Patrick Clancy has said he forgave his former wife, Lindsay Clancy, for the deaths of their three children while holding their critically ill baby son in hospital.
Speaking in his first televised interview since a jury failed to reach a verdict in the Massachusetts murder case, Mr Clancy described the grief, suicidal thoughts and panic attacks he experienced after the tragedy in Duxbury.
The interview was broadcast on CBS News’ 60 Minutes on Sunday, September 20. Mr Clancy said his youngest child, eight-month-old Callan, survived for four days after the events of January 24, 2023, before dying in his arms.
As he held Callan, Mr Clancy said he typed tributes to his other children, Cora and Dawson, with one hand. He said it was during that period that he decided to forgive Lindsay.
“I saw headlines that say ‘killer mom’ and ‘baby murderer monster’ and none of them were accurate,” he said. “I believed that it was her mental illness that caused that.”
Patrick Clancy describes toll of trial
Mr Clancy told the programme that the deaths and the subsequent trial had left him struggling to cope. He said there had been a period when he did not expect to live to the age of 35 and was not troubled by the prospect.
“There was a time I didn’t think I would live to see my 35th birthday, and I was completely fine with it,” he said.
He also recalled suffering a panic attack while giving evidence at Lindsay Clancy’s trial, after prosecutors played the 911 call he made when he discovered the children. The recording captured him crying and howling as he tried to explain what had happened to an emergency dispatcher.
Asked whether he blamed himself or felt he had failed his children, Mr Clancy said: “I think I did the best I could with what I had at the time. And I live with the outcome. I live with it every day.”
The case ended in a mistrial on September 4 after the jury became deadlocked. Eleven jurors were reportedly prepared to find Lindsay Clancy not criminally responsible, while one supported the prosecution’s case that she knew what she was doing.
The defence argued that Lindsay Clancy had been experiencing severe mental illness, including postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors maintained that she was criminally responsible for the deaths. The Plymouth County district attorney has not said whether a second trial will be sought.
Conspiracy theories described as distraction
Mr Clancy also criticised online conspiracy theories which included unfounded claims that he had been involved in the deaths of his children.
He said the speculation risked damaging their memory and diverted attention from what he believed should be the central issue: perinatal mental health.
“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.”
