by Alan Langstaff

Today I want to suggest something about the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, which has gripped the nation, so to speak, as the trial has gone on for weeks.

For those living outside the USA or who aren’t familiar with the trial, I’ll share a brief introduction.

Lindsay Clancy was the mother of three children – Cora (5), Dawson (3), and Callan (8 months old). Following the birth of Callan she suffered from mental health problems. She has what is called “postpartum depression,” a condition that can follow the birth of a child. Her husband testified that she struggled with mental health problems and received treatment from many medical services. She was also beset by intrusive thoughts about harming the children and thoughts of suicide.

Lindsay was born in Connecticut, completed a nursing program at Massachusetts Hospital, and worked there as a labor and delivery nurse for nine years. In December 2016, she married Patrick Clancy. She was a fun-loving wife and mother of three children.

In 2023, whilst her husband at the time was doing errands, she killed the three children. There is no question that she killed the children. The question is why she did it. After which she tried to commit suicide. She did not succeed, but jumping out of a window ended with her paralyzed body. If you watched TV, you would see her in a wheelchair.

It was not until 3 years later that she was put on trial for murder. This lasted weeks. The prosecutors argued that she knew what she was doing and was guilty of murder. The defense team argued that she was experiencing a severe case of postpartum psychosis and that she was not guilty of murder. This could lead to her being confined to a psychiatric hospital, where she is actually living at the moment.

Experts as witnesses, that involved both sides of the case, argued for one side or the other. There was no general agreement from the medical as to what she had committed.

The jury spent many days trying to come to some conclusion, and in the end one juror did not agree with the others, and as a result a mistrial was declared.

You might feel for the jury who had to make a decision where expert medical witnesses could not agree.

That is where it remains at the moment.

Now everybody has their own ideas on whether she is guilty or not. It is foolish to think that someone who was not at the trial would know for certain whether she is guilty or not.

A POSSIBLE THEORY

I don’t pretend to have the answer to the questions that arose. But at the same time of reading and viewing the reports on the trial, a thought went through my mind which might give us another way of understanding her situation. There is an interesting relationship with a disciple. Judas, the disciple, who betrayed Jesus to the authorities. Let us look at the similarities.

It is said of Judas the disciple, at the occasion of the Last Supper, Jesus declared, “one of you will betray me,” and when it came time for Jesus to distribute the bread, it is recorded that at that moment “Satan entered him [Judas].” Jesus, in turn said, “what you do, do quickly.” (See John 13, NKJV)

Lindsay Clancy testified that at the time of the act of murder of her three children, she heard a voice speaking to her. In turn, Judas betrayed Jesus and then later went out and hanged himself. Lindsay Clancy attempted to do the same, i.e., commit suicide by jumping out of the 2nd story. She ended up physically damaged in that she is now a paralytic. She, in some ways, followed the pattern of Judas.

Now, I do not propose that this is the answer to the situation of Lindsay Clancy, but it remains an interesting proposition.

Suppose that moment, she heard the voice of the enemy, and Satan entered just like he did with Judas. Could it be that she was demon-possessed? Who knows, except in these cases, when the devil possibly was acting, both tried to commit suicide.

Remember too that Jesus said that the enemy comes to “steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10, NKJV). Judas succeeded in committing suicide, but Lindsay did not succeed.

As I said, this is just a possibility from a Christian perspective. We do not know where exactly all this will go, and time will bring more light on it all.

It reminds me of a situation that Dorothy and I faced back in Australia in the 1970s. A man was attempting to kill his own wife. Following a word from Dorothy, who was praying, she gave the way to stop the murder from taking place (the story is told in more detail in Dorothy’s book “Called Together”). The interesting parallel to Clancy’s situation was that the man had heard a voice telling him to kill his wife because she had Jewish blood in her veins. Many people tried to help him, but without success, and eventually he committed suicide.

A possibility arises, like Judas and like that man in Sydney, Australia, where it seems possible that both were under the influence of the enemy and in both cases ended in suicide or attempted suicide. Now one does not expect the secular world to embrace that idea, but it is a real possibility to explain what happens.

WHAT THEN CAN WE DO

Pray for the people involved in this murder.

  • Pray that other people will not copy this situation.
  • Pray that Clancy, in the midst of it all, might meet her Maker.
  • Pray for her husband who lost his three children and his marriage and family.
  • Pray that God will work all things for good in the midst of it all.