A veteran prosecutor, known for his work on high-profile child abuse cases, has asserted that accountability for killing children must remain paramount, even in cases involving accusations of postpartum psychosis. Jonathan Hatami, who gained national attention for prosecuting the murder of Gabriel Fernandez, expressed concern that public support for Lindsay Clancy, accused of killing her three young children, may be overshadowing the victims.
Clancy is accused of strangling her children — Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months — in their Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023, before attempting suicide. The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case.
While Clancy's defense team does not dispute that she caused the deaths, they are contesting criminal responsibility, arguing she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. Prosecutors, however, allege that Clancy acted deliberately and was aware her actions were wrong. The defense has previously stated that Clancy sought help for depression, sleeplessness, suicidal thoughts, and auditory hallucinations instructing her to harm herself and her children.
Hatami, whose past cases include the brutal murder of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez by his mother and her boyfriend, emphasized that while systemic failures and the actions of medical professionals and others around a parent can be subject to scrutiny, they do not eliminate a parent's fundamental responsibility for the death of a child.
"Nobody who murders children is a victim no matter what they’re suffering through," Hatami told Fox News Digital. "You're never a victim if you murder people because victims don't do something. Something happens to them."
He drew a parallel to the Gabriel Fernandez case, where systemic failures within child protective services were exposed. Hatami noted that while external parties bore responsibility for missed signs, the mother and her boyfriend were ultimately held accountable for the torture and murder. He stated that such scrutiny of external factors should not shift the focus away from the perpetrator in cases of child homicide.
"In Clancy’s case, he argued, many of the people and systems around her deserve scrutiny — but that should not turn her into the central victim of the story. In his view, she's been too much of the focus."
Clancy has garnered significant public attention and support, both online and in person at court appearances. Hatami suggested that this level of public attention, particularly the support for Clancy, risks diverting focus from the three children who were killed.
"I didn't see people out in the streets cheering on Pearl Fernandez because there were other people that were somewhat responsible for what happened to Gabriel," he said. "And the same thing plays in this case. Lindsay admitted to strangling her three children to death. She admitted to strangling them to death with exercise cords."
If convicted of first-degree murder on any of the three counts, Clancy faces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Hatami concluded, "Your children should be your life. And if you take their life, you should, as a person, want to be punished for that."