Before Lindsay Clancy: Constance Fisher’s Second Triple Drowning—and the Escape That Ended in the Kennebec River

24 minutes ago

16 min read

Content warning: This story discusses the deaths of children, severe mental illness, suicide attempts, and suicide.

Three Children Were Dead. Twelve Years Later, It Happened Again.

On June 30, 1966, Carl Fisher came home from work in rural Fairfield, Maine.

Something was wrong.

No children ran to greet him. The house was unnaturally quiet. Contemporary accounts describe Carl discovering his nine-month-old daughter, Natalie Rose Fisher, drowned in the bathtub. Police arriving at the home would find his other two children, Kathleen Louise Fisher, six, and Michael Jon Fisher, four, dead as well.

All three had been drowned.

Their mother, Constance Fisher, was still alive.

She was found unconscious following another apparent suicide attempt, reportedly involving an overdose of pills. She was taken to Thayer Hospital in Waterville, where she regained consciousness under police guard. Authorities immediately prepared to pursue murder charges.

But something about this crime made it almost impossible to comprehend.

Carl Fisher had come home to essentially the same scene before.

Twelve years earlier.

And those three children had been his, too.

“The horror of the Constance Fisher case is not simply that three children died twice. It is that, between those two tragedies, someone decided the danger had passed.”

The First Three Children: Richard, Daniel, and Deborah Fisher

On March 8, 1954, Constance and Carl Fisher were living in Waterville, Maine, with their first three children:

Richard Fisher, six. Daniel Fisher, four. Deborah Fisher, eleven months.

That day, Constance drowned all three children.

When Carl returned home, he found his children dead and his wife unconscious following an apparent suicide attempt. Contemporary accounts say she had ingested a toxic liquid shampoo. A note attributed to Constance indicated that she believed she was protecting the children from evil and that God had instructed her to send them to heaven.

Psychiatric evaluations followed.

Historical sources describe Constance as having been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and considered too mentally ill to proceed through the criminal justice system ordinarily. A grand jury did not indict her after receiving evidence regarding her mental condition, and she was committed to Augusta State Hospital.

It is tempting, particularly in light of the Lindsay Clancy case, to simply label Fisher’s condition “postpartum psychosis.”

Later accounts have applied postpartum psychosis terminology to Fisher, and her psychiatric diagnosis apparently changed or was characterized differently over time. But contemporary reporting most consistently identifies a serious psychotic illness.

What can be said with confidence is that Constance had experienced severe mental illness accompanied by apparent delusional thinking, three children were dead, and doctors considered her sufficiently impaired that she was sent to a psychiatric institution rather than prison.

Then came the decision that would define the case.

They eventually let her go home.

Constance Fisher Is Released

Carl Fisher did not abandon his wife. He sought her release.

His early efforts were unsuccessful, but over the ensuing years doctors reported improvement in Constance’s condition. By 1959, approximately five years after Richard, Daniel, and Deborah died, she was released from Augusta State Hospital and returned to her husband’s custody. Historical accounts differ slightly on the precise administrative date of her release, but contemporary reporting confirms she was back outside the institution in 1959.

Carl and Constance attempted something almost unimaginable from today’s vantage point.

They started over.

They moved to Fairfield.

And they had more children.

Kathleen Louise was born in 1960.

Michael Jon followed in 1962.

Then came Natalie Rose in 1965.

For several years, the Fisher family apparently lived without another catastrophe.

Three little children were now in the household again.

And their ages began to mirror the children who had died in 1954 with uncanny precision.

Then came June 30, 1966.

The Second Three: Kathleen, Michael, and Natalie Rose

The similarities were so extraordinary that contemporary newspapers immediately emphasized them.

In 1954, the children were about six, four, and eleven months old.

In 1966, the children were six, four, and nine months old.

The earlier children had been drowned.

So were the second three.

After the first deaths, Constance had apparently attempted suicide.

After the second deaths, she apparently attempted suicide again.

The first case involved a written explanation connected to protecting the children or sending them to heaven.

Accounts of the second tragedy similarly report a note expressing the belief that death would assure the children were safe in heaven.

One newspaper described what had occurred as a “duplication of tragedy.”

