Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer has rejected claims that she plans to testify in her estranged husband Patrick’s civil lawsuit, after his legal team said she would tell the court she had experienced “homicidal ideation” before the deaths of their three children.
Attorney Kevin Reddington responded Wednesday to statements from Patrick’s lawyer, Howard Cooper, who said he anticipated Lindsay would testify in Patrick’s wrongful-death case against several of her former medical providers.
“It has come to my attention that counsel for Patrick Clancy represented to the court in his civil case that my client, Lindsay Clancy, will testify about statements she made to her healthcare providers,” Reddington told CBS Boston.
“Lindsay Clancy never told any of her healthcare providers that she harbored homicidal ideation toward her children,” he said.
“She never indicated that she intended to testify in Mr. Clancy’s lawsuit, and no one acting for her ever represented that she would. Mr. Clancy’s counsel does not speak for Lindsay Clancy.”
Reddington issued the statement just hours after Patrick’s legal team appeared in Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts, for the opening hearing in his civil case.
Patrick and Lindsay filed separate lawsuits earlier this year against several of her former mental-health providers, alleging they failed to respond appropriately to warnings about her condition in the months before the children’s deaths.
The lawsuits claim Lindsay used exercise bands to strangle the children in the basement of the family’s Duxbury home during a severe mental-health crisis that, they allege, was worsened by inadequate treatment and powerful medication.
Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer denied that she plans to testify in Patrick’s civil lawsuit, despite claims she would say she warned doctors about “homicidal ideation” before her children died
Defense attorney Kevin Reddington challenged Patrick’s lawyer’s assertion that Lindsay was expected to appear in the wrongful-death case against her former doctors
Reddington told WBZ-TV on Wednesday that Lindsay “never told any of her healthcare providers that she harbored homicidal ideation toward her children”
The statement followed Patrick’s legal team’s appearance at the first hearing in the civil lawsuit at Norfolk County Superior Court in Dedham, Massachusetts
Patrick’s attorney Howard Cooper (pictured) said Lindsay could testify once questions surrounding her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination had been addressed
Patrick’s complaint names several healthcare providers who testified during Lindsay’s closely watched criminal trial, including Dr. Jennifer Tufts and nurse Rebecca Jollotta.
The filing accuses the providers of failing to deliver appropriate care, alleging that their conduct “resulted in tragedy, namely, allegations that Lindsay took the lives of her children.”
“If Defendants had not acted negligently, and rather had provided adequate care, it is more likely than not that Patrick and Lindsay’s children would still be alive today,” the lawsuit states.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Cooper said he expected Lindsay to give evidence for the first time after the court resolved the issue of whether she could invoke her Fifth Amendment rights.
“You know who hasn’t testified yet, Your Honor? Lindsay Clancy,” Cooper told the judge. “We allege in our complaint that she is going to confirm that she told these defendants that she had homicidal ideation.”
“We believe that Lindsay Clancy, once her Fifth Amendment issues are resolved, one way or the other, will testify that she told these defendants explicitly that she had homicidal ideation, that she was worried about something awful happening to her kids,” he added. “I can’t imagine a more explicit threat.”
Tufts, Jollotta and the other defendants named in the lawsuit have denied the allegations and asked the court to dismiss the case.
Their attorneys argue that Massachusetts law shields their clients from liability and maintain that Lindsay never told them she was experiencing thoughts of killing or harming her children.
Reddington rejected Cooper’s account, emphasizing that “Mr. Clancy’s counsel does not speak for Lindsay Clancy”
Patrick and Lindsay separately sued her former mental-health providers, alleging they failed to act on warnings before the deaths of the three children
Patrick’s complaint identifies healthcare providers who testified during Lindsay’s criminal trial, including Dr. Jennifer Tufts and nurse Rebecca Jollotta
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The lawsuit alleges that inadequate medical care contributed to what it describes as the tragedy involving the deaths of Lindsay’s children
The filings allege that Lindsay used exercise bands to strangle the children in the basement of the family’s Duxbury home (pictured) during a mental-health crisis in January 2023
“Nowhere in that 86-paragraph complaint did the plaintiff ever allege that Mrs. Clancy ever communicated to these defendants that she had thoughts or an intention, much less an explicit threat, to harm or kill the children in any way,” Tim Sweetland, Jollotta’s attorney, told the court.
Mary Azzarito, who represents Tufts, said: “She told her mother, she told her husband. There is no clear evidence that she told her providers.”
Cooper accused the defense attorneys of attempting to present “closing arguments” before the case had reached trial, calling the approach “completely inappropriate at this stage.”
“The complete mismanagement of Lindsay Clancy’s mental health care became the substantial cause of her murdering her three children,” he argued.
The judge did not immediately rule on the motions to dismiss and is expected to issue a decision later.
After the hearing, Cooper was asked by reporters about Patrick’s wellbeing. “It’s been incredibly hard for him,” the attorney said.
He also criticized online commentators who, he said, had made “outrageous, false, and defamatory comments” about Patrick, describing him as a father who lost all three of his children and was working to rebuild his life.
The civil hearing took place slightly more than a month after a mistrial was declared in Lindsay’s criminal case involving the January 2023 deaths of five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan.
Lindsay cut her wrists and neck before leaping from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt that left her paralyzed from the waist down
The former labor-and-delivery nurse acknowledged killing her children but pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity
The nearly six-week trial ended without a verdict after 11 of the 12 jurors found Lindsay had been experiencing postpartum psychosis when her children died
The defendants named in Patrick’s lawsuit have denied wrongdoing and asked the court to throw out the case
Earlier this month, Patrick competed in the Chicago Marathon while his pregnant new wife, Dr. Rachel Danis, 37, was seen cheering him on
Lindsay, 36, faces three first-degree murder charges after prosecutors alleged that she strangled her children with exercise bands at the family’s home in January 2023 while Patrick was out running errands.
She then reportedly cut her wrists and neck before jumping from a second-floor window in an apparent suicide attempt, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down.
Lindsay, a former labor-and-delivery nurse, admitted killing the children but entered a not-guilty-by-reason-of-insanity plea. Her defense sought treatment in a psychiatric facility instead of a prison sentence.
The high-profile trial lasted almost six weeks and ended in a hung jury. Eleven of the 12 jurors concluded that Lindsay had been suffering from postpartum psychosis when the children died, but one juror did not agree.
It is still unknown whether prosecutors will pursue a second trial. Lindsay’s next court appearance is scheduled for November 2.
Patrick ran the Chicago Marathon earlier this month, with his pregnant new wife, Dr. Rachel Danis, 37, reportedly among those supporting him from the sidelines.
Friends told Our News Outlet that the couple share an interest in fitness. Photos show them hiking, running and exercising together as early as February 2024.
Patrick has also been seen running in New York City, where he moved in April 2023 as Lindsay’s nationally watched criminal trial was getting underway.
