Lindsay Clancy’s retired parents got more than $1 million from over 31,000 strangers in 11 days — here’s where the money goes

A GoFundMe page to help Clancy’s parents, Mike and Paula Musgrove, with their living expenses amid her ongoing murder trial has already surpassed $1 million of the $2 million it seeks. At the time of writing, more than 31,000 people have already donated.

But where is the money actually going?

The details of the case

At the center of the Clancy trial is a question of criminal responsibility. Clancy’s defense attorney Kevin Reddington does not dispute that she killed her children. However, he argues that she shouldn’t be held criminally responsible because she was experiencing severe postpartum psychosis, along with bipolar disorder and the effects of psychiatric medications, when she killed them.

Defense experts have testified that she experienced hallucinations and believed voices were directing her actions. Forensic psychiatrist Dr. Phillip Resnick testified in support of the diagnosis of postpartum psychosis. He had also testified in the case of Andrea Yates, a similar case from Texas. Yates killed her five children, was found not guilty by reason of insanity, and was committed to a mental health hospital in 2006.

Defense witness Paul Zeizel, a forensic psychologist, added that Clancy had been “unable to conform her behavior to the rule of law,” and that “she had no appreciation for the wrongfulness of her act.”

Postpartum psychosis is a rare but potentially devastating psychiatric emergency that affects between just one and two per 1,000 women. Research estimates that about 4% of people experiencing postpartum psychosis may commit infanticide, and another 5% may commit suicide. That may be, in part, a result of severe suspicion, paranoia, delusions, hallucinations, and other symptoms. And it can happen to anyone after giving birth, but it’s frequently misdiagnosed as sleep deprivation, stress or just the “baby blues.”

About one in seven mothers experience perinatal depression, a very common mood disorder that can happen during pregnancy or up to one year after a baby is born. It’s often accompanied by deep sadness, extreme fatigue, trouble bonding with the baby and a loss of interest in life.

It’s estimated that about 50% of the one in seven mothers who experience perinatal depression are not diagnosed by a health professional due to stigmas that still surround the condition and patients’ reluctance to disclose them.

Postpartum psychosis, a separate condition, is much more severe — and shrouded in stigma.

Court documents show that Clancy did, in fact, ask for help. But prosecutors have presented a dramatically different picture. They argue that Clancy’s actions were deliberate and that she retained the ability to understand what she was doing at the time of the killing of her three children.

Prosecutors have pointed to internet searches, diary entries and the circumstances surrounding the killings, suggesting that it was premeditated murder.

The trial has included testimony from Clancy’s ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, who is the father of the children, family members, first responders and mental health professionals. Patrick has maintained that his ex-wife was suffering from serious mental illness. He has been heavily scrutinized for leaving her alone at the time of the killings, despite her instability. He later divorced her and remarried.