Patrick Clancy says ex-wife Lindsay never asked for forgiveness after killing children

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Monday, September 21, 2026

Patrick Clancy said during a Sunday interview on CBS News' "60 Minutes" that he has forgiven his ex-wife, Lindsay Clancy, for killing their three young children, though she never asked for forgiveness.

Clancy told correspondent Ross Douthat that he attributes Lindsay's alleged mental illness, which her defense characterized as "postpartum psychosis," for driving her in 2023 to attempt suicide after strangling her three children: 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan. He pushed back on media portrayals of Lindsay as a cold-blooded killer.

In the aftermath of the death of Patrick Clancy’s children, many found it inconceivable that he would forgive his wife, Lindsay Clancy.

On 60 Minutes, Patrick tells 60 Minutes that Lindsay never asked for his forgiveness after killing their three children.

“I think when it… pic.twitter.com/BNNeqwXrzq

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 20, 2026

"I saw headlines that said, you know, 'Killer Mom,' and 'Baby Murderer,' 'Monster.' And none of them were accurate. I believe that it was her mental illness that caused that. So I shared those words. And I think when it comes to forgiveness, I also felt that if I didn't get there, I would be eaten up inside forever," he said.

When Douthat asked Cancy if he had asked Lindsay if she remembered killing their children, Patrick said she claimed "it was like a dream."

"And she remembered it much in the way you would remember a dream after waking up," he said.

"I think I did the best I could with what I had at the time. And I live with the outcome. I live with it every day," he later said.

When Douthat asked if Lindsay had ever asked him for forgiveness, Clancy replied, "No. But I gave it to her."

Patrick Clancy, who is Roman Catholic, also recounted that he was able to be with his infant son, Callan, as he lay dying in the hospital, apologizing to him and holding him as he died. He said he was overcome with tears of grief when he marked his first birthday by lighting a candle at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City.

"I light a candle, and I say, 'I love you, buddy,'" he said.

Lindsay's murder trial in Plymouth, Massachusetts, ended in a mistrial earlier this month after a lone male juror declined to find her not guilty.

Recent revelation that the lone holdout juror, who has reportedly faced harassment and "doxxing" after refusing to acquit Clancy, is a black Christian father and supporter of President Donald Trump has intensified the political and religious aspects of the case, which has prompted a national debate over issues such as mental health, perinatal healthcare, the relationship between the sexes and the theology of guilt.

"As a devoted father and man of God, he will not be defeated or shattered by the wicked who wish harm upon him," the holdout juror's attorney, Edward Andrew Paltzik, said in a Sept. 17 statement.

Pastor Josh Howerton of Lakepointe Church in Rockwall, Texas, discerned parallels earlier this month between the Clancy case and the moral depravity of ancient Israel in the book of Judges.

Howerton offered the graphic story of the gang rape of the Levite's concubine from Judges 19, which prompted a civil war among the Israelites, as an example of an event that served as "one flashpoint moment where one specific story of utter degradation circulated throughout the entire nation."

"And God used it to shock the nation into waking up and realizing, 'What have we become?' And it precipitates a moment of repentance in the nation, so that God's judgment doesn't fall in that moment," he said, adding that the Clancy case might serve a similar purpose for many Americans.

Nick Freitas, a Christian father and influencer who formerly served in the Virginia House of Delegates, warned in a viral clip earlier this month that the case threatens to bring long-simmering tensions between men and women in the U.S. to a boiling point.

"I honestly don't think that women understand what a catalyst moment this is. There's been a lot of conditions set for young men to just be fed up," said Freitas, who went on to observe that men and women are becoming more tribal in their opposition to each other.

A hearing has been set for Sept. 29 to determine how the Clancy case will proceed, according to ABC News. Patrick Clancy, who recounted having a panic attack before testifying at his ex-wife's most recent trial, has said a retrial would be "extraordinarily painful."