In his first sit-down interview since his ex-wife Lindsay Clancy’s controversial mistrial, Patrick Clancy addressed claims he should have done more before his ex-wife strangled their kids to death.
“I think I did the best I could with what I had at the time, and I live with the outcome,” Patrick, 38, told CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Ross Douthat in a Frida, September 18, clip of the upcoming, highly-anticipated Sunday, September 20, interview.
“I live with it every day, but I think I did the best I could,” the father continued.
Lindsay was on trial for the murder of her three young children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months. The mother has never denied she strangled her children to death before jumping out a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. Instead, her defense team argued she is not criminally liable for her children’s deaths due to her well-documented mental health issues leading up to and at the time of the killings, including postpartum depression, postpartum psychosis and bipolar disorder.
The prosecution argued that despite her documented mental health issues, Lindsay knew the difference between right or wrong leading up to, during and after the killings, claiming the act was premeditated.
Patrick took the stand in defense of his ex-wife, testifying to her mental health struggles and cries for help prior to the killings. Patrick went out to run errands at the time the crimes took place, returning home to find Lindsay hurt and the children laying lifeless in the basement.
During the weeks-long trial, which ended in a 11-1 deadlocked jury and subsequent mistrial, Patrick became the subject of numerous conspiracy theories, with some arguing he could have done more to help Lindsay and protect his children amid her mental health struggles. Others claimed he framed his ex-wife for their children’s deaths.
“Over the past months, Patrick Clancy and his family have been subjected to a relentless, escalating and destructive defamation campaign,” Patrick’s lawyer, Howard Cooper, said in a statement on September 8, addressing the conspiracy theories directly in the wake of the trial. “This campaign of misinformation has been launched and promoted by minor celebrities, so-called influencers and outright conspiracy theorists who appear intent on boosting their own social media profiles and potential profit by publishing what they know to be outright falsehoods that Patrick was somehow involved in the death of his young children and other vile claims.”
Lindsay’s attorney, Kevin Reddington, also addressed the pervasive online rumors and allegations while speaking of the press in the wake of the trial.
“I think Patrick, you heard the 911 call, I think you can judge his credibility by that 911 call,” Reddington told reporters on September 4. “I don’t know what is in Patrick’s mind. He testified, and the jury was able to evaluate it.”
When a reporter pointed out that many online conspiracy theorists have called Patrick a murderer, the lawyer responded, “Not by me.”
In a Thursday, September 17, clip of the upcoming interview, Patrick revealed that he talks to his deceased children regularly.
“I talk to them,” he said, adding that he asks his sons and daughter for help “all the time.”
If you or someone you know is pregnant or just had a baby and is in crisis, help is available. Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline for free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).
