As Lindsay Clancy stands trial for the deaths of her three young children, her former husband Patrick Clancy’s family has also emerged as an important part of the case.

Patrick’s parents, Christopher and Susan Clancy, both testified for the defense, describing the daughter-in-law they knew before the 2023 deaths of Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months.

During her trial, Christopher described Lindsay as “very mothering,” while Susan called her a “wonderful mother” who had been “begging for help” as she struggled with her mental health in the months before the children died, per CBS Boston.

Lindsay has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder.

While her defense team argues she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, the prosecution believes Lindsay knew what she was doing at the time of the killings.

Here’s what to know about Patrick’s family and how they really feel about Lindsay since the 2023 tragedy.

Patrick’s Family and Upbringing

Patrick was raised on the South Shore of Massachusetts by Christopher and Susan Clancy, alongside his two sisters, Erin Donahue and Laura Sullivan.

His father is a retired plumbing contractor, while his mother worked as a nurse practitioner at South Shore Hospital for nearly 40 years.

Susan has described Patrick as gentle and someone who has avoided conflict since childhood.

“He doesn’t like hostility,” she told The New Yorker “He’s always been that type, since he was very little, to just give the benefit of the doubt.”

Patrick married Lindsay in 2016 after first introducing her to his family in 2013.

Erin told The New Yorker that Lindsay seemed “sweet, and a little quiet, but just lovely.”

What Patrick’s Family Has Said About Lindsay

During Lindsay’s trial, Patrick’s father testified that Lindsay was “very close” with his daughters and daughter-in-law, while Susan told the jury that she and Lindsay had “a very good relationship,” per CBS Boston.

“Lindsay was a very nurturing, very loving, wonderful mother,” Patrick’s mom said, per Boston 25. “She loved her children, all of them, very very much.”

Although Patrick’s family has largely stayed out of the spotlight since the tragedy, Erin has spoken about both her relationship with Lindsay and the complicated emotions the family continues to face since the killings.

“Because Lindsay is still alive, there are all these questions, and this simmering anger,” she told The New Yorker. “We don’t get to say what a great person she was without also saying, ‘But why?’”

Turning Grief Into Action

In the years since the children’s deaths, Patrick and his sisters have turned their grief into a mission focused on perinatal mental health.

In 2024, Patrick, Erin and Laura co-founded the Heard Foundation in memory of Cora, Dawson and Callan.

The nonprofit aims to improve perinatal mental health care and establish what it says would be Massachusetts’ first postpartum treatment center.

The foundation says what began as a family promise has grown into a movement centered on empathy, action and love. Its work is aimed at carrying forward the memory of Cora, Dawson and Callan while helping other families affected by perinatal mental health disorders.