Retired Massachusetts judge and Boston College law professor Jack Lu explained how the jury’s visit to the Clancy home and Patrick Clancy’s route could help clarify the trial’s timeline.
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Jurors in Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial retraced her ex-husband’s route Friday before walking through the Massachusetts home where the couple’s three children were killed, a court-supervised visit a retired Massachusetts judge said could help the panel understand the timeline and setting at the center of the case.
The move was reminiscent of another high-profile Massachusetts murder trial that recently captured headlines, when Karen Read was acquitted of the top charge during her 2025 retrial.
In Clancy's case, the 18-member jury panel was driven past ThreeV restaurant in Plymouth and the CVS pharmacy in Kingston that Patrick Clancy visited on Jan. 24, 2023. Jurors were then escorted in groups of six through the family’s former home in Duxbury during a roughly 40-minute visit.
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Lindsay Clancy reacts as doctors testify about efforts to save her children Friday, July 31, 2026. (Josh Reynolds for Daily Mail /Pool)
They also saw the basement where Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months, were found, as well as the yard beneath the second-story window where Lindsay Clancy was discovered seriously injured after attempting suicide. The fall has left the woman paralyzed and in a wheelchair.
Jack Lu, who served 16 years as a Massachusetts Superior Court judge and five years as a Boston Municipal Court judge, said that, in his experience, a view is expected in a Massachusetts homicide trial, particularly a case involving multiple deaths.
Karen Read exits the Norfolk County Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. Read was acquitted of the top charge in her murder trial after being charged with killing her Boston police officer boyfriend by intentionally driving her SUV into him. (Richard Beetham for Fox New Digital)
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Lu said the clearest benefit may be helping jurors assess how long Patrick was away from the home and understand the locations discussed throughout testimony.
"They’re going to dissect the amount of time involved in the husband’s trip to CVS," Lu said, adding that the visit could help jurors understand "what kind of time that Ms. Clancy had" after Patrick left.
Jurors pass the CVS pharmacy in Kingston, Massachusetts, where Patrick Clancy stopped on Friday, July 31, 2026. (Josh Reynolds for Daily Mail /Pool)
Jurors pass ThreeV restaurant in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where Patrick Clancy picked up takeout prior to finding his three children dead, on Friday, July 31, 2026. (Josh Reynolds for Daily Mail /Pool)
Still, Lu cautioned against assuming the view necessarily favored either side or would become decisive.
"The view is perhaps not obviously crucial to this case," he said. "It gives them context."
WATCH: Jurors retrace Patrick Clancy’s errands before finding slain children
A similar procedure was used during Read’s 2025 retrial in Massachusetts, where she was charged with killing her boyfriend, Boston police officer John O'Keefe.
Jurors were bussed to 34 Fairview Road in Canton, where O’Keefe was found, and viewed the property and Read’s Lexus. Prosecutors and defense attorneys directed jurors’ attention to different details from the case.
WATCH: Jurors in Karen Read's trial visit scene of John O'Keefe's death
In Clancy's case, prosecutors allege she intentionally sent Patrick on the errands to get him out of the house before strangling the children.
Jurors take a court-supervised view of locations central to Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial on Friday, July 31, 2026. (Josh Reynolds for Daily Mail /Pool)
Her attorneys do not dispute that she killed her children but argue she lacked criminal responsibility because she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis.
After returning to Plymouth Superior Court on Friday, jurors heard emotional testimony from emergency room doctors who treated Dawson and Callan.
Dr. Mark Tenerowicz testified that hospital staff tried for about 40 minutes to revive Dawson, who arrived without a pulse and was not breathing. He was pronounced dead at about 7:28 p.m.
Dr. Benjamin Kaufman said medical workers restored Callan’s pulse, but the infant remained unable to breathe independently.
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"At no point did he exhibit any brain function," Kaufman testified.
Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial concludes for the week at Plymouth Superior Court on Friday, July 31, 2026. (Josh Reynolds for Daily Mail /Pool)
During testimony, Clancy covered her face and appeared to sob and shake during the doctors’ testimony. Lu described the emotional weight of the proceedings as "exceptional," even among heavily publicized trials.
"Even among high-profile cases, the emotionalism of this case is extraordinary," he said, adding that Massachusetts judges are trained to privately address jurors after a verdict about processing the emotional toll of what they went through.
Judge William Sullivan dismissed the panel on Friday afternoon, saying the trial was "well on schedule, if not ahead." Testimony is scheduled to resume Monday at 9 a.m.
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