It is difficult to think of a more chillingly literal description.

This was not merely another episode of violence in the Fisher family.

History had repeated itself almost child for child.

Carl Fisher Comes Home Again

For Carl Fisher, the symmetry was especially cruel. Once again, he was the husband returning home. Once again, his children were dead. Once again, his wife was alive.

Accounts of June 30 describe Carl finding Natalie in the bathtub before going to a neighbor’s home because the Fishers had no telephone. Police were summoned. Police later found Kathleen and Michael inside the house.

Imagine what those responding officers were learning as they entered the home.

The woman lying unconscious inside had not merely been accused of killing children before.

She had killed three of her own children in essentially the same manner twelve years earlier.

And had subsequently been released from a psychiatric hospital.

Now three more were dead.

The immediate question was obvious.

How had this been allowed to happen?

This Time, Prosecutors Tried Again

Constance survived.

After receiving medical treatment, she once again entered a system forced to distinguish between two very different questions:

Was Constance Fisher mentally ill? And was she legally responsible for killing Kathleen, Michael, and Natalie?

Those questions are not interchangeable.

Severe psychiatric illness does not automatically eliminate criminal responsibility. A defendant can have an established mental disorder and still, under the law, understand what she is doing and understand that it is wrong.

Following the 1966 deaths, Fisher underwent psychiatric examination. Contemporary reporting indicates that she was eventually considered competent to face legal proceedings. Witnesses testified about her behavior and her ability to answer questions coherently after the killings.

Her defense, however, centered on insanity.

In January 1967, proceedings ultimately resulted in Fisher being found not criminally responsible because of her mental condition. They returned her to Augusta State Hospital.

This time, there would be no ordinary return to family life.

Fisher was confined to the hospital.

Kathleen, Michael, and Natalie joined Richard, Daniel, and Deborah as the six Fisher children whose lives had ended at their mother’s hands.

Six Children, Not Just One Infamous Mother

True crime has a bad habit of making the person responsible for a crime more famous than the people who died.

That should not happen here.

There were six Fisher children:

Richard Fisher, 6, Daniel Fisher, 4, Deborah Fisher, 11 months, Kathleen Fisher, 6,

Michael Jon Fisher, 4, and Natalie Rose Fisher, 9 months.

They were two sets of siblings born years apart, but their lives ended in nearly identical circumstances.

Constance Fisher’s name survives because of what she did.

Their names deserve to survive because of who was lost.

October 1973: Constance Fisher Disappears

Seven years after the second group of children died, the Fisher story took one final turn.

On October 1, 1973, Constance Fisher left Augusta State Hospital without authorization.

She had escaped.

A search began.

Newspaper reports documented the hunt for the missing hospital patient over the following days.

Fisher was 44 years old. She had twice attempted to end her life following the deaths of her children, according to the historical record. She had now spent years institutionalized following the second killings.

Then she disappeared near one of Maine’s most important waterways.

The Kennebec River.

About a week later, hunters discovered the body of a woman in the river near Gardiner, several miles downstream from Augusta State Hospital.

It was Constance Fisher. She had drowned.

A grim irony is impossible to miss.

All six of Fisher’s children had died by drowning.

Constance Fisher ultimately died in water, too.

Accident—or Suicide?

This is where fact and theory need to be carefully separated.

The official determination reported at the time was accidental drowning.

That is the documented finding.

But circumstances immediately generated another possibility: suicide.

Fisher had a documented history of apparent suicide attempts after both groups of children died. She had deliberately left the hospital grounds. Her body was then discovered in the Kennebec River.

Contemporary coverage after her death also discussed her suicide risk. Augusta State Hospital superintendent Roy Ettlinger reportedly addressed what he regarded as Fisher’s suicidal tendency and questioned aspects of the therapeutic approach being used with psychiatric patients.

That does not prove Fisher intentionally entered the river.

It means suicide became, and remains, an understandable theory.

Two responsible interpretations of the available evidence remain.

She could have escaped, reached the river, accidentally fallen or entered it unintentionally, and drowned.

Or her escape could have been deliberate and her death an intentional final act.

The medical examiner’s ruling favors the former.

