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'Beyond disgusted': Internet outraged as support for Lindsay Clancy grows after mental health issues revealed

Lindsay Clancy, who has been accused of murdering her three children, reportedly dealt with mental health issues

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DUXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS: Lindsay Clancy, who has been accused of murdering her three children, reportedly suffered from mental health issues. After the details about her mental health problems were revealed, many people empathized with her. However, social media users are outraged at the support she is receiving.

The bodies of the two children allegedly killed by Clancy, 32, were found in the basement of their home. Clancy pleaded not guilty to killing the children -- Cora, five, and Dawson, three, and seven-month-old Callan who died later in the hospital. The children were found lying in the basement of their house and were discovered by their father, Patrick Clancy, it was confirmed at a hearing.

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Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague said Patrick came back after he went out to get takeout food for the family in Duxbury, and found his bedroom door locked, according to WCVB. However, he managed to get in and subsequently found that his wife had allegedly slit her wrists and jumped out the second-story window.

Lindsay Clancy's mental health issues

Clancy was reportedly diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder in December last year. In the presence of Patrick, a psychiatrist told her that she did not suffer from postpartum depression. Clancy later told her husband she had suicidal ideations, and even admitted she thought about harming the children.

For some days after that, her life went on normally and she even told Patrick at one point that she no longer had suicidal thoughts. A few days ago, after the murders, Clancy was allowed to call her husband. She allegedly told him she had "a moment of psychosis" and when he left the house on January 24, a male voice told her to kill the children and herself as it was her last chance.  

Burden of proof lies with the state

Cora and Dawson reportedly died of ligament strangulation that night. When Callan was taken to the hospital, his heart rate was resuscitated. However, his brain function did not return. The child had to be kept on life support for some days but he eventually died. 

Clancy faces two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of strangulation and suffocation, and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon following the slayings. While she is accused of killing Callan, she does not face charges in connection with his death at present.

Clancy's defense attorney Kevin Reddington said the accused mom was battling postpartum psychosis at the time of the murders. Kevin also said Clancy had just spent some days in a mental healh facility. Prosecuting attorneys, however, claimed Clancy was relatively normal that day, chatting with Patrick about dinner and playing with the children in the snow.

Criminal defense attorney Duncan Levin told The US Sun that Massachusetts state law says the burden of proof lies with the state. Prosecutors will have to reveal evidence claiming Clancy was of sound mind when she murdered her children, rather than the defense being pressurized into proving the mom was battling psychosis.

"This case is not going to center around whether she committed the murders or not," Levin said. "That's something that is not going to be an issue in this case.What is going to be an issue is her mental state and whether she was legally responsible."

'I’m beyond disgusted by the amount of support'

Enraged social media users blasted people defending Clancy due to her alleged mental heath issues. "Yeah it’s everyone else’s fault but her own," one user said, while another wrote, "I’m sorry, she wasn’t an overwhelmed mother! She had the luxury of playing in the snow with her kids, a husband who didn’t burden her with making dinner. Let’s not forget she had (I’m not sure how many children attending daycare/preschool 3 days a week) it’s clear she had help!" "Motive or not, she took three lives that didn’t belong to her. She’s brought irreversible pain into the world and now she is just a burden. It’s not ok for one person to cause this much harm. She’s irrelevant," said one user.

#LindsayClancy really killed all 3 of her kids by STRANGULATION and people are excusing it by saying she had PPD. EXCUSING. THE. MURDERS. OF. 3. INNOCENT. CHILDREN? every other post on FB is a sympathy post for a MURDERER. yikes," one user wrote on Twitter. Another said, "I’m beyond disgusted by the amount of support Lindsay Clancy is receiving for murdering her 3 children!!! She’s never been diagnosed with any postpartum illness, she was literally told she “didn’t even have the symptoms of PPA/PPD/PPP”…" "Lindsay Clancy doesn’t get a pass or my sympathy. So, any mom suffering from PPD can kill their THREE children and get coddled? No. It’s a slippery and dangerous slope to excuse her behavior. Mothers in prison for murdering their children are exactly where they need to be," said one user.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.