Patrick Clancy’s Deleted Reddit Posts Reveal the Family’s Search for Answers Before Lindsay Killed Their Three Children

Lindsay’s troubles mounted after starting Zoloft when she was anxious about returning to work, Patrick detailed in Reddit posts.USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Patrick Clancy’s since-deleted Reddit posts are offering a new glimpse into the months before his then-wife Lindsay Clancy killed their three young children, documenting his growing concern as her mental health deteriorated and the couple searched for answers.

The account, active from 2017 until last year, included a series of posts Patrick wrote in late 2022 as Lindsay struggled with severe insomnia, weight loss, depression and other psychiatric symptoms following the birth of their third child.

The posts emerged after Lindsay’s murder trial ended in a mistrial when jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict.

Concerns Escalated After Lindsay Started Zoloft

According to Patrick’s posts, Lindsay had been experiencing anxiety about returning to her job as a labor and delivery nurse. He said she had experienced similar anxiety following the births of their two older children but previously managed it through therapy and coping strategies.

After she began taking Zoloft, however, Patrick described a dramatic change.

In a Dec. 7, 2022 post written on Lindsay’s behalf, he said she developed severe insomnia after approximately a week on the antidepressant. At one point, she reportedly went 48 hours without sleeping and was regularly getting only three or four hours of sleep each night while strangely not feeling tired.

Patrick also wrote that Lindsay had lost 15 pounds in roughly two months, bringing her weight down to 115 pounds.

He expressed regret about medication becoming part of her treatment, writing that he suspected Zoloft “was never needed in the first place.”

A Disturbing Question Appeared Days Later

A number of posts sought help and advice about Lindsay’s worsening state.pullpush.io

By Dec. 9, Patrick’s online questions had taken a more troubling turn.

He asked others about experiences involving thoughts of hurting loved ones and whether those thoughts had ever come close to being acted upon.

Other posts show Patrick repeatedly trying to understand whether Lindsay’s initial anxiety could have been managed differently.

Before her condition worsened, he wrote, Lindsay had been eating and sleeping normally, socializing and even dancing at a wedding. Although she sometimes felt overwhelmed caring for the children, Patrick believed giving her additional time to decompress might have helped, as it had previously.

Meanwhile, doctors prescribed additional medications, including Ativan, other benzodiazepines and sleeping medication, according to Patrick’s account. Lindsay was also switched from Zoloft to Prozac.

Hospital Treatment Followed

Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, eight months, were killed in January 2023.Facebook / Lindsay Marie Clancy

By Dec. 15, Patrick described Lindsay as severely depressed and emotionally numb, saying she had also experienced suicidal thoughts.

Trial testimony showed that Patrick took her to the Massachusetts General Hospital emergency room that day.

After she was reportedly turned away from a postpartum treatment program in Rhode Island on Dec. 20 because clinicians believed she required more general psychiatric care, Lindsay was admitted to McLean Hospital on Dec. 30. She remained there until Jan. 5, according to testimony from psychiatrists who treated her.

Patrick later testified that Lindsay appeared significantly better after leaving the hospital.

His final Reddit post before the deaths came on Jan. 23 and concerned an unrelated technology question about developing an app for a real estate open house.

One Day Later, the Family Was Shattered

On Jan. 24, 2023, Patrick testified that he had no indication something was seriously wrong when Lindsay sent him out to run errands.

While he was away, Lindsay killed their three children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, eight months old — before attempting to take her own life.

Her psychiatric condition became a central issue at her trial. Experts on both sides discussed the possibility that she had bipolar disorder, while the defense argued that her condition had progressed into psychosis by the time of the killings.

Patrick and Lindsay are also suing doctors involved in her treatment, alleging that a failure to diagnose bipolar disorder contributed to the chain of events that ended with the deaths of their children.

The newly surfaced Reddit archive now provides a stark record of Patrick’s attempts to understand what was happening in the weeks before the tragedy — including questions he was asking online while the family was still desperately searching for an explanation.