LIVE UPDATES: Day 3 of Lindsay Clancy murder trial begins with new witness on stand

Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial is underway in Massachusetts. The 35-year-old woman is charged with three counts of murder for the strangling deaths of her three children, ages 5, 3, and 8 months old. Clancy is present in the courtroom, bound to a wheelchair after she was paralyzed by injuries she sustained when she jumped from her home’s second-story window in an alleged suicide attempt. Her defense lawyer claims she was insane at the time, suffering from postpartum psychosis, and could not appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions. We are posting live updates from the courtroom here. Time notes are Eastern Daylight Time. Please forgive typos.

12:06 pm. Judge Sullivan announces to the jury that they will be excused for the rest of the day. The judge tells the jury that they will be going to “a couple of areas” on Friday and then return to the court for more witness testimony. He said he expects proceedings to end early on Friday as well. He says the trial is proceeding ahead of schedule.

12:00 p.m. Commonwealth calls Witness No. 13: Officer Vincent Cahill, Duxbury Police Department: Cahill testifies that when he arrived at the Clancy house, he went down to the basement. He says he checked on Cora Clancy, found she had no pulse, and backed up to allow firefighter paramedics to work on her. Cahill says he next checked Callan’s pulse. Cahill says at some point he moved a large futon and an ottoman to give paramedics space to treat the children. He says he placed the ottoman on the couch. Cahill says a bag mask was used to deliver rescue breaths to Cora, but she did not regain breathing on her own.

11:42 a.m. Commonwealth calls Witness No. 12: Daniel Doughtery, paramedic, Duxbury Fire Department. Doughtery testifies that he treated Lindsay Clancy at the scene. He says he called for a backboard, put a neck brace on Lindsay, and bandaged her wrists.
Defense cross-examines Doughtery: Doughtery agrees that it was dark and cold out and that Lindsay had been lying on the ground for some time. He agrees that hypothermia from the cold could have restricted blood flow.

11:36 a.m. Commonwealth calls Witness No. 11: Robert Constanzo, paramedic, Pembroke Fire Department. Constanzo says he responded to a call for “mutual aid” at the Clancy house. When he got there, he says he was directed to the back of the house. Constanzo testifies that he observed Lindsay on a board and wearing a neck brace. He says her wrists were bandaged, and there was no blood seepage on the bandages. Constanzo testifies that he noticed “superficial” cuts on Lindsay’s neck around the collar. He says there was no active bleeding of the wounds. Constanzo testifies that Lindsay was moaning and groaning, but giving no verbal response. He says he did not observe any head injuries on her. Constanzo says he helped transport Lindsay to South Shore Hospital. He testifies that the crew started two IVs on her. He says Lindsay’s pupils were constricted and she was unresponsive. He says they gave her 2 milligrams of Narcan and she became more agitated, but she never woke up. Prosecutor: What is a typical reaction to Narcan. Constanzo: It depends on what drug the patient took. He says he’s trained to use it on patients who have ingested opioids. Prosecutor: She did not wake up after the Narcan? Constanzo: No.
Defense cross-examines Constanzo. Reddington: When you arrived. Lindsay was already bandaged. Narcan was administered to Lindsay in the ambulance, but it didn’t have any effect. She started reaching and grabbing — that’s consistent with a person with a head injury. Did you know she suffered fractures to spine and broke every rib? Constanzo: No. Reddington: It was dark? Constanzo: Yes. Prosecutor: How long did you handle Lindsay? Constanzo: On the scene, we were there for 7 minutes. Prosecutor: It was dark – no exterior lighting? Constanzo: Correct. Prosecutor: No flashlights. You scrutinized a hole? Constanzo: That’s what we saw.
Prosecutor on redirect: You were in the ambulance with Lindsay for 18 minutes? Constanzo: Correct. Prosecutor: Did you see blood flowing from her neck? Constanzo: No.

11:32 a.m. Reddington requests a sidebar. A few jurors gaze at Lindsay, who has her head lowered, her hands covering her face.

