A Massachusetts mom allegedly strangled her two young children and attempted to kill her baby before she tried to jump to her death in a tragic botched murder-suicide attempt.
Lindsay Clancy, 32, of Plymouth, was charged with two counts of homicide and three counts of strangulation for killing her 5-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son, according to District Attorney Tim Cruz.
Clancy is recovering in at a Boston hospital but is in police custody.
Police responded to the family’s home in Duxbury — a town about 35 miles southeast of Boston — after Clancy’s husband called 911 around 6 p.m. to report that she had jumped from a window in the house, Cruz said.
“First Responders subsequently located three children in the home under the age of five unconscious, with obvious signs of severe trauma,” Cruz said.
Five-year-old Cora and 3-year-old Dawson were rushed to the hospital, where they were declared dead.
A 7-month-old baby boy is still fighting for his life, officials say. He was flown to Boston Children’s Hospital and remains in treatment.
Clancy appears to have strangled her children, Cruz said, though the medical examiner will issue an official cause of death in the coming days.
Clancy was treated at the scene and taken to a nearby hospital.
“This is an unimaginable, senseless tragedy, and it is an ongoing investigation,” Cruz said.
Investigators are considering the possibility that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she allegedly carried out the attempted murder-suicide, sources told CBS Boston.
She had been on leave from her position as a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital.
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The children’s great-grandmother, Rita Musgrove, told NBC Boston that nothing seemed out of the ordinary when she spoke to their mother last week.
“It’s a pretty shocking thing, and it is heartbreaking,” she said as she left flowers at a memorial outside the family’s home.
The kids’ aunt Donna Jesse added that, “they were just beautiful, beautiful children. Well cared for — they were just beautiful, that’s it. They had a beautiful life.”
The tragedy has left the entire community reeling, especially the first responders who came across the horrific scene.
Police officers were seen shedding tears during the Wednesday press conference and the State Police Association of Massachusetts reminded its members that resources are available to cope with the case.
“I want to further commend the professionalism and the work of the Duxbury first responders and the Mass State Police,” Cruz said. “I’m sure many of them will not forget what they saw last evening.”
