Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial has reached its 17th day of testimony in Massachusetts, with no verdict yet. As of Aug. 20, 2026, Clancy remains an active defendant in an ongoing jury trial, with no verdict reached and no closing-argument date confirmed.
Key facts
- Defendant: Lindsay Clancy, 36, of Duxbury, Massachusetts
- Charges: three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of strangulation
- Victims: her three children — Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and an infant — who died on and shortly after Jan. 24, 2023
- Plea: not guilty
- Defense argument: not criminally responsible, citing postpartum depression, psychosis and overmedication
- Trial status: Day 17 of testimony as of Aug. 20, 2026; no verdict yet
- Closing arguments: could begin as soon as Monday, Aug. 24, 2026 — not confirmed, no final schedule set
- Court: Massachusetts Superior Court
- Attorneys: Kevin Reddington for the defense; Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham for the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office
Timeline
- Jan. 24, 2023 — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and their infant sibling die on and shortly after this date; Lindsay Clancy also jumps from a second-story window of the family’s Duxbury home the same night, in an apparent suicide attempt that left her paralyzed from roughly the chest down.
- Jan. 31, 2023 — Clancy tells hospital chaplain Sheila Cavanaugh she heard a “persistent” male voice commanding her, according to Cavanaugh’s later trial testimony.
- Late July 2026 — The murder trial opens with opening statements.
- Aug. 11, 2026 (Day 11) — Testimony covers medications Clancy was prescribed at South Shore Health between late November 2022 and January 2023.
- Aug. 17, 2026 — Prosecutors rest their case after roughly two weeks of testimony; the defense begins presenting witnesses.
- Aug. 20, 2026 (Day 17) — Chaplain Sheila Cavanaugh testifies; jurors are individually questioned about a crowd of Clancy supporters outside the courthouse.
- Monday, Aug. 24, 2026 — Closing arguments could begin, according to the judge — though that date is not confirmed and no final schedule has been set.
The charges
Clancy, 36, of Duxbury, is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of strangulation in the deaths of her three children. Cora was 5, Dawson was 3, and the youngest was an infant; they died on and shortly after Jan. 24, 2023. Prosecutors say she strangled them in the basement of the family’s Duxbury home after sending Patrick Clancy — her husband at the time and now her ex-husband — out to run errands. She has pleaded not guilty. The trial is being heard in a Massachusetts Superior Court. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington represents Clancy, and prosecutors Jennifer Sprague and Shanan Buckingham represent the Commonwealth for the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office.
The defense argument
Clancy’s defense does not dispute that she killed her children. Instead, Reddington is arguing she is not criminally responsible, citing postpartum depression and psychosis and overmedication with multiple psychiatric drugs prescribed by several providers in the months before the killings. Prosecutors dispute that Clancy was in active psychosis at the time of the killings and have described the killings as deliberate; they rested their case on Aug. 17, 2026, after roughly two weeks of testimony, and the defense is now presenting its own witnesses. Earlier testimony, on trial Day 11 (Aug. 11, 2026), covered medications Clancy was prescribed at South Shore Health between late November 2022 and January 2023. That testimony also raised the possibility of a bipolar diagnosis alongside the defense’s central postpartum-psychosis narrative — a question the trial record has not settled either way. Cellphone evidence — including notes and search-history activity from around Jan. 23, 2023, the day before the killings — has also been introduced at trial.
What happened on the most recent trial day
On Day 17 (Aug. 20, 2026), the only witness was Sheila Cavanaugh, a hospital chaplain at Brigham and Women’s Hospital who met with Clancy at least 14 times during her hospitalization after the killings. Cavanaugh testified that Clancy told her, during a Jan. 31, 2023 conversation, that she had heard a “persistent” male voice commanding her — telling her that if she did not follow it, neither she nor her children would be safe. After roughly 20 minutes of testimony, the judge excused the jury for the day. Jurors had passed a crowd of Clancy supporters gathered near the courthouse, and each juror was individually questioned under oath about whether that had affected their impartiality before the day’s proceedings wrapped.
The defense is expected to call at least one more witness before resting its case — reportedly psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick, testifying by video as the defense’s anticipated final witness in support of its argument that Clancy was not criminally responsible for her actions. Prosecutors could then call rebuttal witnesses. Only after that would closing arguments begin, followed by the judge instructing the 18-member jury before deliberations start. No verdict date has been set.
Where Patrick Clancy fits in
Patrick Clancy, the children’s father, was out of the home running errands at the time of the killings, called 911 after discovering the children, and testified as the prosecution’s first witness earlier in the trial. He has not been charged. CNN and NewsNation both report there is no evidence implicating him and that investigators are not considering him a suspect; outlets say his account of that night has been corroborated by surveillance footage and phone records.
Lindsay Clancy’s injuries
Clancy is paralyzed from roughly the chest down after a thoracic spine injury sustained the same night as the killings, when she jumped from a second-story window of the family’s home in an apparent suicide attempt. She is now wheelchair-bound and is brought into court in a wheelchair for each day of the trial.
What’s next
The trial, which began in late July 2026 after opening statements, is being livestreamed by several outlets, including NBC10 Boston, Boston 25 News, CNN and the Associated Press. With the defense nearing the end of its case, the judge has said closing arguments could begin as soon as Monday, Aug. 24, 2026 — though that date is not confirmed and no final schedule has been set. Closing arguments and, eventually, a verdict remain the next milestones to watch for.