What is Lindsay's Army of Love? Pals of mom accused of killing her 3 children drum up support online
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DUXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS: Friends of a Massachusetts mother banded together to stand by her after she murdered her three children while suffering from severe postpartum depression. Relatives of Lindsay Clancy, 32, described her on social media as an extremely generous woman who loved her children very much. They said that she committed such a terrible crime because she was driven by the 'serious demons' of her psychosis.
Many have changed their profile pictures to an image of a heart made up of smaller hearts to express their support and solidarity for Lindsay. The image also includes the letters LAOL, which stands for Lindsay's Army of Love, below it. The mother is accused of strangling her daughter Cora, 5, her son Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old baby Callan. Lindsay is charged with murder and assault and is said to have been suffering from severe postnatal depression at the time of the killing.
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Lindsay's Army of Love
Kristen Gildersleeve, Lindsay's high school classmate, recounted the time they volunteered together. She said she was shocked when she got the news, but later understood the tragedy that occurred when she understood postpartum depression. "I said PPD isn't an excuse because I also suffered from it and I never had thoughts about harming my children and I couldn't fathom the thought of it," she wrote, according to Daily Mail.
"I knew Lindsay from high school...we spent many hours together doing CNA clinical hours and she was such a kind, loving person," she continued. "What I can say for sure is she was battling some serious demons, that nobody can understand if you've never experienced it yourself. To all the people condemning her, I ask you to please look into postpartum psychosis and see if that changes your thoughts, even just a little bit."
Another knew who knew Lindsay, Jeri Lyn, recorded a video of herself and supported the mother, saying that what happened was nothing more than a tragedy. "It just reminds you how precious life is, how important your mental health is, and more so how you never know what somebody else is going through," she said. "I feel for this woman, I feel for her babies, I feel for her family, anybody who is impacted by this tragic tragic situation. I never in a million years would have expected to read or see that, and my heart hurts, it hurts for those who are impacted by it. This morning I just can't stop reading it, I can't put it into words, I can't even make sense of it, and I'm so sad for it."
Friend Christian McSharry described Linsay and her children as "joyful." "A young mother, loving her sweet children, making music in a safe circle of friends," she said of Lindsay. She expressed her strong views about how she felt there needed to be more discussions about and awareness of PPD.
"This needs to be talked about more and normalized so the many who do suffer from any postpartum illness feel safe to speak up," she wrote. "The work to make a mother feel safe needs to happen BEFORE the illness begins."
A friend and former coworker of Lindsay, Dawn Aducci, recalled Lindsay as "A woman, a Mother, a wife, a daughter, a nurse." "I pray their two children who are now angels know that was NOT their Momma, the same mom who rocked them to sleep, wiped their tears, kissed scraped knees, and made silly faces for laughs- that was not their Momma that night," she wrote. "I pray for Lindsay as she eventually will surface from the depths of hell she was feeling inside only to find out she is in a new kind of hell…I pray she is given support throughout this horrific fog."
Since the tragedy, Lindsay's husband Patrick Clancy, 34, made his first public remarks in a post on the family's GoFundMe page by giving insight into his "excruciating and relentless pain". "I want to ask all of you that you find it deep within yourselves to forgive Lindsay, as I have," Clancy wrote. "The real Lindsay was generously loving and caring towards everyone — me, our kids, family, friends, and her patients. The very fibers of her soul are loving. All I wish for her now is that she can somehow find peace."
Investigators are currently looking into whether Lindsay, who worked as a midwife and was on leave from Massachusetts General Hospital, suffered from postpartum psychosis. She had written about her depression on her Facebook page just six weeks after giving birth to Callan, who was born last May.