Mother accused of killing three children in Massachusetts

Julianne McShane and David K. Li and Phil Helsel and Mirna Alsharif
Updated ·2 min read
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Mother accused of killing three children in Massachusetts

A mother is accused of strangling three of her children before she jumped out a window in an attempted suicide at their suburban Boston home, officials said Wednesday.

An arrest warrant had already been issued Wednesday for Lindsay Clancy for two counts of homicide in connection with the deaths of her 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. Her 8-month-old son, who she's also accused of strangling and was "grievously wounded," has since died, NBC Boston reported.

It's not clear at this time if Clancy will face new charges over the infant's death.

Clancy's husband called 911 at 6:11 p.m. ET Tuesday, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said.

First responders found three children in the home in Duxbury. The children were unconscious and “with obvious signs of severe trauma,” Cruz said.

"Preliminarily it appears that the children were strangled," Cruz told reporters late Wednesday afternoon.

Two children are dead and their mother and an infant are hospitalized following the mother's attempted suicide at the family's home in Duxbury, Mass., on Tuesday. (NBC Boston)
Two children are dead and their mother and an infant are hospitalized following the mother's attempted suicide at the family's home in Duxbury, Mass., on Tuesday. (NBC Boston)

Cruz said that as soon as possible, “we will be arraigning her on two charges of murder in the deaths of her children.”

Cora, 5, and Dawson, 3, were pronounced dead after they were taken to a hospital, Cruz said.

An 8-month-old infant, identified by NBC Boston as Callan, was flown to a Boston hospital, he said. Their condition was not released at the time.

An arrest warrant was issued against Clancy, 32, for two counts of homicide, three counts of strangulation, and three counts of assault and battery with a deadly weapon, the district attorney’s office said.

Two children are dead and their mother and an infant are hospitalized following the mother's attempted suicide at the family's home in Duxbury, Mass., on Tuesday. (NBC Boston)
Two children are dead and their mother and an infant are hospitalized following the mother's attempted suicide at the family's home in Duxbury, Mass., on Tuesday. (NBC Boston)

“This is an unimaginable, senseless tragedy,” he said.

Police officers who responded to the scene were taken off duty in the aftermath, “but they are OK,” Duxbury Police Chief Michael Carbone told reporters Tuesday night.

Duxbury’s fire department tweeted that resources from six towns were used to respond to the incident.

Duxbury is an affluent bedroom community 35 miles south of Boston.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com