The circumstances have led many later writers to suspect the latter.

There is no reliable evidence that someone else caused Fisher’s death, and the surviving record does not allow us to state with certainty that she intended to die.

That unanswered question followed her into the Kennebec.

And Then Came Lindsay Clancy

Nearly seven decades after Constance Fisher first entered Augusta State Hospital, another case placed maternal mental illness and criminal responsibility before the American public.

On January 24, 2023, Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts labor-and-delivery nurse and mother of three, killed her children Cora, five; Dawson, three; and Callan, eight months, in the family’s Duxbury home.

Clancy also attempted suicide and survived.

What followed became one of the most closely watched American murder cases involving postpartum mental health in years.

Her defense did not contest that she killed the children. Instead, attorneys argued that she was suffering from severe mental illness, including postpartum psychosis, and therefore should not be held criminally responsible.

Prosecutors strongly disputed that conclusion. Their experts argued that Clancy understood what she was doing and that it was wrong.

That legal battle finally reached a jury in 2026.

And it produced no verdict.

On September 4, 2026, after seven days of deliberations, the judge declared a mistrial because jurors could not unanimously agree on whether Clancy was criminally responsible.

As of September 22, the case remains unresolved. Clancy’s defense has sought judicial scrutiny of the lone holdout juror’s conduct, while prosecutors have not yet publicly resolved whether they will retry the case. Another hearing is scheduled for September 29, 2026.

That makes the nearly forgotten story of Constance Fisher suddenly relevant again.

The Parallels Are Striking—but the Cases Are Not Identical

There are undeniable factual similarities.

Both women were mothers of three young children.

Both killed all three children.

Both survived suicide attempts.

Both cases centered on profound psychiatric disturbance.

Both raised the question of whether mental illness prevented the mother from appreciating the nature or wrongfulness of what she had done.

And both involved husbands who walked into catastrophic scenes involving their children.

There is another disturbing numerical resemblance.

Fisher’s second group of children were six, four, and nine months old.

Clancy’s children were five, three, and eight months old.

But there is an important difference.

We should not take modern medical terminology and simply impose it on Constance Fisher.

The defense in the Lindsay Clancy case specifically presented evidence of postpartum psychosis and debated her psychiatric treatment, medications, symptoms, hospitalizations, and mental state in enormous detail.

Fisher was treated in another era of psychiatry. Her historical diagnoses included severe psychotic illness, particularly paranoid schizophrenia, and retrospective accounts disagree about precisely how her illness should be classified.

The cases therefore parallel one another but are not medically identical.

That distinction matters.

What Postpartum Psychosis Actually Is

Postpartum psychosis is not simply severe postpartum depression.

The National Institute of Mental Health describes it as a serious psychiatric condition that can include delusions, hallucinations, mania, paranoia, and confusion. It is considered a psychiatric emergency requiring immediate treatment and usually hospitalization.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists similarly describes postpartum psychosis as rare but extremely serious. Delusions can sometimes involve suicide or harm to a child, which is why immediate intervention is essential.

That does not mean a woman experiencing postpartum psychosis is inherently violent. Most people with mental illness are not violent, and appropriately treated women can recover and safely parent.

But genuine psychosis is different from ordinary stress, “baby blues,” or even postpartum depression.

Reality itself can become distorted.

That is precisely why both the Fisher and Clancy cases force such difficult conversations.

The legal system asks whether someone knew what she was doing.

Psychiatry asks what reality looked like inside that person’s mind.

And families need doctors to answer a third question before either of those matters:

Is someone in danger right now?

The Question Constance Fisher Left Behind

The most disturbing feature of the Fisher case may not be what happened on June 30, 1966.

It may be what happened on March 6, 1959.

A woman who had drowned three of her own children after experiencing profound psychiatric disturbance had improved sufficiently that professionals concluded she could leave institutional care.

That decision was presumably made based on the medical knowledge and legal standards available at the time.

And for years, it appeared to have worked.

Constance returned to her husband.

She resumed family life.

She had three more children.

Then all three died exactly as the first three had.

With the benefit of sixty-seven years of hindsight, it is easy to reduce that release to an obvious mistake.

