Lindsay Clancy murder trial shatters lives of her parents, in-laws and ex-husband Patrick

Clancy, 36, is accused of killing her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months on January 24, 2023

The murder trial of Lindsay Clancy has brought renewed attention to the devastating impact of the January 2023 deaths of her three children, leaving not only the Massachusetts mother facing a possible conviction but also her parents, in-laws and ex-husband Patrick Clancy to rebuild their lives after the tragedy.

Clancy, 36, is accused of killing her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, at the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home on January 24, 2023. She does not deny killing the children but has pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility, with her defence arguing that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and had been overmedicated.

Her parents, Paula and Michael Musgrove, were preparing for retirement when they received the devastating news. Michael, 70, was in the final semester of his career as a school photographer, while Paula, 73, had worked at Weight Watchers. They immediately travelled from Connecticut to Massachusetts after learning that Lindsay had attempted suicide, Cora and Dawson had died, and Callan was on life support.

Instead of moving into retirement, the couple spent the months that followed grieving their grandchildren and supporting their daughter as her case moved towards trial.

“They love their daughter, and they're living through the unimaginable. They're doing what parents do — you show up for your kid,” Brandee Mulligan, who launched a GoFundMe for the couple, told PEOPLE.

The tragedy also deeply affected Patrick Clancy's family. Patrick's mother, Susan, was a nurse who had known Lindsay since they both worked at South Shore Hospital in 2013. Patrick and Lindsay eventually married in 2016 and went on to have three children together.

Both families remained closely involved as Lindsay's mental health deteriorated following the birth of Callan in 2022. Lindsay's mother travelled repeatedly to Massachusetts to stay with her daughter, while Susan also helped the family and accompanied Lindsay when she sought emergency treatment.

Paula recalled Lindsay asking her to come and stay with her because she was afraid to be alone. During the trial, she testified that her daughter had even asked if she could sleep with her.

Susan also described her concern for Lindsay's condition. Recalling Thanksgiving 2022, she testified that she asked her daughter-in-law how she was doing. Lindsay responded, “I'm trying hard to get better. I'm still working at it.”

Patrick initially publicly forgave Lindsay after the deaths of their children and later testified during her murder trial about her deteriorating mental health and the events surrounding the tragedy.

“I took so much pride in being Lindsay's husband and a dad,” Patrick said in a statement released after the killings.

Within a year, however, Patrick filed for divorce and began building a new life in New York. He later married Dr. Rachel Danis, a Brooklyn fertility specialist, in 2026.

Patrick was the first witness called during Lindsay's five-week trial. He tearfully described his former wife's mental health struggles and his efforts to help her obtain treatment. He also told jurors that Lindsay appeared happy on the day the children died, describing it as one of her best days.

The trial has focused heavily on whether Lindsay was criminally responsible for her children's deaths. Her defence has argued that postpartum psychosis, hallucinations and psychiatric medication left her unable to understand the nature or wrongfulness of her actions.

Prosecutors have acknowledged that Lindsay suffered from mental health problems but argue that she understood what she was doing and deliberately killed her children. They contend that she viewed the children as preventing her from ending her own life.

After killing the children, Lindsay attempted suicide by cutting her wrists and neck before jumping from a second-storey window. She survived but was left paralysed from the waist down and now attends court in a wheelchair.

The jury began deliberating on August 27 after a five-week trial. As of September 2, jurors remained deadlocked, prompting Judge William Sullivan to give them a last-chance instruction encouraging them to continue working towards a unanimous decision. If they remain unable to reach a verdict, the judge could declare a mistrial.

The case has affected both sides of the family in profound ways, with relatives forced to mourn three children while simultaneously navigating a highly publicised criminal trial centred on Lindsay's mental health.

Dr Susan Hatters Friedman, a Case Western Reserve University professor of psychiatry, told PEOPLE that postpartum depression can have consequences for an entire family.

“With postpartum depression, it absolutely affects the whole family,” she said.

As jurors continue to weigh Lindsay's fate, her parents, Patrick and his family have each been left to navigate lives permanently changed by the deaths of Cora, Dawson and Callan.