Archive · 2 Sep 2026
Lindsay Clancy Trial Fuels Outrage Over Disturbing TikTok Trend
Lindsay Clancy is on trial after her three children died in January 2023.
She has admitted that she killed them but says she was not responsible because of severe mental illness.
Her lawyers have pointed to postpartum psychosis and problems getting enough psychiatric care.
Prosecutors say she knew what she was doing and understood that it was wrong.
While people have been following the trial, some women posted videos pretending to hurt babies.
Many people online called those videos sick and upsetting.
Other supporters have posted messages showing sympathy for Clancy and discussing maternal mental health.
The jury has not yet reached a unanimous decision.
A circulating TikTok compilation shows women pretending to harm infants, prompting widespread condemnation on X and elsewhere.
Lindsay Clancy is accused of killing her three children at the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023.
Clancy has admitted killing the children but pleaded not guilty by reason of lack of criminal responsibility.
Her defense cites severe mental illness, including postpartum psychosis, while prosecutors argue she understood and deliberately committed the acts.
After four days of deliberations, jurors said on September 1 that they could not reach a unanimous decision and were sent home to continue deliberating.
- Who
- Lindsay Clancy, her three children, her defense team, prosecutors, and jurors in Massachusetts.
- What
- Clancy is being tried over the deaths of her three children, while a related social-media trend showing women pretending to harm babies has drawn outrage.
- When
- The children died in January 2023; jurors reported being unable to reach a unanimous decision on September 1 after four days of deliberations.
- Where
- The deaths occurred at the family’s home in Duxbury, Massachusetts; the online debate has spread through TikTok and X.
- Why
- The defense argues that severe mental illness, including postpartum psychosis, made Clancy not criminally responsible, while prosecutors argue that she acted deliberately and understood her conduct.
Defense and Clancy Supporters
Prosecutors and Online Critics
Mental state and criminal responsibility
Defense and Clancy Supporters
Clancy’s defense says her mental condition deteriorated significantly after the birth of her youngest child and that postpartum psychosis made her not criminally responsible.
Prosecutors and Online Critics
Prosecutors argue that her behavior before and during the killings showed she knew what she was doing and understood that it was wrong.
How the case should be discussed online
Defense and Clancy Supporters
Some supporters have emphasized Clancy’s reported anxiety, depression, maternal distress, and mental-health struggles through demonstrations, social-media posts, and other expressions of solidarity.
Prosecutors and Online Critics
Critics say some supportive posts blur the distinction between compassion for mental illness and minimizing the deaths of three children.
Videos pretending to harm babies
Defense and Clancy Supporters
The article describes the videos as part of a broader wave of social-media activity connected to the case, alongside other forms of support.
Prosecutors and Online Critics
Many commenters condemned the videos, which appear to show women pretending to throw babies down stairs or place them in washing machines, as disturbing, sick, and inappropriate.
- Defendant
- Lindsay Clancy, a former labor and delivery nurse
- Children
- Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and Callan, 8 months
- Location of deaths
- The family home in Duxbury, Massachusetts
- Defense position
- Clancy was not criminally responsible because of severe mental illness, including postpartum psychosis
- Prosecution position
- Clancy understood what she was doing and acted deliberately
- Jury status
- Jurors reported no unanimous decision after four days of deliberations on September 1
- Possible outcomes
- Murder or lesser-charge convictions, acquittal, or a finding of lack of criminal responsibility