Mom charged with murder after her two children found dead and infant hospitalized
'Preliminarily, it appears the children were strangled,' the district attorney said.
A mother was charged with murder after two young children were killed in an ‘unimaginable’ tragedy that also left her seven-month-old baby hospitalized, authorities said.
The gruesome scene was discovered in Duxbury, a small affluent town just north of Plymouth, Massachusetts and about 34 miles south of Boston.
Just after 6pm on Tuesday evening, police received a 911 call from a man reporting his wife had attempted suicide by jumping out of their home’s window.
The woman was located by Duxbury police and firefighters, who transported her to a local hospital for treatment. She was later identified as Lindsay Clancy, 32.
‘First responders subsequently located three children under the age of five unconscious with obvious signs of trauma,’ Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz told reporters at the scene.
Two of the children, a five-year-old girl and a three-year-old boy, were transported to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, where they were pronounced dead. They were later identified as Cora Clancy and Dawson Clancy.
‘Preliminarily, it appears the children were strangled,’ Cruz said.
Around 3.30pm on Wednesday, Cruz announced that Lindsay Clancy would be charged with the murder of the two children. She is currently still being treated for her injuries.
‘As soon as able, we will be arraigning her on the two charges of murder for the deaths of her children.’
Another child, an seven-month-old boy, was flown by helicopter to a hospital for treatment.
Cruz later confirmed that the woman is a suspect in the investigation into the children’s deaths, but thanked the Duxbury police and firemen who responded quickly to the scene.
‘I want to further commend the professionalism and the work Duxbury first responders and the Massachusetts State Police,’ the district attorney said. ‘I’m sure many of them will not forget what they saw last evening, and I think we should all be grateful to the men and women who put a uniform on to do this difficult and challenging job.’
According to dispatcher communications obtained by the Boston Globe, the woman leaped from the top window of the home.
‘She’s conscious, it was over a 20-foot fall,’ one first responder reported.
‘This is an unimaginable, senseless tragedy,’ Cruz said. ‘One thing we do want people to understand here in the Duxbury area, this is not something that happened randomly.’ He confirmed that despite this, there was no ongoing threat to the community.
A medical examiner is currently working to determine the cause of the two children’s deaths.
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