Who Is Brittany Romano? The "Green Dress Lady" at the Lindsay Clancy Trial

A murder trial in Massachusetts took an unexpected turn when a woman in the courtroom audience became almost as talked about as the case itself. Brittany Romano, a writer and editor from New York City, was caught on a live camera appearing to smile and wink during the Lindsay Clancy trial on Monday. The short video clip spread quickly across the internet, and many people criticized Romano for how she behaved during such a serious case. The controversy raised questions about who Romano is and whether she has a personal connection to the defendant, Lindsay Clancy.

Romano works as a writer and editor with more than ten years of experience in the media industry. Her articles have appeared in well-known publications like Forbes, Glamour, Teen Vogue, Elle, and USA Today. She studied sociology at New England College and has done freelance and marketing work as well. In the months before the controversy, Romano had been posting about the Clancy trial on social media.

The backlash started after a courtroom camera briefly showed Romano in the audience. A video clip appeared to show her smiling and winking, which many viewers felt was disrespectful given that the trial involves the deaths of three children. People on social media were quick to share the clip and post angry reactions. One user on the platform X wrote: 'Imagine going to a murder trial for three children and treating it like some sort of promotional event.'

Romano pushed back against her critics through a series of posts on Instagram Stories. She shared screenshots of harsh messages she had received, including comments saying 'Shame on you.' In one post, Romano said she was 'actually proud' of herself because people had been sending her hateful and hurtful messages online. She also wrote about the boost in attention to her page: 'All for smiling at a camera?! Love it! Tysm for boosting my analytics Xoxoxoxo.'

Many people online began to wonder if Romano actually knew Lindsay Clancy personally. A childhood photo that appeared on Romano's Instagram account started circulating on social media, with some users claiming it showed the two women together as children. In a livestream video, Romano said she laughed in the courtroom because 'I grew up with Lindsay, so she looked at me and I looked at her.' However, no official connection between Romano and Clancy has been confirmed.

Meanwhile, the Clancy trial itself continued to move forward toward closing arguments. Prosecutors brought in expert witnesses to challenge the defense's claim that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis — a serious mental health condition — when she killed her three children in January 2023. A psychiatrist named Dr. Avram Mack told jurors that while Clancy had severe depression, he found no signs she was psychotic at the time of the killings. A second expert, Dr. Kirk Heilbrun, said he believed Clancy had bipolar II disorder but also rejected the idea she had a psychotic break.

The trial briefly became more heated when Dr. Heilbrun mentioned Clancy's Catholic faith during his testimony. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington asked for a mistrial, arguing it was wrong to bring religion into the case. Judge William Sullivan denied that request but told jurors to ignore the comment and reminded them that religion should play no role in their decision. Closing arguments are expected later this week, after which the jury will decide whether Lindsay Clancy can be held legally responsible for the deaths of her three children.