A Massachusetts mother will be charged with murder after she allegedly strangled her children before attempting suicide, prosecutors say.
On Tuesday night, a man called 911 saying a woman had attempted suicide by jumping out of a window. The woman was identified as Lindsay Clancy, 32, of Duxbury, Massachusetts, and the caller was identified as her husband but remains unnamed.
When police arrived at the home, they found three children “unconscious with obvious signs of trauma,” Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon, according to CBS 12.
“It’s a horrific situation,” Cruz said. “We’re still putting it together.
He said a preliminary investigation from the medical examiner found that the children had been strangled by their mother. Two of the children, a 5-year-old girl and a 3-year-old boy, were taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center but were pronounced dead. A 7-month-old baby was flown to Boston Children’s Hospital and is still in their care.
“The child is in care right now as we speak,” Cruz said at the press conference. “I don’t have his exact status but I think we should all be praying for him.”
The children’s mother is also being treated at a Boston hospital and will be charged with murder for the deaths of two of her children. Clancy is a labor and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Boston Globe reported.
“We will be arraigning her with two charges of murder in the deaths of her children,” Cruz said.
The Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday that Clancy faced two counts of homicide, three counts of strangulation, and three counts of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, NBC Boston reported.
Cruz assured the public that they were safe and that this was not a random incident. He also declined to comment on possible mental health issues Clancy may have been facing.
“When something like this happens, there are obviously usually more questions than there are answers,” he said. “As we proceed forward, we will give answers as we can.”
The children’s aunt, Donna Jesse, expressed her grief to the outlet.
“They were just beautiful, beautiful children. Well cared for — they were just beautiful, that’s it. They had a beautiful life,” she said.
The children’s great-grandmother, Rita Musgrove, told the outlet that she had talked to their mother just a week ago and that nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
“It’s a pretty shocking thing, and it is heartbreaking,” she said.
The Duxbury Fire Department released a statement Thursday morning saying their “thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this tragic event, their family members, and all the members of our public safety community who responded.”
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.