A glimpse into the true self of Lindsay Clancy before the tragedy, revealed by the family nanny
BEHIND THE CURTAIN
Rare insight into what Lindsay Clancy was really like before she killed three kids revealed by family’s nanny
LINDSAY Clancy’s former nanny has revealed what the mom of three was like in the months before she strangled her children to death in the basement of her home.
As Elaine Rossi took the stand to reveal what it was like working for the Clancy family, Lindsay kept her head down as she clutched a tissue in her hand.
Lindsay Clancy has been accused of strangling her three children to death with exercise bands in the basement of their homeCredit: AP
Elaine Rossi, the nanny to Clancy children, testified about working with the family in the months before the kids’ deathsCredit: AP
Rossi was hired to primarily care for Lindsay’s youngest child CallanCredit: Plymouth Superior Court
The Clancy family pictured weeks before the children’s deathsCredit: Plymouth Superior Court
Lindsay has pleaded not guilty to three murder charges after her kids Cora, 5, Dawson, 3 and eight-month-old Callan, were found with exercise bands around their necks in the basement of their home in Duxbury, Massachusetts.
Lindsay has admitted to killing her children, but her defense plans to argue she was not criminally responsible for murder because she was suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis.
In the months before their deaths, Lindsay was prescribed 13 different medications for her mental health struggles.
Soon after strangling her children on January 24, 2023, Lindsay crushed up pills, cut her wrists and neck with a knife from her kitchen and jumped from her second story bedroom window, which left her paralyzed from the waist down and in a wheelchair.
In the second week of her murder trial, Lindsay’s former nanny took the stand to recall what it was like working with the family.
Rossi said she responded to a job ad Lindsay shared on Facebook, and began working part-time for the family in the first week of September 2022 to primarily care for Callan.
Cora and Dawson would attend preschool multiple times a week, but Rossi would also care for them on occasion.
Rossi revealed she never had concerns about Lindsay interacting with the three children.
“I observed a wonderful mom who loved her kids,” she said.
“She was very concerned with their safety. She was very concerned with Callan’s eating and sleeping. She was a wonderful mother.”
Rossi said she and Lindsay would communicate over text and through a yellow notebook that had “Callan Patrick Clancy” handwritten on the front.
In the notebook, Lindsay would leave notes for Rossi to read in the mornings, where she detailed when Callan was last fed, when he should go down for a nap and anything else she found relevant for the day.
Lindsay was expecting to go back to work as a labor and delivery nurse a few months after having Callan but never went backCredit: AP
The yellow notebook where Lindsay and Rossi would communicateCredit: AP
One of the notes written by LindsayCredit: AP
Another note written by Lindsay in the notebookCredit: AP
Prosecutor Assistant District Attorney Shanan Buckingham assessed Lindsay’s entries as being “very particular” about her youngest child’s schedule.
When asked if she found Lindsay’s notes “overbearing” or “controlling,” Rossi said “Not at all.”
Rossi would help out with preparing meals, doing laundry and handling light housekeeping, but was primarily hired to care for Callan once Lindsay went back to work as a labor and delivery nurse.
“She shared with me that she was suffering from postpartum,” the nanny said when asked about Lindsay’s mental health struggles.
Rossi testified that Lindsay told her she was going to stop breastfeeding Callan because she was starting a new medication.
During the months she worked for the Clancys, Rossi said she didn’t notice any differences in her demeanor, but recalled commenting on how she was losing weight at one point.
Rossi also said she was not aware of Lindsay going to the hospital in the fall of 2022, which is around the time Lindsay’s then-husband Patrick Clancy testified her depressive state was becoming “just worse and worse.”
Lindsay also opened up to Rossi about her difficulty sleeping, where she spent time sleeping in the basement around the end of November.
Patrick Clancy found his three children in the basement of their homeCredit: Handout
Lindsay took her daughter Cora for a check up appointment on January 23, 2023Credit: Facebook
“I would always ask her how she was feeling or how she was doing,” Rossi said.
Soon after Thanksgiving in 2022, Rossi recalled seeing Lindsay in the kitchen, saying she expected her to be sleeping after working a shift.
“She told me that she wouldn’t be going back to work,” she said, later revealing she found no changes in her demeanor after Lindsay made that decision.
Rossi said Patrick and Lindsay told her they would no longer be needing her services as a nanny soon after that as they would both be home to care for the children.
Rossi stopped working for the Clancys around the beginning of December 2022, and said she left on “wonderful terms.”
Andrea Hennigan, a fellow labor and delivery nurse that worked with Lindsay for seven years, said Lindsay opened up to her about getting on medications, being worried about going back to work after having Callan and being hospitalized.
Hennigan said Lindsay “loved being a nurse and was excellent at it,” adding it was a “calling” for Lindsay.
She said Lindsay was very attentive to her patients and was “incredibly nurturing and caring.”
Lindsay seen fighting back tears as the details of her children’s death are read in courtCredit: AP
Several people who interacted with the Clancy children took the stand in Lindsay’s trial, including their pediatrician and day care teachersCredit: Reuters
She also said Lindsay would check in on her children while at work by checking the cameras at her home, adding that Lindsay had a desire to be a mother and have children.
“This is exactly what she wanted, she wanted a big family, she was happy to have her children close in age.”
On Thursday, the children’s pediatrician Lindsay Rosshirt took the stand, where she said Lindsay was usually the one to bring the kids to their appointments.
Lindsay brought Cora to Rosshirt’s office on the morning of January 24, 2023, where the pediatrician recalled she was able to understand Lindsay and Lindsay could understand her.
She agreed with Lindsay’s lawyer that Lindsay was a “doting” mother and agreed the children were healthy and seemed happy.
“I always thought she was a good mom,” Rosshirt said.
Susan Bertolo, a teacher who worked at the preschool in Duxbury where Dawson and Cora attended, said on Thursday that Lindsay was very responsive on the app the school used to communicate with families.
She also recalled Cora telling her about her mom being in the hospital sometime around December 2022 or January 2023.
“She missed her mom and she was vocal about that,” she said.
Stephanie Williams, another preschool teacher who taught Cora, called Lindsay “a very loving mother who cared about her children.”
She didn’t notice anything different about her interaction with Lindsay on the day of January 23, 2023, one day before the kids’ deaths.
That day, Cora had not been feeling well and had some stomach troubles and was still laying on her cot when Lindsay arrived to pick her up.
Williams told Lindsay that Cora wasn’t feeling well and recalled Lindsay went to pick her up off the cot, saying, “Oh baby. Come on, let’s go get Dawson and we’ll go home.”
If you missed week one of the trial, you can catch up with a recap of day one or day two on our YouTube Channel. Catch up on day three of the trial with testimonies from first responders from our live blog.
