Mom and sister testify about Lindsay Clancy’s declining mental state before she killed her children

Lindsay Clancy’s mother and sister took the stand to recount how they saw her become increasingly anxious, paranoid and suicidal in the months before she killed her children.

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Lindsay Clancy’s mother and sister took the stand Monday to recount how they saw her become increasingly anxious, paranoid and suicidal in the months before she killed her three children.

Clancy’s mother, Paula Musgrove, sounding at times emotional, described her daughter as a dedicated and loving mother whose mental health began declining in October 2022 — about three months before Clancy strangled the children and attempted to kill herself.

“Mom, will you please come up and stay with me for a bit? I’m really sick. Something is wrong,” Clancy wrote in a text message displayed to the jury. “I had horrible insomnia all night, and I just don’t know how I am going to get through the day. ... It’s just really scary, and I don’t want to be alone.”

Musgrove also recalled a more alarming disclosure in December, when she was standing in the kitchen with Clancy and her then-husband, Patrick Clancy. Musgrove said her daughter appeared nervous and told them she needed to tell them something.

“She told us she had thoughts of harming the children,” Musgrove said.