Patrick Clancy, the Massachusetts father whose three children were killed in January 2023, described holding his infant son in his arms as the baby died and explained his decision to forgive his wife in his first extensive interview since the tragedy. The interview with correspondent Ross Douthat aired on CBS News' «60 Minutes» after the triple-murder trial of Lindsay Clancy ended in a mistrial.
Patrick said he clung to hope that his youngest child, Callan, might survive after his siblings — 5-year-old Cora and 3-year-old Dawson — were found dead inside the family's Duxbury, Massachusetts, home. Doctors had restored the baby's heartbeat, and Patrick began imagining the life he could still give his son. «I remember that night, I really thought there was a chance that Callan would live,» he said. «And I remember just thinking, 'Just give me one. Just give me one kid.' And I would raise him as best I could, and I would give him the best life I possibly could. And I'd tell him about his brother and sister.»
That hope faded when Patrick reached Boston Children's Hospital and saw the look on a doctor's face. Callan's heart continued beating for four days. Patrick became emotional as he recalled apologizing to his son and spending his final moments beside him. «I said, 'I'm so sorry,'» he told Douthat, his voice breaking. «And I got to hold him. I got to lay down next to him. And he died in my arms.»
While Callan remained in the hospital, Patrick said he held his son's hand and used his free hand to write about all three children. He feared their memories might fade if he did not put them into words. The tributes he wrote also included words of forgiveness for Lindsay. He said she has never asked him to forgive her, but he chose to give that forgiveness anyway.
«I saw headlines that said, you know, 'killer mom' and 'baby murderer,' 'monster,' and none of them were accurate,» Patrick said. «I believe that it was her mental illness that caused that.» He said he also feared anger would consume him if he could not forgive her. «I felt that if I didn't get there, I would be eaten up inside,» he said.
When Patrick asked Lindsay whether she remembered killing their children, he said she described the memory as dreamlike. «She said it was like a dream, and she remembered it much in the way you would remember a dream after waking up,» he told Douthat. Patrick said he did the best he could as Lindsay's condition worsened but must live with what happened. «I think I did the best I could with what I had at the time, and I live with the outcome,» he said. «I live with it every day.»
Patrick told Douthat his grief became so overwhelming that he questioned whether he would live to see another birthday. «There was a time where I didn't think I would live to see my 35th birthday, and I was completely fine with it,» he said. He later left Duxbury for New York City, where he could grieve without being recognized. Five weeks after the move, on what would have been Callan's first birthday, he went to St. Patrick's Cathedral, lit a candle and told his son, «I love you, buddy.»
«And I walk out on Fifth Avenue and I start crying my eyes out, and nobody cared,» Patrick recalled. For him, being able to cry without drawing attention was exactly what he needed. «I thought, this is where I need to be,» he said. «I can grieve.» His Manhattan apartment remains filled with reminders of the children, including a baby sloth Cora carried everywhere and a photograph of Callan wearing an oversized bow tie.
Patrick said the children also return to him in vivid dreams. In one, Cora walked into the kitchen of the family's former home and hugged him. «I just looked at her and it was like I basically just said, 'Where have you been?'» he recalled. «Those dreams are so real.»
The mistrial unleashed what Douthat described as a «trial by TikTok,» with online sleuths and influencers spreading baseless theories portraying Patrick as uncaring, unfaithful and even responsible for the children's deaths. «It's deeply harmful to the legacy of my children,» Patrick said. «It is a huge distraction from what really matters here, which is perinatal mental health, and it's done real harm to real people.»
He said the repeated accusations have made it painful to be in public and warned that people may start believing false claims if they see them often enough. «After seeing lie after lie after lie, they start to believe it,» Patrick said. «And that's what we're left with.» Patrick said he sought answers from Postpartum Support International, psychiatrists and other experts. Those conversations helped him begin processing what happened. His wife, Dr. Rachel Danis, joined him for the «60 Minutes» interview.