[Editor's note: Some readers may find the information in the story below disturbing.]
A chilling series of events emerged in court Tuesday as prosecutors outlined minute-by-minute how they say Lindsay Clancy planned the murders of her young children, gave herself the time to commit those murders and then killed them in the home where they lived.
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On the morning of Jan. 24, prosecutors outlined what sounded like a routine day for a parent, with Lindsay Clancy taking her 5-year-old daughter Cora to the pediatrician for an appointment. She allegedly interacted with the receptionist, nursing staff and doctor, none of whom noticed any issues with her behavior. She was allowed to leave without concern.
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Prosecutors said she then returned home and went outside with Cora and her 3-year-old son Dawson to play in the snow. They built a snowman and she sent photos to her mom and husband and texted with them, again with no sign of any distress or trouble. At this point, prosecutors say she began a series of calculated events that would ultimately lead to the deaths of all three children -- Cora, Dawson and her infant son Callan.
Here is a detailed timeline of the events that followed, as described by prosecutors:
4:02 p.m.: Lindsay Clancy searched "kids Miralax," a product used to treat constipation, on her phone.
4:13 p.m.: She also searched for "takeout ThreeV," a restaurant in nearby Plymouth. Immediately after doing so, she used Apple Maps on her phone to determine how long it would take to drive from Duxbury to ThreeV Restaurant.
4:47 p.m.: After going to the CVS website, Lindsay called the drug store and asked if they had kids Miralax. The manager told her no but said they had other, similar medications. According to the manager, her voice did not sound slurred or impaired and it was a perfectly normal conversation.
4:53 p.m.: Lindsay texted her husband Patrick, who was working at his home office in the basement, and asked him if he wanted to do takeout from ThreeV Restaurant. "I didn't cook anything, it's been a long day," she wrote. Prosecutors said this was unusual because they usually got takeout closer to home, but it was a restaurant they had been to in the past. Patrick texted back "Yes," and Lindsay asked him to check the menu.
5:06 p.m.: Patrick texted his wife and asked her what she was going to order. She responded a Mediterranean Power Bowl and he then told her he wanted the Scallop and Pork Belly Risotto.
5:10 p.m.: Lindsay called ThreeV Restaurant and placed their order. The hostess said she noticed nothing out of the ordinary about the call, adding that she was able to understand the defendant.
5:15 p.m.: Patrick headed out the door to run the errands, and his wife texted him "Pedia-Lax liquid stool softener" a short time later.
5:32 p.m.: Surveillance video shows Patrick at CVS in the children's medicine aisle.
5:33 p.m.: Phone records show Patrick called his wife but she did not answer.
5:34 p.m.: Lindsay called her husband back, a call that lasted 14 seconds, telling him what medication she wanted. Prosecutors said Patrick said the call was "completely normal" but he later mentioned that it seemed like his wife was in the middle of something.
5:37 p.m.: Patrick makes his purchase at CVS and leaves.
5:54 p.m.: Surveillance footage shows Patrick picking up his takeout order at ThreeV Restaurant and leaving.
6:09 p.m.: After arriving home, prosecutors say Patrick did not see or hear his wife or their children, so he called Lindsay's cell phone looking for them. He went to their bedroom and found it locked. When he was able to get inside, he saw blood on the floor and an open window. His wife was on the ground outside the house, with wounds on her wrists and neck. She was conscious, and Patrick asked Lindsay, "What did you do?" She replied that she had tried to kill herself by jumping out of the window. During the ensuing 911 call, prosecutors say Patrick can be heard asking his wife where the kids are. She replied, "In the basement." When emergency medical technicians arrived, Patrick went to look for his kids, and can be heard on the 911 call entering the home and the basement and then "screaming in agony and shock" as he found his children, prosecutors say. Cora and Callan were on the floor in the den area of the finished basement, and Dawson was alone on the floor in his father's home office. "Each child still had the exercise band used to strangle them tied around their necks when their father found them," prosecutors said. Patrick removed the bands and could be heard begging his children to breathe. He continued to scream uncontrollably, "She killed the kids."
Cora and Dawson were declared dead at the scene. Callan was taken by medical helicopter to an area hospital, where he remained on life support for several days before passing away. Lindsay Clancy was taken to South Shore Hospital and then transferred to a Boston-area hospital with several broken bones in her back and rib cage. Her lawyer said Tuesday the she is paralyzed from the waist down, adding it's unlikely she'll ever regain motion in her lower body.
Prosecutors said despite having recently finished a stay at McLean Hospital, a psychiatric unit in Belmont, and despite exhibiting suicidal ideation in the past, Lindsay was not suffering from postpartum depression or symptoms.
Kevin Reddington, Lindsay's defense lawyer, disputed that point in court Tuesday.
"This is not a situation that was planned, by any means," Reddington said. "This is a situation that was clearly a result of mental illness."
Lindsay Clancy was arraigned Tuesday from her hospital bed on murder and assault charges in the deaths of Cora and Dawson. She still has yet to be charged with murder in 8-month-old Callan's death.
A private funeral service was held for the children on Friday.