The more useful question is harder:

What should society do when someone whose violence occurred during severe mental illness later responds to treatment?

Does successful treatment mean the danger is gone?

How should recurrence risk be evaluated?

What safeguards should surround discharge?

And when children are involved, how much uncertainty is acceptable?

Those questions have become part of the Lindsay Clancy conversation because her case has now ended, at least temporarily, without a verdict.

If a court eventually finds Clancy not criminally responsible, that does not automatically mean she simply walks out of custody. Such verdicts typically involve psychiatric commitment and continuing judicial and medical oversight.

But the public anxiety surrounding that possibility is understandable.

The Constance Fisher case provides one extraordinary historical example of what can happen when treatment, release, recurrence, and family safety go catastrophically wrong.

It should not be used to predict what Lindsay Clancy—or anyone else—will do.

Remember it because it shows why these decisions require enormous care.

For Families Facing a Postpartum Mental-Health Crisis

Postpartum psychosis is a medical emergency, not something to wait out. Hallucinations, delusions, extreme confusion, paranoia, severe agitation, or thoughts of harming oneself or a child require immediate professional intervention. NIMH recommends calling 911 or going to the nearest emergency department when postpartum psychosis is suspected. (National Institute of Mental Health)

For immediate emotional crisis support in the United States, call or text 988. Postpartum Support International also provides specialized maternal mental-health support at 1-800-944-4773.

START READING KRIS CALVERTS BOOKS TODAY FOR FREE

Sources used for this podcast:

1. Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 854176794 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/854176794/

Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 854176737 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/854176737/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 854176810: Constance Fisher [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/854176810/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Search results for “Constance Fisher,” Maine, 1954. Retrieved September 15, 2026, from https://www.newspapers.com/search/results/?date=1954&keyword=Constance+Fisher&region=us-me
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 848864685: Constance Fisher [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/848864685/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 858194482 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/858194482/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 854940381 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/854940381/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 847904904: Constance Fisher [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/847904904/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 858474702 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/858474702/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 852723737 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/852723737/
Find a Grave. (n.d.). Carl Marion Fisher (1920–1990) [Memorial]. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106034936/carl_marion-fisher
Bovsun, M. (2020, July 19). Justice story: Mentally ill mother commits same horrific crime twice. New York Daily News. https://www.nydailynews.com/2020/07/19/justice-story-mentally-ill-mother-commits-same-horrific-crime-twice/ (en.wikipedia.org)
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 669995924 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/669995924/
Newsroom Clarín. (2026, August 29). In 1954, before Lindsay Clancy, a mother drowned her 3 children and avoided prison due to postpartum psychosis. Upon leaving the psychiatric hospital, she had 3 more and murdered them again: The tragic story of Constance Fisher. Clarín. https://www.clarin.com/us-news/in-1954-before-lindsay-clancy-mother-drowned-her-3-children-and-avoided-prison-due-to-postpartum-psychosis-upon-leaving-the-psychiatric-hospital-she-had-3-more-and-murdered-them-again-the-tragic-story-of-constance-fisher_0_n8nIV1llgF.html (Clarin.com)
Wikipedia contributors. (2026, September 1). Augusta Mental Health Institute. In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 15, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augusta_Mental_Health_Institute (Wikipedia)
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 847904672 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/847904672/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 664769367 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/664769367/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 854176762 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/854176762/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 854943369 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/854943369/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 853130981 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/853130981/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 665306435 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/665306435/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 1308154240 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/1308154240/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 848816272 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/848816272/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 663816990 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/663816990/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 848816165 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/848816165/
Newspapers.com. (n.d.). Newspaper page image 848816163 [Digitized newspaper page]. https://www.newspapers.com/image/848816163/
Hill, J. (2026, September 9). Jurors speak out about Lindsay Clancy mistrial and the lone holdout. PBS NewsHour. Associated Press. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/jurors-speak-out-about-lindsay-clancy-mistrial-and-the-lone-holdout (Memeorandum)
Krier, A. (2010, May 3). A beautiful mind. The Best Picture Project. https://thebestpictureproject.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/a-beautiful-mind/ (The Best Picture Project)
Associated Press. (2026, September 2). What happens if a mistrial is declared for Lindsay Clancy? https://apnews.com/article/lindsay-clancy-mistrial-what-happens-next-da699b71b3c9136fbb41dc086417ab48
Associated Press. (2026, September 3). Defense in Lindsay Clancy trial seeks juror’s removal. https://apnews.com/live/lindsay-clancy-trial-09-03-2026
Associated Press. (2026, September 3). Lindsay Clancy trial ends without a verdict for a sixth day after drama over deadlocked jury. https://apnews.com/article/lindsay-clancy-trial-postpartum-269ff7196d474d3b627bd052d8c0fc47
Associated Press. (2026, September 4). Mistrial in Lindsay Clancy case after jury deadlocks. https://apnews.com/article/lindsay-clancy-postpartum-massachusetts-trial-a939db73e864393eb9c727daa788e7a2
Associated Press. (2026, September 4). Mistrial is declared in Lindsay Clancy child killings case after jury deadlocks [Video]. https://apnews.com/video/mistrial-is-declared-in-lindsay-clancy-child-killings-case-after-jury-deadlocks-48794b6dcb9645baa628ec976809c2bd
Associated Press. (2026, September 5). As it happened: Judge in Lindsay Clancy case declares a mistrial. https://apnews.com/live/lindsay-clancy-trial-09-04-2026
Associated Press. (2026, September 5). A mistrial is declared in the murder case against Lindsay Clancy. What happens next? https://apnews.com/article/lindsay-clancy-mistrial-what-happens-next-e38bef47f5af93bf95aabad272215b45
Associated Press. (2026, September 5). Lindsay Clancy trial ends with a final dramatic moment. https://apnews.com/article/lindsay-clancy-postpartum-massachusetts-trial-appeal-e489ac271a567c21ed5565ac495f5932
Associated Press. (2026, September 10). Lindsay Clancy’s lawyer asks judge to avert a second trial. https://apnews.com/article/lindsay-clancy-mistrial-verdict-jurors-reddington-efa1ee812def91a23f61d7f07b6a5120
BBC News. (2026, August 26). Key moments from Lindsay Clancy’s trial over children’s deaths. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg7mlmg475go
BBC News. (2026, September 4). Lindsay Clancy murder case ends without verdict as judge declares a mistrial. https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cm3v49dg61gxt
Boston.com. (2026, August 10). Lindsay Clancy murder trial livestream video: Monday, August 10. https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2026/08/10/lindsay-clancy-murder-trial-livestream-video-monday-august-10/
Boston.com. (2026, August 17). Lindsay Clancy trial: What’s with all the online conspiracy theories? https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2026/08/17/lindsay-clancy-murder-trial-conspiracy-theories/
Boston.com. (2026, August 24). Lindsay Clancy murder trial livestream video: Monday, August 24. https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2026/08/24/lindsay-clancy-murder-trial-livestream-video-monday-august-24/
Boston.com. (2026, September 8). Patrick Clancy threatens legal action over “vile” conspiracy theories in new statement via lawyer. https://www.boston.com/news/crime/2026/09/08/patrick-clancy-lawyer-statement-conspiracy-theories/
Clancy Case. (2026). Commonwealth v. Lindsay Clancy: A primary-source archive. Retrieved September 15, 2026, from https://www.clancycase.com/
