Patrick Clancy describes holding his dying son — and being the focus of conspiracy theories during the Lindsay Clancy trial

Patrick Clancy said he thought he was doing the best he could in the months leading up to the day his then-wife Lindsay Clancy strangled their three children in their Massachusetts home.

Now, more than three years later, he’s trying to navigate a new level of public scrutiny and conspiracy theories after his ex-wife’s murder trial ended in a mistrial.

“I could piece together what it was like to be really, really anxious or depressed, but I didn’t know how to manage a postpartum illness. I think mental illness has this ability to be tragically deceptive,” he said, speaking in an interview that aired Sunday on “60 Minutes” with CBS correspondent Ross Douthat.

Patrick Clancy was the first witness to testify in the trial , where he spent two days talking about Lindsay Clancy’s downward spiral and postpartum mental health struggles that culminated in the deaths of their three children: Cora, Dawson and Callan.

Asked by Douthat whether he feels angry at himself, Patrick Clancy said: “I think I did the best I could with what I had at the time, and I live with the outcome.”

“I live with it every day, but I think I did the best I could,” he repeated.

The couple had been “on top of the world” prior to the killings, Lindsay Clancy’s attorney Kevin Reddington previously told CNN’s Anderson Cooper . Patrick Clancy “went to the doctor’s appointments with her, stood by her, testified for her in this trial, and also forgave her, which is most important in her mind. That speaks volumes for that man.”

Patrick Clancy testified that his then-wife was “very dedicated” who loved her kids, but was grappling with stress, anxiety and other mental health issues that developed in the aftermath of childbirth.

From September 2022 to January 2023, Lindsay was prescribed numerous medications from several different doctors, “trying to get on the right medication,” he said.

Lone holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy trial speaks out

Eventually, she “described thoughts of hurting the kids or them having some sort of ailment,” Patrick Clancy testified, adding he wasn’t concerned for their safety because she didn’t show “any intention” of harming them. When he came home from running an errand on January 24, 2023, he found the children strangled in the basement and Lindsay Clancy outside, lying face-up and bleeding in their backyard.

One of the children, 8-month-old Callan, was still alive when first responders arrived at the house, Patrick Clancy told CBS. He was airlifted to the hospital and was alive for another four days. Patrick said he stayed at his bedside, talking to him and hoping he would hang on and survive.

“I really thought there was a chance that Callan would live,” he said. “I remember just thinking, ‘Just give me one, just give me one kid’ and I would raise him as best I could and I would give him the best life I possibly could,” he said.

He told Callan that he was sorry. He held him and he died in his arms, Patrick Clancy said.

Now that they are gone, Clancy said he still talks to his kids “all the time.”

As part of Patrick’s testimony, his harrowing 911 call the night of the incident was also played in court, but was not broadcast, in accordance with a court order. “It was one of the most gut wrenching, horrific things I’ve ever listened to,” Reddington told CNN. “It was just horrific, and I think, as I say, that speaks volumes for what this man went through.”

Patrick Clancy said he had a panic attack that day in court, just before they played the 911 call, which he said he “knew was going to be just horrific.”

“I went to a back room and I started having this massive, traumatic panic attack. My heart was pounding, and they put me in an ambulance. They offered me some medication, but I said, ‘I don’t want it because I want to go back and I want to finish this, so I can be done with this,’” he told CBS.

Lindsay Clancy has admitted to the killing of her three children from the very start.

Her own lawyers don’t deny she did it but say she should not be held criminally responsible for her actions, arguing that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and extreme mental illness at the time.

His ex-wife told him that the incident “felt like a dream.” She never asked for his forgiveness, but Patrick Clancy said he gave it to her anyway.

He himself was suicidal for a point of time after the killings, as he grappled with the grief and the loss of his family, he said. Talking to experts helped him come to terms with what happened, he said.

“I believe that it was her mental illness that caused that,” he said. “I think when it comes to forgiveness, I also felt that if I didn’t get there, I would be eaten up inside forever.”

