Patrick Clancy, the former husband of a US woman accused of killing their three children, has said he forgave her for their deaths, saying he would have been “eaten up inside forever” if he had not.In an interview with CBS News, Clancy said he believed his former wife Lindsay Clancy’s severe mental illness was responsible for the killings. The BBC reported that Lindsay has not disputed that she killed the children, but her lawyers argued that she should not be held legally responsible because she was suffering from severe mental illness.Lindsay, now 36, was accused of strangling their children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, at their home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, on January 24, 2023. She later jumped from a second-floor window and was left paralysed.A judge declared a mistrial earlier this month after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict on whether Lindsay was criminally responsible for the killings. Prosecutors have not yet said whether they will seek a retrial.
‘I believe mental illness caused it’
Patrick said he had struggled to understand Lindsay’s condition in the months before the killings and admitted he “didn’t know how to manage a postpartum illness”.Lindsay’s defence team said she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, a rare condition that can involve severe disturbances in mood and thinking after childbirth.Patrick said he rejected descriptions of his former wife as a “killer mom” or “baby murderer”.“I believe that it was her mental illness that caused that,” he said, adding that forgiveness was necessary for him to cope with what happened.Asked whether he felt he had failed his family, Patrick said: “I think I did the best I could with what I had at the time. And I live with the outcome. I live with it every day.”
Patrick faced online criticism
Patrick also spoke about the intense online criticism and conspiracy theories surrounding the case, including claims that he was somehow responsible for the deaths of his children.He said the speculation was “deeply harmful to the legacy of my children” and distracted from what he believed was the key issue — perinatal mental health.Patrick has since found love again with Dr Rachel Danis. His remarriage became public in July 2026, when Lindsay’s attorney Kevin Reddington disclosed Patrick’s divorce from Lindsay and his new marriage ahead of her trial.Patrick said he experienced suicidal thoughts after the killings and eventually moved from Duxbury to New York City in search of anonymity.He and Danis are now building a family together, with Patrick saying he hopes to tell his future children about their three siblings.The case remains unresolved following the mistrial. Lindsay is currently being held at a hospital in Massachusetts, with the next court hearing scheduled for September 29.