Patrick Clancy reveals what Lindsay told him after children’s deaths: ‘It was like a dream’

PLYMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS: Patrick Clancy has revealed what he asked his ex-wife, Lindsay Clancy, after she killed their three children, opening up about the devastating conversation in his first public interview since her trial ended in a mistrial.

During the '60-minute' interview that aired Sunday, September 20, CBS News correspondent Ross Douthat asked Patrick whether Lindsay remembered what happened on January 24, 2023.

Patrick said Lindsay described the killings as resembling a dream she could only vaguely recall.

The interview also revealed Patrick’s decision to forgive Lindsay despite the deaths of their children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months.

Asked whether Lindsay had ever asked him for forgiveness, Patrick responded, “No, but I gave it to her.”

Patrick Clancy recalls conversation with Lindsay after children’s deaths

Douthat asked Patrick whether he had spoken with Lindsay about whether she remembered what had happened.

“I asked her if she remembered it,” Patrick said. “She said it was like a dream and she remembered much in the way you would remember a dream after waking up.”

According to Patrick, Lindsay told him the events felt like a dream and that her memory of them was similar to the fragmented way a person may remember a dream after waking.

The conversation was discussed in the context of Lindsay’s defense at trial, which argued that she was experiencing postpartum psychosis at the time of the killings and should not be held criminally responsible.

Prosecutors, however, argued that Lindsay knew the difference between right and wrong when she killed the children.

The jury ultimately could not reach a unanimous verdict, resulting in the mistrial.

Patrick says he lives with the outcome every day

Patrick was also asked during the interview whether he believed he had failed his family.

“I think I did the best I could with what I had at the time and I live with the outcome,” Patrick said. “I live with it every day.”

Patrick had previously testified during Lindsay’s trial, recalling the day he returned home on January 24, 2023.

He told the court that Lindsay had appeared happy that day and described it as “one of her best days.”

Lindsay Clancy’s defense centered on postpartum psychosis

Lindsay’s defense did not dispute that she killed the children. Instead, her attorneys argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and should be found not criminally responsible for their deaths.

Her attorney, Kevin Reddington, argued that Lindsay’s psychiatric condition had been exacerbated by medications prescribed to her while she was receiving treatment for depression after the birth of Callan, her third child.

Prosecutors presented a different account during the trial, arguing that Lindsay deliberately killed the children and understood that what she was doing was wrong.

The prosecution also pointed to the circumstances before the killings, including Lindsay sending Patrick out to run errands.

The jury was ultimately unable to reach agreement on whether Lindsay was criminally responsible, ending the trial without a verdict.

Prosecutors have not announced whether they will seek a retrial.

The mistrial left the case unresolved more than three years after the deaths of Cora, Dawson and Callan, and Patrick’s 60 Minutes appearance offered his first extended public discussion of what happened and how he has attempted to rebuild his life.

Patrick has since remarried. His new wife, Dr. Rachel Danis, has also spoken publicly about their relationship and the family they are building together.

For Patrick, however, the deaths of his three children remain a permanent part of his life.

Asked whether Lindsay had ever sought his forgiveness, he said she had not. “No, but I gave it to her,” Patrick said.