Yet social media influencers and online sleuths dissecting evidence over the course of the trial have speculated that Patrick Clancy was involved , even while surveillance video showed he was not at home when prosecutors say the murders took place.

The online discourse is “painful to see” and makes it “difficult to be in public,” Patrick Clancy said, but more importantly, he said, it takes the focus away from the legacy of his children and the need for more perinatal mental health care.

Lawyers for Patrick Clancy recently announced they will take legal action to stop the barrage of online conspiracy theorists.

“Enough is enough – this spread of blatant and baseless falsehoods must stop. Those responsible should understand that there will be consequences, and every appropriate measure will be pursued to hold them accountable, including legally. Law enforcement has been notified,” Patrick Clancy’s attorney, Howard Cooper, said in a statement.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz has not said whether he will retry Lindsay Clancy, leaving online speculators’ thirst for resolution unquenched. A status hearing on the case is scheduled for September 29.

Lindsay Clancy’s attorney on next steps after the mistrial

After the stranglings, Patrick Clancy said he wanted to start over and be anonymous, so he moved to New York City. There he met Dr. Rachel Danis, a fertility doctor.

The two got married in April, CBS reported, and Danis also became the subject of unfounded conspiracy theories alongside her new husband.

“I don’t understand how this story has been so twisted,” she said, appearing next to Patrick Clancy in the interview . “But I would hope people know that Pat is, as I said before, the most selfless father and supportive partner, and I was just a girl that met a guy running in Central Park on a really cold Saturday, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

Patrick Clancy said he thinks Danis has helped him carry some of his grief. They are working on starting a family of their own.

“I think every parent can agree, you have different relationships with your kids, but they’re all your kids, and I can’t wait to tell them about their brothers and sister,” he said, referring to Callan, Dawson and Cora.

帕特里克·克兰西说，在他当时的妻子林赛·克兰西在马萨诸塞州的家中勒死他们的三个孩子之前的几个月里，他认为自己已经尽力了。

三年多过去了，他的前妻谋杀案审判以流审告终，如今他正努力应对新一轮的公众审视和阴谋论。

“我能体会到极度焦虑或抑郁是什么感觉，但我不知道如何应对产后疾病。我认为精神疾病具有这种悲剧性的欺骗性，”他在周日播出的“60分钟”节目中接受CBS记者罗斯·杜特采访时说道。

帕特里克·克兰西是审判中第一个出庭作证的证人，他花了整整两天时间讲述林赛·克兰西的堕落和产后心理健康问题，最终导致他们的三个孩子科拉、道森和卡兰的死亡。

当杜特问帕特里克·克兰西是否对自己感到生气时，克兰西说：“我认为我当时已经尽了全力，我接受这样的结果。”

“我每天都生活在痛苦之中，但我认为我已经尽力了，”他重复道。

林赛·克兰西的律师凯文·雷丁顿此前告诉CNN的安德森·库珀，这对夫妇在凶案发生前“如鱼得水”。帕特里克·克兰西“陪她去看医生，支持她，在审判中为她作证，并且原谅了她，这在她看来是最重要的。这足以说明他是个怎样的人。”

帕特里克·克兰西作证说，他当时的妻子“非常敬业”，爱她的孩子，但她正在与分娩后出现的压力、焦虑和其他心理健康问题作斗争。

从 2022 年 9 月到 2023 年 1 月，林赛从几位不同的医生那里获得了多种药物处方，“试图找到合适的药物，”他说。

林赛·克兰西案中唯一一位持反对意见的陪审员发声

帕特里克·克兰西作证说，最终，她“描述了伤害孩子或让他们得某种疾病的想法”，并补充说，他并不担心孩子的安全，因为她没有表现出任何伤害他们的“意图”。2023年1月24日，他外出办事回家后，发现孩子们被勒死在地下室，而林赛·克兰西则仰面躺在后院里，浑身是血。

据哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）报道，帕特里克·克兰西表示，救援人员赶到现场时，八个月大的卡兰还活着。他被空运到医院，又活了四天。帕特里克说，他一直守在卡兰的床边，和他说话，希望他能坚持下去，活下来。

