Day Three of Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial focused almost entirely on the police officers, firefighters and paramedics who rushed to the family’s Duxbury home on January 24, 2023.
Ten first responders testified Thursday, describing how an initial call for an injured woman outside the home quickly became a frantic effort to save three children found unresponsive in the basement. The children were Cora Clancy, 5, Dawson Clancy, 3, and Callan Clancy, who was 8 months old.
The Commonwealth maintains that Clancy deliberately killed the children. Her defense does not dispute that she caused their deaths but argues that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was not criminally responsible for her actions.
Clancy was present in court with defense attorney Kevin Reddington. Assistant District Attorneys Jennifer Sprague and Shannon Buckingham presented the Commonwealth’s witnesses.
Officers Enter the Clancy Home
Duxbury Police Officer Stephen Hall testified that he was dispatched to 47 Summer Street at approximately 6:11 p.m. When he arrived, he encountered Patrick Clancy in the backyard with Lindsay lying injured on the ground.
Hall and Officer Brian Josephine initially remained outside while Patrick went into the home to check on the children. Moments later, they heard him scream.
Josephine testified that Patrick yelled, “She killed the f***ing kids,” prompting both officers to rush inside.
The officers followed Patrick into the basement. Photographs introduced by the Commonwealth showed the basement stairs, workout equipment, exercise bands, the room where Dawson was found and the separate area where Cora and Callan were discovered.
Josephine testified that Dawson was lying on his back near exercise equipment. He picked the child up, carried him through the house and placed him onto a stretcher as an ambulance arrived. Josephine then immediately returned to the basement after hearing references to multiple children.
On the opposite side of the basement, responders found Cora and Callan motionless on the floor. Police officers and firefighters began chest compressions, rescue breathing and other emergency treatment.
Hall testified that Patrick’s use of the word “them,” when saying he could not wake the children, made officers realize they needed to continue searching the home.
A Scene That Became Chaotic
Duxbury Fire Captain P. J. Hussey described arriving while Lindsay was being treated outside. After hearing a scream, Hussey looked through a basement window and saw Patrick moving something from around a child’s head or neck.
Hussey immediately called for additional Duxbury personnel and requested mutual aid ambulances from neighboring communities. Only one staffed Duxbury ambulance was initially available, and responders soon realized they had four patients requiring care.
“It turned very chaotic very quickly,” Hussey testified.
The testimony showed responders repeatedly switching roles as more patients were discovered. Some performed chest compressions while others operated breathing masks, retrieved equipment, moved furniture to create working space or carried the children from the basement.
Officer Vincent Cahill testified that he checked Cora and Callan for pulses and found none. He then helped move an ottoman out of the way before assisting with CPR and rescue breathing on Cora.
Paramedics Describe Efforts to Save the Children
The Commonwealth called several firefighters and paramedics who described the extensive treatment provided to each child.
Responders testified that Dawson was blue, unresponsive, not breathing and without a pulse when they began treating him in the ambulance. They continued CPR, established access through the bone of his leg, administered epinephrine and successfully placed a breathing tube into his airway. A paramedic also observed dark red marks around Dawson’s neck.
The responders continued those efforts during transport, but Dawson did not regain a pulse.
Firefighters treating Callan testified that they performed infant chest compressions by placing their hands around his body and using their thumbs. They provided oxygen, attempted to establish access through the bones in his legs and continued CPR until he was carried outside and transported to the hospital.
A firefighter testified that Callan had deep marks extending around the circumference of his neck. He did not regain a pulse or begin breathing during the treatment inside the house or during the ambulance ride.
Other responders continued CPR and assisted breathing for Cora before she was removed from the basement and placed in a separate ambulance.
The testimony was largely uncontested by the defense. Reddington declined to cross examine several of the police officers and firefighters whose testimony concerned the discovery and treatment of the children.
Defense Questions Treatment of Lindsay Clancy
The defense became more active when the Commonwealth’s witnesses turned to Lindsay’s injuries and medical treatment.
Paramedic Robert Costanzo testified that Lindsay’s wrists had already been bandaged and that she was wearing a cervical collar when he treated her. He said he could see what appeared to be lacerations through openings in the collar but did not observe active bleeding.
Costanzo also testified that Lindsay’s pupils appeared constricted. Because that can be associated with an opioid overdose, he administered Narcan. Lindsay did not fully wake up, although Costanzo said she began reaching and grabbing somewhat more afterward. He acknowledged that Narcan is used for opioids and not benzodiazepines.
During cross examination, Reddington challenged Costanzo’s description of the wounds as superficial. He emphasized that the initial examination occurred in a dark backyard and that the cervical collar limited Costanzo’s view of Lindsay’s neck.
On redirect, the Commonwealth established that Costanzo spent approximately 18 minutes with Lindsay inside a well lit ambulance. He testified that he did not see blood seeping through the bandages on her wrists or flowing from her neck during that time.
Reddington also questioned paramedic Daniel Daugherty about the cold weather and the possibility that Lindsay had been lying outside for an unknown period before Patrick returned home.
The defense asked whether hypothermia can restrict blood flow and whether that could affect the amount of visible bleeding. Daugherty agreed that cold temperatures can affect blood flow but said he did not know what effect hypothermia may have had in Lindsay’s specific case.
Reddington further asked whether Daugherty knew that Lindsay’s wrist wounds were not sutured until the following day or that the wound on her neck was not sutured. Daugherty said he had not received that later medical information.
The questioning offered an early look at how the defense may challenge the Commonwealth’s interpretation of Lindsay’s injuries. Rather than dispute the emergency response or what officers found inside the basement, Reddington focused on the limits of what the witnesses could determine about her physical condition.
Jury Preparing to Visit Key Locations
Judge William Sullivan dismissed the jury earlier than usual Thursday afternoon.
The judge previously told jurors they would travel together by bus to locations referenced during the testimony. He instructed them to consider appropriate footwear and check the weather before the scheduled visit.
The jury is expected to visit key locations Friday before testimony resumes.
Day Three gave jurors their most detailed account yet of the emergency response inside the Clancy home. The Commonwealth used the testimony to establish the physical scene and the condition of the children, while the defense began drawing distinctions between what responders observed and what they were medically qualified to conclude.
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