The Lindsay Clancy Trial Is Polarized ~ Was It Psychosis Or A Plot?

Few trials have created such a loud buzz on social media with opposing and polarized points of view. 

In one camp there are the not criminally responsible fans, who deeply sympathize with Lindsay, more so than the victims of the crimes. They seem to believe she is the victim. 

They attribute the murders to medication, and incompetent doctors. Lately there is a wild theory pointing the finger at her husband, now ex-husband, which is absurd, and demonstrates how theories can run amuck on social media. 

There is no doubt Lindsay Clancy was unhappy with her life, and was documenting her struggles at length, going to multiple doctors, and trying many different medications. There is also no doubt she committed the crimes, a ghastly triple homicide. 

One of the key defense points is that she was over medicated, and given a toxic mix of drugs that contributed to her so-called psychosis.

It must be made clear – she was not diagnosed with PP psychosis by any of the multiple doctors, and health care providers who assessed her prior to the murders. This includes hospital admissions, multiple in-person appointments, and many tele health appointments.

None of them diagnosed her with psychosis, yet social media gurus seem to think they can diagnose her on a YouTube video. Nor is her lawyer qualified to diagnose her. As scathing as he is toward those who are qualified, he seems over the top, and bullying toward some of the witnesses. All of them are traumatized by the crimes.

I am a skeptic when it comes to those who diagnose a person after the crimes were committed, in order to support NCR. However in this case, the burden of proof is on the prosecution, to demonstrate LC had the cognitive function to determine the wrongfulness of her actions, as well as the ability to control her actions.

Since she clearly did not control her actions, the defense can claim she had no control, and thus possibly create reasonable doubt. However, the fact she asked for a lawyer right after the murders does indicate an awareness of wrongdoing, as well as the cognition to protect her own interests. 

The entire crime appeared to be very well planned with a high level of precision. The fact she took the children to the basement indicates a degree of premeditation. If it was sudden impulse, or sudden psychosis, she would have attacked them in the main living area wherever they were playing. 

Taking them to the basement could mean she was seeking privacy, hiding and soundproofing the crimes from any neighbours, and possibly because her husband worked from the basement. Some have speculated that other areas of the house had cameras, but the basement did not. It does point to additional premeditation, and knowledge of the wrongfulness of her actions.

Prior to the murders LC was actually diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and insomnia, all of which are common for young mothers to experience at some point. The sleepless nights, and demands of child care, causes a high percentage of young mothers to become anxious, and bogged down with the many demands. 

Therefore, it is understandable why the health care professionals did not become alarmed, or jump to any conclusions that she was going to murder three children. Lindsay was not honest with any of them in my opinion, just based on what I have read and watched of the trial. 

She made vague references to intrusive thoughts. This could have been because she wanted to maintain her freedom, so she was careful to avoid saying anything incriminating that could lead to an involuntary hospital admission against her will. Intrusive thoughts are not psychosis, and is something we all experience to some degree on another. 

People cannot be committed against their will, unless certain legal criteria are met. Lindsay was fully functional, and able to communicate normally. She was not unkempt, rambling, or steeped in delusional thought processes. She was directing much of her own care.

When people are deemed to be cognitively intact, they are within their right to participate in, and direct their own care. She made full use of her nursing knowledge, and position, to garner professional respect for her choices. She also Googled many different things related to her symptoms, and medications. 

In fact it appears Lindsay acted normal, was coherent, and grounded in reality every time she was seen. She was not consistent when it came to taking the prescribed medications, and refused certain therapies and treatments. In the meantime, she carried on with her life. 

She went to social gatherings, her husband worked from home, and her parents came over often to help with the children. The oldest child was in nursery school for half days during the afternoons, four days a week.

They had a nanny who worked three days a week from 830-130, and also did light housekeeping while Lindsay was on maternity leave. 

Lindsay decided not to return to work, and chose to be a full time stay at home mom. The nanny was given notice that she would no longer be needed by December. The murders happened in January. She was a stay at home mom for a month. Amazing. 

