{"id":794516,"date":"2026-07-31T02:09:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T02:09:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/794516\/"},"modified":"2026-07-31T02:09:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-31T02:09:09","slug":"lindsay-clancy-trial-what-we-learned-from-patricks-911-call","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/794516\/","title":{"rendered":"Lindsay Clancy trial: What we learned from Patrick’s 911 call"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lindsay Clancy has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to first-degree murder charges<\/a>. She admits she killed their children but maintains she was deeply in the throes of postpartum depression and psychosis and should not be held criminally responsible.<\/p>\n

She is in the midst of a trial<\/a> that\u2019s drawn national attention for its unfathomable details, but also for the questions it raises about postpartum care, mental health, and prosecutorial discretion.<\/p>\n

The 911 call, and Patrick Clancy\u2019s testimony around it<\/a>, brought to light new details in the case. While the recording was played Wednesday, several members of the jury fought back tears and others appeared shaken. It was so graphic that Plymouth Superior Judge William F. Sullivan previously took the extraordinary step of prohibiting its release to the public, allowing only those present in the courtroom to hear it. Here is what we learned:<\/p>\n

He had cell trouble as he tried making the call.<\/p>\n

Before jurors heard the 911 call, they listened to Patrick Clancy\u2019s testimony about what happened leading up to it \u2014 coming home to find a quiet house and then blood in the bedroom, where the wind blew in through an open window on that January evening. When he ran outside, he found his then-wife lying injured on the ground, and tried to call 911.<\/p>\n

But he had issues with cell service, he testified: \u201cIt took a few minutes.\u201d His phone kept jumping on and off their Wifi network, making it difficult for the call to go through. He considered simply yelling for the neighbors, but he finally reached a dispatcher, he said.<\/p>\n

At first, he was calling just about Lindsay. <\/p>\n

As Lindsay Clancy lay in the backyard, drifting in and out of consciousness, he asked her what happened, he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe said, \u2018I tried to kill myself,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

He said he asked where the kids were.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said, \u2018They\u2019re in the basement\u2019,\u201d Patrick Clancy testified. Prosecutor Jennifer Sprague asked if Lindsay Clancy had said anything about the children in danger or hurt. He said she did not.<\/p>\n

This is reflected in the recording of the 911 call that the jury heard. Patrick Clancy was led from the courtroom midway through his testimony before it was played, sparing him the trauma of having to listen to it. <\/p>\n

At the start of the call, he told the 911 dispatcher,\u201cMy wife tried to commit suicide.\u201d<\/p>\n

He described her wounds \u2014 which are already a point of contention in the trial<\/p>\n

The 911 dispatcher asked about her injuries, and Patrick said she had cuts on her neck and wrists. The dispatcher said they could tell him how to apply pressure and stop the bleeding as he waited for emergency medical personnel to arrive. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not really bleeding,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s an open wound.\u201d<\/p>\n

This gets to one of the points of contention brought up in the opening statements \u2013 the seriousness of Lindsay Clancy\u2019s suicide attempt. The prosecution called Lindsay Clancy\u2019s wounds \u201csuperficial\u201d and cast doubt on the seriousness of them. Kevin Reddington, Lindsay Clancy\u2019s attorney<\/a>, has sharply pushed back, noting her injuries from leaping out the window left her paralyzed.<\/p>\n

During Patrick Clancy\u2019s testimony, he said blood had been \u201ceverywhere\u201d in the bedroom where she\u2019d cut herself, and that she had \u201cdeep\u201d cuts when he\u2019d found her. Prosecutors had pushed back on those characterizations by showing photos of some splashes of blood in the room and presenting him with what he\u2019d said during the 911 call.<\/p>\n

He stayed with her \u2014 and on the phone with 911 \u2014 as he waited for first responders.<\/p>\n

The 911 call captured Patrick Clancy talking to Lindsay as she lay on the ground.<\/p>\n

He begged her to open her eyes, and asked her of the suicide attempt: \u201cWhy did you do it?\u201d<\/p>\n

Emergency personnel arrived in about five minutes and began tending to Lindsay.<\/p>\n

After they arrived, he said, \u201cI need you to stay here \u2014 I got to go check on my kids.\u201d <\/p>\n

He headed to the basement.<\/p>\n

Jurors heard his horror as he found the children dead. <\/p>\n

Because he stayed on the line with 911 for another few minutes, jurors heard the moments he found their bodies and began to scream. According to his testimony, he found 5-year-old Cora, then 8-month-old Callan, then Dawson, 3, each strangled with knotted exercise bands and frantically removed them.<\/p>\n

He screamed in anguish, unable to find the words to describe the horrific scene as the dispatcher repeatedly asked, \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe killed the kids!\u201d he said. \u201cOhhhhh, oh my God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean Cotter can be reached at sean.cotter@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @cotterreporter<\/a>. Shelley Murphy can be reached at shelley.murphy@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her @shelleymurph<\/a>.<\/p>\n