CNN. (2026, July 27). Day 1 of testimony in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/27/us/live-news/lindsay-clancy-trial-opening-statements
CNN. (2026, August 22). Lindsay Clancy admits to killing their children. So why is Patrick Clancy the focus of online conspiracy theories? https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/22/us/patrick-clancy-conspiracy-theories
CNN. (2026, August 27). Lindsay Clancy’s jury starts deliberations in her murder trial. https://www.cnn.com/2026/08/27/us/live-news/lindsay-clancy-trial-closing-arguments
CNN. (2026, September 4). Judge in Lindsay Clancy trial declares mistrial. https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/04/us/live-news/lindsay-clancy-trial
CNN. (2026, September 8). Lindsay Clancy juror says holdout “admitted he had reasonable doubt.” https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/08/us/lindsay-clancy-mistrial-jurors
CNN. (2026, September 10). Lindsay Clancy’s fate unresolved as mistrial leaves her case in the court of public opinion—for now. https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/06/us/lindsay-clancy-mistrial
Court TV. (2026, August 25). Expert: Lindsay Clancy had “adverse reactions” to medications. https://www.courttv.com/news/prosecutions-expert-concedes-lindsay-clancy-had-adverse-reactions-to-medications/
Court TV. (2026, August 29). Tragedy, tension & testimony: 10 unforgettable moments from Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial. https://www.courttv.com/news/tragedy-tension-testimony-10-unforgettable-moments-from-lindsay-clancys-murder-trial/
The Guardian. (2026, August 5). Lindsay Clancy murder trial: Toxicologist testifies about psychiatric drugs found in her blood. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/05/lindsay-clancy-trial-toxicologist-testimony
The Guardian. (2026, August 25). Expert witnesses challenge claim that Lindsay Clancy had postpartum psychosis. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/25/lindsay-clancy-trial-testimonies-latest
The Guardian. (2026, September 4). Judge declares mistrial in Lindsay Clancy murder case after jury fails to reach verdict. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2026/sep/04/lindsay-clancy-mistrial-live-updates
The Guardian. (2026, September 5). Lindsay Clancy murder trial ends in dramatic deadlock—what comes next? https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/05/lindsay-clancy-murder-trial-retrial
National Public Radio. (2026, August 27). Jury begins to deliberate after closing statements in Lindsay Clancy murder trial. https://www.npr.org/2026/08/27/nx-s1-5945773/jury-begins-to-deliberate-after-closing-statements-in-lindsay-clancy-trial
National Public Radio. (2026, September 4). With jury deadlocked, judge declares a mistrial in Lindsay Clancy’s murder case. https://www.npr.org/2026/09/04/nx-s1-5950421/lindsay-clancy-trial-verdict-mistrial
PBS NewsHour. (2026, August 12). Lindsay Clancy trial turns focus to medications prescribed before she killed her children. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/lindsay-clancy-trial-turns-focus-to-medications-prescribed-before-she-killed-her-children
PBS NewsHour. (2026, September 4). Key things to know about Lindsay Clancy’s case after judge declares mistrial. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/key-things-to-know-about-lindsay-clancys-case-after-judge-declares-mistrial
Reuters. (2026, September 4). Lindsay Clancy trial over killing her children ends in mistrial. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/deadlocked-jury-lindsay-clancys-murder-trial-deliberate-seventh-day-2026-09-04/
USA Today. (2026, July 27). What was Lindsay Clancy prescribed? Medication list. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2026/07/27/lindsay-clancy-was-prescribed-several-types-of-psychiatric-medications-lawsuits-say-trial-children/91062568007/
USA Today. (2026, August 20). Lindsay Clancy admitted to killing her kids. What court records show. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/courts/2026/08/20/has-lindsay-clancy-admitted-to-killing-her-children-2023-what-does-commonwealth-need-to-prove/91383306007/
USA Today. (2026, September 4). Mistrial declared in Lindsay Clancy triple-murder case. What’s next? https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/crime/2026/09/04/lindsay-clancy-no-verdict-whats-next-new-trial/91608890007/
USA Today. (2026, September 9). Three possible futures may await Lindsay Clancy after mistrial. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/crime/2026/09/09/lindsay-clancy-plea-deal-retrial/91659239007/
A&E. (2026, June 15). Case file: Andrea Yates. https://www.aetv.com/articles/andrea-yates
CBS News. (2002, January 31). Depressed mother kills her children. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/depressed-mother-kills-her-children/
CNN. (2006, June 26). Defense: Yates killed kids to save them. http://edition.cnn.com/2006/LAW/06/26/yates.trial/
CNN. (2007, December 11). Andrea Yates found not guilty by reason of insanity. https://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/11/court.archive.yates8/index.html
Click2Houston. (2026, September 4). Clancy mistrial echoes Houston case in which a mother drowned her five children. https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2026/09/04/clancy-mistrial-echoes-houston-case-in-which-a-mother-drowned-her-five-children/
The New York Times. (2026, September 3). How other courts have dealt with postpartum psychosis cases. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/03/us/legal-outcomes-postpartum-psychosis-diagnosis.html
People. (2025, March 8). Decades after Andrea Yates killed her five children, lawyer continues advocacy. https://people.com/andrea-yates-lawyer-flowers-children-grave-exclusive-11691942
People. (2026, January 7). Where is Andrea Yates now? Inside her life 25 years after she drowned her five children. https://people.com/where-is-andrea-yates-now-11879621
People. (2026, January 11). Why did Andrea Yates drown her children? Inside the case and why she believed her kids could never be saved. https://people.com/why-did-andrea-yates-drown-her-children-11882267
Bangor Daily News. (1966, July 2). Constance Fisher [Newspaper article]. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bangor-daily-news-constance-fisher/104330543/
Bangor Daily News. (1967, January 19). Constance Fisher [Newspaper article]. Newspapers.com. https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-bangor-daily-news-constance-fisher/104330582/
Clarín. (2026, August 29). In 1954, before Lindsay Clancy, a mother drowned her three children and avoided prison due to postpartum psychosis; after leaving the psychiatric hospital, she had three more and murdered them again. https://www.clarin.com/us-news/in-1954-before-lindsay-clancy-mother-drowned-her-3-children-and-avoided-prison-due-to-postpartum-psychosis-upon-leaving-the-psychiatric-hospital-she-had-3-more-and-murdered-them-again-the-tragic-story-of-constance-fisher_0_n8nIV1llgF.html
MurderIndex. (n.d.). Constance Fisher. Retrieved September 15, 2026, from https://murderindex.com/offender/7670-constance-fisher
Murderpedia. (n.d.). Constance Fisher. Retrieved September 15, 2026, from https://murderpedia.org/female.F/f/fisher-constance.htm
WMTW. (2026, September 4). Maine vs. Massachusetts law on not criminally responsible cases. https://www.wmtw.com/article/maine-law-vs-massachusetts-law-not-criminally-responsible-cases/73619077
Wikipedia contributors. (2023, March 16). Constance Fisher. In Wikipedia. Retrieved September 15, 2026, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constance_Fisher

