors asked the judge for records of who had been visiting Clancy at the courthouse. They noted that a forensic psychologist working with the defense, Dr. Paul Zeizel, had been visiting her. The judge agreed to let prosecutors see records of those visits, but said he was unsure about releasing records for a priest called 'Father Bob,' who had baptized Clancy's children and had been supporting her. The trial is expected to continue on Monday.

The main question for jurors remains: Was Lindsay Clancy experiencing a severe mental health crisis that left her unable to control her actions, or did she understand what she was doing? If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at any time.