In a heartbreaking courtroom revelation, the former nanny of Lindsay Clancy took the stand to paint a picture of a mother who seemed devoted and loving—just months before she allegedly strangled her three young children in their Massachusetts home.
Elaine Rossi, hired in September 2022 to care for the youngest child, Callan, told the court she never once worried about Lindsay’s interactions with her kids. “I observed a wonderful mom who loved her children,” Rossi testified. “She was very concerned with their safety.”
Lindsay, now paralyzed from the waist down after a suicide attempt, faces three counts of murder in the deaths of Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and eight-month-old Callan. She has pleaded not guilty, with her defense team expected to argue that undiagnosed postpartum psychosis left her unable to understand her actions.
According to Rossi, Lindsay communicated with her through a yellow notebook marked with Callan’s name, leaving detailed notes about feeding and nap schedules. When prosecutors asked if the notes seemed controlling or overbearing, Rossi replied simply, “Not at all.”
Rossi also recalled Lindsay opening up about her struggle with postpartum depression, mentioning she was starting a new medication and had stopped breastfeeding. She said Lindsay had trouble sleeping and sometimes slept in the basement in late November. By early December, the Clancys told Rossi they no longer needed her help—and she said they parted on “wonderful terms.”
Other witnesses reinforced the image of a caring mother. Fellow nurse Andrea Hennigan described Lindsay as “incredibly nurturing” and said she “loved being a nurse” and had always wanted a big family. The children’s pediatrician, Dr.
Lindsay Rosshirt, said she saw Lindsay as a “doting” mother who brought the kids to appointments, including the morning of January 24, 2023—the day the children died.
A preschool teacher, Stephanie Williams, recalled that on January 23, Lindsay picked up Cora, who wasn’t feeling well, and gently said, “Oh baby. Come on, let’s go get Dawson and we’ll go home.”
As the trial continues to unfold, the question lingers: How could the same mother described by so many as loving and attentive be at the center of such an unimaginable tragedy?
