Patrick Clancy has spoken publicly for the first time about what his former wife, Lindsay Clancy, told him after she killed their three children, saying she described the events as being “like a dream”.
In an interview broadcast on CBS’s 60 Minutes, Mr Clancy said Lindsay told him she remembered the killings in the same way a person might recall a dream after waking up.
The couple’s children, Cora, five, Dawson, two, and eight-month-old Callan, were attacked at the family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, on January 24, 2023. Cora and Dawson died at the scene, while Callan died in hospital four days later.
Lindsay Clancy has not disputed killing the children, but her defence argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and should not be held criminally responsible.
Her murder trial ended in a mistrial on September 4 after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Eleven jurors were reportedly prepared to find her not criminally responsible, while one supported the prosecution’s case that she understood what she was doing.
Mr Clancy told the programme that he forgave Lindsay, despite the deaths of their children. Asked whether she had sought his forgiveness, he replied: “No. But I gave it to her.”
“I would be eaten up inside forever if I didn’t,” he said, adding that descriptions of Lindsay as a “killer mom” or “monster” did not reflect his view of what happened.
“I believed that it was her mental illness that caused that,” he said.
Mr Clancy also described the impact of discovering his children and giving evidence at the trial. He said he suffered a “massive traumatic panic attack” before jurors heard the emergency call he made after finding the children in the basement.
He said he had also experienced suicidal thoughts following the killings, telling interviewer Ross Douthat: “There was a time I didn’t think I would live to see my 35th birthday. And I was completely fine with it.”
Mr Clancy said online conspiracy theories accusing him of involvement in the children’s deaths had caused further harm.
“It’s deeply harmful to the legacy of my children,” he said. “It is a huge distraction from what really matters here, which is perinatal mental health.”
His new wife, Rachel Danis, appeared alongside him in the interview and rejected speculation surrounding their relationship. The couple met in New York in January 2024 and married in April this year.
It has not yet been decided whether Lindsay Clancy will face a second trial. The case is due to return to court on September 29.