“我真的觉得卡兰有活下去的希望，”他说。“我记得当时我就想，‘只要给我一个孩子，只要给我一个孩子’，我会尽我所能把他抚养成人，给他最好的生活，”他说。

帕特里克·克兰西说，他告诉卡兰他很抱歉。他抱着卡兰，卡兰就死在了他的怀里。

克兰西说，孩子们去世后，他仍然“经常”和孩子们说话。

作为帕特里克证词的一部分，法庭播放了事发当晚他拨打911报警电话的录音，但根据法庭命令，并未公开播出。“这是我听过的最令人揪心、最恐怖的录音之一，”雷丁顿告诉CNN。“简直太可怕了，我想，正如我所说，这足以说明这个人经历了怎样的痛苦。”

帕特里克·克兰西说，那天在法庭上，就在播放 911 报警电话录音之前，他突发恐慌症，他说他“知道那将会非常可怕”。

“我去了后面的房间，然后就开始出现严重的、创伤性的恐慌发作。我的心跳得很快，他们把我抬上了救护车。他们给了我一些药物，但我说，‘我不要，因为我想回去，我想完成这一切，这样我才能彻底摆脱这一切，’”他告诉哥伦比亚广播公司。

林赛·克兰西从一开始就承认杀害了她的三个孩子。

她的律师不否认她做了这件事，但表示她不应该为自己的行为承担刑事责任，理由是她当时患有产后精神病和严重的精神疾病。

他的前妻告诉他，那件事“感觉像做梦一样”。她从未请求他的原谅，但帕特里克·克兰西说，他最终还是原谅了她。

他说，在枪击案发生后的一段时间里，他自己也曾有过自杀倾向，因为他难以承受失去亲人的悲痛。与专家交谈帮助他逐渐接受了所发生的一切。

“我相信是她的精神疾病导致了这一切，”他说。“我觉得，说到宽恕，我也觉得如果我做不到，我会永远被内心的痛苦折磨。”

然而，在审判过程中，社交媒体影响者和网络侦探们通过分析证据推测帕特里克·克兰西参与其中，尽管监控录像显示，在检察官所说的谋杀案发生时，他并不在家。

帕特里克·克兰西表示，网络上的言论“令人痛心”，也让他“难以在公共场合露面”。但更重要的是，他说，这些言论转移了人们对他孩子的遗产以及对更多围产期心理健康护理的关注。

帕特里克·克兰西的律师近日宣布，他们将采取法律行动，制止网络上阴谋论者的狂轰滥炸。

“够了！这种公然散布毫无根据的谎言必须停止。肇事者应该明白，他们将承担后果，我们将采取一切适当措施追究他们的责任，包括法律途径。执法部门已接到通知。”帕特里克·克兰西的律师霍华德·库珀在一份声明中说道。

普利茅斯县地方检察官蒂莫西·克鲁兹尚未表态是否会重审林赛·克兰西一案，这让网上猜测的人们迫切希望案件能有结果。该案的审理听证会定于9月29日举行。

林赛·克兰西的律师谈审判无效后的下一步行动

在勒死事件发生后，帕特里克·克兰西说他想重新开始，隐姓埋名，于是搬到了纽约市。在那里，他遇到了生育专家瑞秋·丹尼斯博士。

据哥伦比亚广播公司报道，两人于四月结婚，丹妮丝和她的新婚丈夫也成为了毫无根据的阴谋论的对象。

“我不明白这个故事怎么会被扭曲成这样，”她在采访中与帕特里克·克兰西并肩出现时说道。“但我希望大家明白，正如我之前所说，帕特是一位最无私的父亲和最支持我的伴侣，而我只是一个在寒冷的周六于中央公园跑步时遇到一个男孩的女孩，我不认为这有什么错。”

帕特里克·克兰西说，他认为丹妮丝帮助他减轻了一些悲伤。他们正在努力组建自己的家庭。

“我想每个父母都会同意，你和你的孩子之间有不同的关系，但他们都是你的孩子，我迫不及待地想告诉他们他们的兄弟姐妹，”他指的是卡兰、道森和科拉。