The Massachusetts mom, Lindsay Clancy, showed signs of happiness before killing her three children.
The Massachusetts mom, 32, was accused of strangling her children to death on January 24. Her husband, Patrick Clancy, told the authorities that his wife had been smiling and happy earlier in the day before the incident occurred.
The husband also recalled his wife saying she was having one of her best days after struggling with mental health problems.
Massachusetts mom strangles 3 children
According to NBC News, prosecutors believed that the Massachusetts mom planned the killing of her three young children. This assumption was made public once further information regarding the date of the occurrence became available.
There was nothing out of the ordinary about Lindsay Clancy's demeanor when she took her daughter Cora to the doctor for an appointment the morning of the killings. The medical staff at the office didn't observe anything unusual about her conduct.
She sent images of the snowman she created with her daughter Cora and her son Dawson to her mother and her husband after they returned home.
Clancy used Apple Maps to determine the time it would take to travel to and from a restaurant in a neighboring town.
After that, she dialed the number of the restaurant and placed an order for pickup, after which she requested that her husband, Patrick, get the food.
The family often ordered takeout from a restaurant closer to their house in Duxbury, but the new eatery, located in Plymouth, Massachusetts, was further away.
After returning home, according to ABC News, Patrick saw their second-floor bedroom window open and his wife, who had attempted suicide, lying on the ground in their backyard. He noticed there were cuts on her neck and wrist.
When the husband, Patrick Clancy, found his three young children in the basement being strangled with exercise bands, he screamed in agony and shock and immediately called 911.
Their firstborn child, Cora, who was five years old, and Dawson, who was three years old, were both pronounced dead at a hospital that evening. Three days later, the boy named Callan, who was seven months old, also died at the hospital.
The Massachusetts mom survived her attempted suicide after she was rushed to the hospital by responders. She confessed to her husband that she had killed their children while lying in her hospital bed and explained that she had heard a voice and experienced a moment of psychosis.
Why do parents kill their own children?
The reasons why a mother with mental health problems may kill her own children are complex and multifaceted. Mental health issues such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, and psychosis can impact a person's ability to think and make decisions rationally.
This type of phenomenon is called filicide. According to the National Library of Medicine, "Filicide" is a term used to describe the act of a parent killing their own child.
This is a relatively rare but tragic occurrence and can profoundly impact families and communities.
There has been a significant amount of research on filicide, including psychological and sociological studies that have aimed to understand the motivations behind this act and identify risk factors.
Some of the most commonly cited reasons for filicide include mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and financial stress. Other factors that have been identified include parental psychopathology, past abuse or neglect, and relationship conflict.
However, it's important to note that most people with mental health issues do not engage in violent behavior, including killing their own children.
In Clancy's case, she continuously pleaded not guilty to killing her three children while the prosecutors continued to present evidence of her normalcy and awareness during the incident.
