Lindsay Clancy 'Executed' Kids to Maintain Control: Prosecution

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: The defendant was taken to South Shore Hospital and then transported subsequently to Brigham Women's in Boston. She had multiple traumas including spinal injuries as well as superficial injuries to both her wrists and her neck. She is paralyzed. We expect during the course of this trial that you'll hear the defendant made claims that either right after Patrick left the house or after he called her from the CVS depending on which version of the events she's telling she heard a voice, a male voice, a voice that she had never heard before, a voice that she never heard again and that voice told her that it was her last chance that she had to kill the kids so that she killed herself. She immediately took action when she heard the voice with no direction or details from this so-called voice and she killed the children. Once she killed the children, the voice stopped. When you consider this information in the course of the trial, ladies and gentlemen, I ask that you consider the source, the timing, the substance of her statements about this voice. You're also going to hear from or you may hear from forensic psychologists and psychiatrists who talk about what's called command hallucinations and voices that people hear before they do something. And when you hear that testimony, I ask that you keep in mind the details of what she's saying the voice told her and the details of when this voice spoke to her. Another important thing to remember throughout the course of this trial is that this is not a case about the Lindsay Clancy that sits before you today. This case is about the Lindsay Clancy on January 24, 2023 at the time of the crimes. This was not a woman in the throes of psychosis on January 24, 2023. This was a woman who acted intentionally, rationally, and swiftly to accomplish a very specific goal: to kill. You'll see and hear evidence about all the things that she did that day, what she did in the days leading up to this incident, leading to the murders. You'll hear her spending time with her family and friends. You'll hear her appearing to be in good spirits and doing better for all intents and purposes. On that very day, you'll hear she interacted with people at the doctor's office. She came home and took care of the kids. She talked to people on the phone and via text message. The evidence will show you she was not psychotic that day. Throughout the evidence in this trial, you will learn about the defendant being the classic overachiever in school, in her personal life, in her nursing career. She was someone who liked to control every little detail of her life, of her family's life. In contrast to pictures you'll see of the doting mother, the dedicated nurse, you'll also see a side of Lindsay Clancy that's different. Somebody extremely controlling, meticulous, and manipulative. The days were laid out with specificity. Strict schedules were expected to be maintained. Food was planned carefully. Sleep was scheduled to the minute. And at the time after Callan was born, her last baby, the family had to adjust. And by all sources that I expect you're going to hear at that trial, that summer was great. But after Patrick had finished his paternity leave and was back to work full time, when she no longer had a nanny to watch the baby do laundry, tidy up the house, follow her schedule, when she was responsible for it all, it was hard. It was hard for her to maintain that control. It was hard for her to bond with her kids. And in efforts to maintain control, she withheld information from her husband, from her doctors. She reported serious symptoms that were inconsistent with her daily activities, you'll hear. And ultimately on January 24th, 2023, the defendant made a calculated decision. This was a woman who no longer liked the life she thought she wanted. It was getting harder and harder to control. And when she saw the opportunity to escape, she made the selfish choice to take it. And to take Cora, Dawson, and Callan first, before attempting to take her own life. Ladies and gentlemen, this is not a public debate about women's mental health and how the medical system treats women. This case is about this defendant, Lindsay Clancy. There is no dispute that she was dealing with mental health issues during this time period, prior to the murders. There'll be medical records, medical records, medical doctors, mental health professionals that will talk about treatment, prescriptions, hospital visits. All that's going to be before you. The evidence will show that this defendant had a means and access to mental health that most people don't. And she chose to deal with her mental health issues in the worst way. She chose to manipulate her providers, seek out the quick and easy fix when she was feeling depressed and anxious. And when she didn't get what she expected, she chose an alternate route. She sought a different doctor. She changed medications after days. She disengaged from treatment when she didn't like the plan. After only four months in treatment, she made a choice, a deliberate and intentional decision that she did not want to try anymore. And because no one could take care of her kids the way she wanted them to, she had to take them with her. Despite all the precision that she exhibited that day, you'll hear the timing of it all, the swiftness of the killings, overcoming the interruption of Patrick's phone call, what she did not anticipate was that she would not be able to complete the act by killing herself. Ladies and gentlemen, people with mental illness commit crimes every day and are responsible for them. The fact that someone may suffer or have a mental illness, a mental disease or defect is not the end of the inquiry when it comes to guilt or innocence. It is whether a person can appreciate the wrongfulness or criminality of the conduct and conform their conduct to the law. Do they know what they were doing and can they control their actions? The evidence in this case will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this defendant coldly and efficiently executed first Dawson, then Cora, and finally Callan. One by one, she strangled the life out of each one of them. She did so with no hesitation, with deliberate premeditation, and extreme atrocity and cruelty. She is criminally responsible for the murders because the evidence will prove to you that she knew exactly what she was doing. She drew her husband out of the house, their father, so that she had the opportunity and the time to carry out these murders. She maintained the ability to control her conduct, conform her conduct, when she attempted to kill herself to escape the consequences. At the conclusion of this case, we're going to come back and we're going to ask that you return guilty of the murders of Cora Clancy, Dawson Clancy, and Callan Clancy because the defendant committed those crimes. [00:08:41] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.