11:24 a.m. Commonwealth calls Witness No. 10: Jennifer Stratton, paramedic, Duxbury Fire Department. Stratton testifies that when she arrived at the Clancy home, she went into the basement after hearing a voice calling for help. She says she saw Callan and Cora face up on the ground, and she jumped on the radio to ask for more help. She says Dwyer went to help Cora, and she went to treat Callan. (Prosecution displays a picture of Callan’s pajama jumper.) Stratton says she removed Callan’s jumper and performed chest compressions on him. She demonstrates the manner in which she did compressions, drawing an objection from Reddington. Judge: I’ll allow it. Stratton says someone brought in a bag mask to deliver oxygen. She says paramedics tried to get IO into Callan’s leg to deliver medication, but their attempts were unsuccessful. Stratton testifies that she observed strangulation marks around Callan’s neck. She says the baby was eventually brought to the hospital, but he did not breathe on his own. (No cross by defense)

11:07 a.m. Commonwealth calls Witness No. 9: Patrick Dwyer, firefighter/paramedic, Duxbury Fire Department. Dwyer testifies that he entered the basement of the Clancy home and went to the left. He says he saw two children on the ground and the father sitting on the couch. Dwyer says he started CPR on the 5-year-old girl (Cora) on the floor, and his partner went to the other child. He says they were right next to each other. He testifies that Cora had burst blood vessels around her eyes, blood around her mouth, and her skin was bluish; she was not breathing and had no pulse. He says he continued to work on Cora en route to the hospital, shocking her once in the ambulance, but she did not regain a pulse. He says he transferred her care to hospital workers at Beth Israel. (No cross by defense)

11:06 a.m. There has been no observable reaction from Lindsay Clancy as first responders describe efforts to revive her son, Dawson. She keeps her head lowered, slightly turned away from the jury, and does not engage with her lawyer. Reddington has reiterated an objection to the number of witnesses — presumably due to the repetitiveness of the testimony.

11 a.m. Commonwealth calls Witness No. 8: Keith Nette, shift commander at Duxbury Fire Department. Nette says he drove to the Clancy house in his personal truck, walked up the driveway and to the back of the ambulance. He testifies that he observed a child (Dawson) in the ambulance and took over treatment for the child. Nette says the child was blue, not breathing, and had no pulse. Nette: We started an IV, tried intubation, IO (intraosseous), medications, and continued CPR. We used a device to enter the bone above the knee to deliver epinephrine. Prosecutor: What were your observations of Patrick Clancy? Nette: He was upset. (No cross by defense)

10:45 a.m. Commonwealth calls Witness No. 7: EMT Loring “Chuck” Nudd, Duxbury Fire Department: Nudd testifies he was dispatched to the Clancy home, and it took him 4 or 5 min to get there. He says he backed the ambulance into the driveway. Nudd testifies that he saw a child being brought to him. He says the child’s face was blue, he had marks around his neck, and his body was pale. He says the child (Dawson) was rolled into the ambulance. Nudd says he and his crew performed CPR on the chaild, and he got a monitor out to check for heart rhythm. He says he left the ambulance to take the monitor to the basement. When he got there, Nudd says he observed two other children being worked on. He says he eventually drove Dawson to the hospital in the ambulance. (No cross by defense)

10:36 a.m. Commonwealth calls Witness No. 6: Capt. PJ Hussey, Duxbury Fire Department: Hussey says that he is a 17-year veteran firefighter and paramedic, a fire captain and shift commander. He testifies that he was dispatched to the Clancy home on Jan. 24, 2023. He says six people in total from both Duxbury fire stations responded. Hussey says at some point after his arrival, he heard a scream coming from the basement. He says he looked through the basement window and saw Patrick in the basement. He says the light was on and he saw Patrick unwrapping something from a child’s head. Hussey says the child was on the ground, it’s head was toward the back of the house. He says Patrick picked up the child and made a circular motion around the child’s head (demonstrates for the jury what Patrick was doing). Hussey says the child’s head was blue — the child was blue. Hussey: I put out a call for all Duxbury personnel to come to the house and requested another ambulance for Miss Clancy. He says the scene turned chaotic very quickly. Hussey testifies saw a paramedic with Dawson, and two other paramedics were with the other children. (No cross by defense)

10:33 a.m. Court is back in session.

10:11 a.m. After Josephine is finished testifying, defense attorney Reddington tells the judge he wishes to “renew his objection.” Attorneys are called to sidebar. The judge calls for a short break and sends the jury out.

10:06 a.m. Josephine says when he went back into the basement, he saw an older female child (Cora). He says two other firefighters were already in the basement: one was working on Cora, the other was working on the baby (Callan). Prosecutor: Did you see any injuries on the children? Josephine: She (Cora) had a pale tint to her face, bluish lips, bloodshot eyes, and dried blood around her mouth. Josephine says he observed a pool of blood on the floor. He says, eventually, Cora was placed on a stretcher, but the baby was taken out first because he had a faint pulse, then they brought Cora out. Josephine says they continued with chest compressions and asked for help. He says when they removed Cora from the basement, they went upstairs and encountered Patrick. Josephine describes Patrick as frantic, still screaming, in shock. Josephine: One of us requested an ambulance for him.
(No cross by defense)

