A defense attorney told a jury the real culprit for Lindsay Clancy’s children’s deaths wasn’t her, it was an illness she never asked for

Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial began on Monday as prosecutors and defense attorneys presented two very different explanations for what led to the deaths of her three children. According to ABC, both sides agree that Clancy struggled with serious mental health issues after the birth of her third child. Where they differ is whether those issues left her legally responsible for what happened.

In the months after giving birth, Clancy’s mental health reportedly declined rapidly. She experienced mania, insomnia, and thoughts of harming herself. She sought treatment from specialists in postpregnancy mood disorders and was prescribed several psychiatric medications.

When her condition failed to improve, she was admitted to a psychiatric hospital. She was discharged before returning home. 19 days later, prosecutors allege Clancy killed her children at the family’s Massachusetts home in January 2023. They say she sent her husband out on errands before strangling Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months old.

It all comes down to what the jury believes was happening in her mind

She is also accused of trying to end her own life through multiple methods. She later jumped from a second-story window and was left paralyzed from the waist down. Prosecutors argue she carefully planned the killings. Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, says she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. He argues the rare illness was triggered by hormonal changes, sleep deprivation, and the stress that can follow childbirth.

Clancy’s trial is expected to last several weeks. Jurors will decide whether she understood her actions and intended to commit the crimes. Boston criminal defense attorney and legal analyst Elyse Hershon said cases like this often divide public opinion because they are difficult to understand. She said some people may sympathize with Clancy’s postpartum condition. Others may focus on the deaths of the children and believe she should be held fully accountable regardless of her mental state.

Clancy and her former husband have also filed lawsuits against her medical providers. They claim doctors failed to properly diagnose and treat her condition before the killings. Advocates say awareness of postpartum psychosis has increased since the Yates case. However, Illinois remains the only state with a law allowing undiagnosed or untreated postpartum depression or psychosis to be considered a mitigating factor during sentencing.

If convicted of murder, Clancy faces life in prison without the possibility of parole. If she is found not guilty because she lacked criminal responsibility, she would instead be committed to a state mental health facility. The jury must now decide which account of her mental state is supported by the evidence.