Lindsay Clancy had financial support, and the choice to be a stay at home mom, which is a real luxury. She had significant amount of support while on maternity leave with a nanny, and her husband working from home, as well as frequent help from her parents.

In addition to all the home based help, she had similar privileges when it came to medical care. She had very good insurance coverage, and went from doctor to doctor. In addition to multiple medication changes, she had multiple treatment options, some of which she chose to ignore. 

So what on earth happened? All opinions of course are pure speculation, mine included. I do not believe she was in psychosis at any point. She was sane prior to the murders according to all observations, and is completely sane during the trial. 

I believe it is possible she was planning the murders well in advance. She tried to portray an image of perfection. I do not believe she “loved her job” or her family for that matter, because the dread surrounding a return to work, was central to her mental health issues. She did not want to return to work. Yet she could not stand being at home with the children either.

It is possible she harboured thoughts of murder for many months, and used her knowledge of nursing to start the documentation, and paper trail for an insanity defense. 

She made sure she alluded to intrusive thoughts, and documented how she was so anxious and depressed, and could not get enough sleep. She made sure she looked up side effects of medications, and then reported those side effects.

Just as it was with all the supports she had at home, the medical treatment, and medications offered were not adequate, and “making her worse”. 

The suicide attempt after the murders did appear to be a feigned attempt, because she knew how to cut off the air supply in order to murder three children. Yet she did not hang herself, or cut a major vessel. She would have known how to do that, but chose not to. 

The major miscalculation, was when she went out the window, and hurt her back. Most people do not expect to die going out a second story window with a twelve foot drop. Apparently the evidence shows she went out feet first, and then dropped to the ground. However, the ground was frozen, and as a result, she landed hard, and injured her back, and ribs. The defense claims she landed on her head, but she had no contusions or bleeding to her head, or any evidence of a head injury. The injuries were to her spine, and ribs due to the frozen ground, and her thin frame. 

Lindsay calculated the murders to the minute, and used a ruse to get her husband out of the house for long enough to carry out her plan. She calculated distances, the time it took to drive where he was going, and also asked him to pick up medicine for the oldest child. She responded to a phone call when she must have been in the middle of the murders, and spoke normally about the medicine he was tasked to pick up.

If this speculation is plausible, her second major miscalculation, was that the diagnosis of anxiety and depression, combined with carrying out normal activities, is not sufficient to create an insanity defense, regardless of how much documentation she did. 

Immediately after the murders her first question was, “do I need a lawyer”. It was not a flood of remorse, or questions about what happened, where are the kids, are they okay? No. She knew they were dead. She made sure they were.

If she had been in a zombie state with some unseen force taking over her actions, she would not have known what happened for sure, or if they were alive or not. Her first question would have been “where are they?” or “what have I done?” Not “do I need a lawyer?”

After the murders, and meeting with her lawyer, she soon realized an insanity defense required more than a diagnosis of depression and anxiety.

A person has to exhibit a break from reality, with delusions, and psychosis in order to be NCR. They have to be in a state of not understanding right from wrong, or what they are actually doing.

Initially she said “Oh, I must have had a moment of psychosis”. But the problem with that comment, is how long it takes to strangle three children. It cannot be done in a moment.

In my opinion, this is where the fabrication comes in. She was coached by her lawyer, and next thing you know, she heard a voice commanding her to kill the children while she had the chance. This was never brought up, or mentioned until after the murders.

The question in my mind, is if the voice actually said “while she had the chance” is actually true, how could the voice know she only had a window of opportunity, and a tight timeline alone with the children, long enough to carry out the crimes?

Then at some point she added that she said “go to God” when prior to that she never mentioned God. I think perhaps she took a page out of the Andrea Yates murders, because Andrea Yates truly did suffer from religious delusions. She also had a Chaplain praying at her bedside while she was intubated. The Chaplain was saying the children were safe with God.

All medical professionals know it is very possible for unconscious people to be able to hear. Therefore health care professionals are taught to always talk to the patient, and tell them what you are about to do, even if they are unconscious.