10 a.m. Josephine: We (Josephine and Hall) started hearing loud screams and followed the screaming to the basement. He says the basement splits off to the right and left, and he went to the right. He says the right side opens up into the first room, which he says was cluttered. He says Patrick was in the back room. Josephine testifies that he saw Patrick headed in his direction and that Patrick screamed: “She killed the f****** kids.”
Josephine says he observed a child (Dawson) lying motionless on the floor. He says the child was lying on his back close to a gym bag. He says the child’s head was tilted to the side. Josephine says he looked at the child’s face and observed it to be a white-gray color. He says the child’s lips were blue and his eyes were bloodshot. Josephine: My first instinct was to get a pulse, based on my training. I knew it wasn’t going to be good. I moved the head and observed red marks on the right-hand side. There was not much I could do. Josephine says when he picked the child up, mucous leaked from the child’s mouth Josephine says he grabbed the child and headed up the stairs, yelled at a sergeant to get out of the way, and went through the kitchen and out the main door. Prosecutor: Was there an ambulance? Josephine: Yes.

9:50 a.m. Commonwealth calls Witness No. 5: Officer Brian Josephine, Duxbury Police Department. Josephine testifies that he responded to a call from dispatch to go to the Clancy home. He says it took him 3 to 4 minutes to get there, and dispatch told him to go to the back of the house. Once there, Josephine says he observed two people in the backyard: Lindsay on the ground and Patrick standing over her. He says Hall was there, too. Josephine says it appeared that Patrick was trying to communicate with Lindsay and that Patrick had a phone in his hand. Hall says Patrick saw him arrive and Patrick “walked past me.” Josephine testifies that he went to Lindsay and tried to speak to her and help her until firefighters arrived. Josephine recalls Lindsay mumbling. He says he saw cuts to her wrists and a cut on the right side of her neck. He says the wounds were bleeding but not profusely.

9:49 a.m. Hall says he went to help the paramedic attending to Lindsay. He says Lindsay kept trying to remove her oxygen mask, and he would put it back on. Defense thanks Hall for his “incredible service” but does not cross-examine him.

9:47 a.m. Hall testifies that he observed blood around the open bedroom window and on shingles on the side of the house. Prosecutor: Did you see window screens on the ground? Hall: No.

9:44 a.m. Prosecutor: When you went into that room, there were two children lying motionless. Paramedics were working on them. Did you learn that they were Cora and Callan Clancy? Hall: I asked if they needed any equipment; they asked for a heart monitor. Hall says Patrick was pretty upset. (Hall points to the area on a photo where a child’s body was found; blood stains mark the spots.)

9:39 a.m. The prosecution displays a picture of the back room from which Patrick is said to have come. Hall: Just passed the door was the body of a young child. He had his feet toward the door. He was on his back. He was shirtless in a diaper. Prosecutor: Was the exercise band in that position? Hall: Yes. Prosecutor: Did you learn that the child was Dawson Clancy? Hall: I did. Prosecutor: Describe his physical appearance. Hall: He was bluish/purple. Prosecutor: What happened next? Hall: I called for paramedics. Officer Josephine picked up the child to bring him to the ambulance. We ran back to the basement to see if there were other children. We went back down to the basement and to the left.

9:36 a.m. Hall: We heard Patrick talking from the right. Prosecutor: Do you recall him saying, ‘I can’t wake them up. I can’t get them up’? Hall: Yes. He seemed very upset. He came from the back room (in the basement). I ran into the back room. Prosecutor: What type of room was it? Hall: It looked like a workout area.

9:33 a.m. Hall says he observed that Lindsay was positioned on the ground with her head toward the house and her feet away from the house. He says he observed cuts to her wrists and neck, but the wounds were not actively bleeding. He says he did not feel like there was an urgent need to address those wounds. Hall says Lindsay was in and out of consciousness and not able to speak, but was making sounds like she was in pain. Hall testifies that when other officers started to arrive, Patrick left, saying he was going to check on his children. Hall says he saw Patrick go through the backyard sliding doors. He says he heard something on his radio about how Patrick couldn’t wake them up. Then he says he heard a loud scream from inside the house and ran toward the screaming.

9:27 a.m. Commonwealth calls Witness No.4: Officer Stephen Hall, Duxbury Police Department. Hall testifies that when he responded to the Clancy home on Jan. 24, 2023, he went through the gate at the side of the house and followed the voice calling to him from the backyard. He says Patrick Clancy appeared to be upset and didn’t know what was going on. Hall says he saw Lindsay Clancy on the ground. (A few jurors are taking notes, but most are just listening.)

9:24 a.m. Judge William F. Sullivan queries the jury about whether they have followed his instructions about avoiding publicity about the case.

9:19 a.m. Court is expected to begin shortly.