Overview
- Opening statements were delivered Monday and the prosecution called Patrick Clancy as its first witness to describe the months before the January 24, 2023 deaths and the last hours before he found the children.
- Prosecutors say evidence such as texts, online searches and the timing of errands shows careful planning and will be used to argue Clancy acted deliberately when she strangled her three children.
- The defense says Clancy had severe postpartum psychosis after the birth of her youngest child, had multiple hospital visits, and received many psychiatric prescriptions that it says caused a psychotic break.
- A judge has barred public release of the 911 recording and autopsy photos, and the court expects weeks of dueling psychiatric and medical experts to establish Clancy’s mental state at the time of the killings.
- If convicted of murder Clancy faces life without parole, and if jurors find she lacked criminal responsibility she would be committed to a state psychiatric hospital, a result that could intensify scrutiny of perinatal mental‑health care and prescribing practices.