Just like the lawyer coaching the voices after the murders, it seems like the Chaplain was also doing some coaching for the defense on a God delusion. Lindsay never mentioned God in any of her discussions with medical professionals, friends, family, or in her journals prior to the murders. 

As time went on, the voice she supposedly heard was embellished, not just as a one time thing, but her lawyer started to claim it was constant. He has hammered home the damsel in distress, sympathy card repeatedly, to the point she is seen as the victim, when in fact she is on trial for a triple homicide. 

If she is found NCR, she could be free six months or a year later. After all, she is so frail, in a wheelchair, so ill etc. how could she possibly be a danger to anyone? She has countless women identifying with her, putting a halo over her head, which is beyond comprehension. 

But the crux of it, and what is underlying all of it, is a profit motive on the part of both Lindsay, and her husband Patrick. Not only did they absolve themselves of all parental responsibility, even though no one else had custody of those children, they have both launched huge multi-million dollar separate lawsuits. 

Immediately after the murders, it has been reported Patrick Clancy collected $1.7 million in GoFundMe donations. That wasn’t enough for him. He is suing the state, the health care practitioners etc.

Lindsay Clancy is doing the same thing. Not only does she expect to be found NCR, she too, expects a multi-million dollar payout, in addition to all the GoFundMe donations. They are both angling toward increasingly huge profits, following the murders of their own children at the hands of their mother. 

In my opinion, the fact there are major discrepancies between the two civil lawsuits filed by Patrick and Lindsay Clancy, is going to be a big problem for them when it comes time to deal with the civil case. The jury in the criminal trial cannot hear those discrepancies, but chances are the prosecution will figure out a way to point them out indirectly. 

It seems inconceivable that anyone would even attempt to gain so much money after such grisly crimes against innocent children. Those children had no way of defending themselves, no way of escaping, and no voice whatsoever. None of those profits are going to benefit the children. Yet PC has set up an estate for each child. Since when do children have estates?

It is heartbreaking to know how much the older children fought for their lives, especially the brave and feisty little boy. He was just three years old. Lindsay spoke about how he battled her at every step, before the murders. It was a battle he had no hope to win.

The trial is their only voice, and although nothing will bring them back, justice is very important for the victims, for the families, the first responders, and all the people who are following this trial. 

The truth has not really been fully identified. The prosecution has been pulling at those threads, but there is a great deal of deception from start to finish. 

The jury has quite an uphill battle. If they are deadlocked, there will likely be another trial. 

For those like myself, who are not on the sympathy bandwagon, and do not view LC as a wonderful mother, and wonderful person – I have to ask, how so? She was a mother for just five years, and did not give those kids a chance to grow up. After five years she threw in the towel, attacked them, and strangled the life out of them.

To me that speaks of anger, resentment, revenge, and possibly a profit motive. People say she had no motive, yet those motives are as old as the hills. Perhaps she no longer wanted the demands of parenting, and was in a failing marriage.

She would have known she would not win a custody battle, given all her mental health issues. The old adage “if I cannot have them, no one can” is a frequent cause for spousal homicides.

When you look at how carefully the murders were planned, and how she sent her husband on those errands, you can be sure she knew full well that he was going to be the one coming home to find the carnage. 

When it comes to marriages, perfect images on social media, and what goes on behind closed doors are two different things. Surely this case has some claustrophobic skeletons in those closets, rattling their bones like crazy to get out, and tell it like it is. 

I hope the truth comes out. For Lindsay’s sake – her only hope now, is to tell the truth. If she is unrepentant, and takes no responsibility, she imperils her own soul.

I am not of the opinion she should “rot in hell” as some say, and am glad there is no death penalty in that state. However, I do believe when we do something wrong, we must recognize it, take responsibility, and show true remorse, and repentance.

Only Jesus can forgive her and heal her now, but she will have to repent, and believe in Him, in order to be forgiven. 

For the unrepentant, God makes it pretty clear that murdering  innocent children, or anyone for that matter – will not go unpunished. God gives us the breath of life. Woe to anyone who takes it away, especially from children. 

We can be sure those children’s stifled voices, were heard by God in their final moments. It is the only consolation in this tragic case.