In dramatic testimony on Monday, the mother of Lindsay Clancy said that her daughter asked her to come sleep with her at night because of her deteriorating mental state in the months leading up to the murder of her children.
The testimony, which highlighted the depths of Clancy’s mental issues, comes as donations to the family’s GoFundMe account are skyrocketing — fueled in large part by conspiracy theories that it wasn’t Lindsay but her husband Patrick who killed the three young children at their Duxbury, Massachusetts home in January 2023.
While the fund is intended for Lindsay Clancy’s parents — Mike and Paula Musgrove — and the expenses they’ve incurred, the fund has become a proxy for support for Lindsay’s cause.
As of Wednesday morning, over $925,000 has been raised via the account.
The facts of the murders are not in dispute, even by the defense. On Jan. 24, 2023, Lindsay Clancy asked her husband Patrick to go out to run errands. She then strangled 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan with exercise bands. She then tried to strangle herself but failed to kill herself; she is now paralyzed from the waist down due to spinal cord injuries from the attempt.
The defense claims that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and depression along with bipolar disorder, according to NBC News. In addition, they allege these conditions were incorrectly treated by medical professionals who gave her what the New York Post described as “a revolving door of powerful psychiatric medications.
“Jurors have heard testimony that Lindsay was given 30 prescriptions for 13 drugs by a handful of providers in the four months leading to the killings. She also did a five-day stint in a mental institution weeks before because of having intrusive suicidal thoughts,” the Post reported.
Clancy has pleaded not guilty to murder by reason of insanity.
Under Massachusetts law, the burden of proof that an individual was criminally responsible for their actions in the case of an insanity plea lies with the prosecution, and it must either prove that there was no “mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged offense” or that “even if the defendant suffered from a mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged offense, the defendant nonetheless retained the substantial capacity to appreciate the wrongfulness or criminality of their conduct and to conform their conduct to the requirements of the law.”
In testimony for the defense on Monday, Paula Musgrove said that Lindsay had “told us that she had thoughts of harming the children” sometime in December of 2022, roughly one month before the murders.
“I remember her being very nervous,” she said of the discussion. “I remember Pat asking her if she felt like she couldn’t be alone with the children, and she said, ‘No.’”
She said she wasn’t concerned for the safety of the children “because I was there.”
However, she testified that her daughter’s mental health began deteriorating in the four months prior to the murders, and she asked her mother to help her out — including, in one case, coming to sleep with her.
On Oct. 20, 2022, Lindsay texted her mother and asked her to “please come up and stay with me for a bit.”
“I’m really sick. Something is wrong. I have horrible insomnia all night and I just don’t know how I’m going to get through the day,” Lindsay wrote in the text.
“I started taking medicine my doctor prescribed for anxiety and I think it’s made things worse. It’s just really scared and I don’t want to be alone.”
Her mother drove up from Connecticut and was there by late morning, according to the texts. She told the jury that she was “back and forth so many times” she couldn’t keep track of how often she was at the house.
She added that Lindsay was “a very loving mother,” but that the pharmaceutical regimen her daughter was being given was causing serious harm.
“Lindsay had lost a lot of weight, had become paranoid about different things that really weren’t logical,” Musgrove testified. “She would mention this wasn’t her mind. ‘This isn’t me. I have never been like this before,’ and I would agree.”
“She said she couldn’t remember anything. The medication was destroying her mind, and it wasn’t her.”
“I love my grandchildren with all my heart, and you will never know what it is like to love a grandchild until you become a grandmother,” a visibly distraught Musgrove told the court.
While the case has kicked off a social media discussion about the effects of postpartum depression and psychosis, it’s also lent itself to theories of Patrick Clancy’s culpability that even the defense admits aren’t accurate.
Should GoFundMe remove the fundraiser?
Yes: 67% (10 Votes)
No: 33% (5 Votes)
Videos like this, which blame Patrick Clancy for the murders, have been rife on TikTok, Instagram, and X.
Female TikToker takes a break from work to film a video in front of a bathroom stall, explaining that Lindsay Clancy jumped from her window because her husband barricaded her in the room.
Her evidence? Patrick Clancy had “handprints” on furniture in his own house.
“He told her… pic.twitter.com/ftlUXIgbLb
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 19, 2026
Similar messages on the GoFundMe page express support for Lindsay and place the blame on Patrick.
“Lindsay, your ex failed you in every way possible. You were not honored nor protected. All we see in the proceedings are his glaring weaknesses and callousness,” one donor wrote.
“Dear Lindsay, the system and patriarchy failed you. The matriarchy will make sure you’re heard,” another donor’s remark read.
“I stand with Lindsay. You deserved compassion, understanding, and support when you needed it most. The system failed you, but this is not the end. I believe the truth will prevail, and I stand with you and your family,” a third donor remarked.
If Clancy is convicted, she could face life in prison without the possibility of parole. She would be committed to a state mental institution if found not guilty by reason of insanity.
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