82. American Psychological Association. (2022, November 2). Postpartum depression: Causes, symptoms, risk factors, and treatment options. https://www.apa.org/topics/women-girls/postpartum-depression

83. BMJ Best Practice. (2026, March 6). Postpartum psychosis: Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-us/3000426

84. Osborne, L. M. (2018). Recognizing and managing postpartum psychosis: A clinical guide for obstetric providers. Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics of North America, 45(3), 455–468. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ogc.2018.04.005

85. Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health. (n.d.). About maternal mental health disorders. Retrieved September 15, 2026, from https://policycentermmh.org/mmh-disorders/

86. Postpartum Support International. (n.d.-a). Perinatal mental health: Signs, symptoms and treatment. Retrieved September 15, 2026, from https://postpartum.net/perinatal-mental-health/

87. Postpartum Support International. (n.d.-b). Postpartum Support International: Get help. Retrieved September 15, 2026, from https://postpartum.net/

88. Briggs, B. (2011). The Constance Fisher tragedy. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4567564-7-5 https://www.amazon.com/Constance-Fisher-Tragedy-Bob-Briggs/dp/1456756478

DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY

All information contained in this audio podcast or video presentation is provided for entertainment purposes only. The authors leave any and all conclusions to individual members of the audience. The author offers no statements of fact beyond those available through diligent private research or through information freely available in the public record. To the extent that pending or settled criminal matters or crime or possible crimes, are discussed in this audio podcast or video presentation, all parties or defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law. To the extent that any pending or settled civil matters are discussed in this video presentation, all parties or defendants are presumed not liable unless proven liable in a court of law. Copyright for material incorporated and presented under Fair Use is retained by the original author or copyright holder where applicable. Our cases are researched using open source and archive materials, and the subjects are real crimes and people. We strive to produce each episode with respect to the victims, their families and loved ones. At Hitched 2 Homicide we are committed to always discussing how victims lived, and not just how they died. All podcast information is gleaned from sources given. All opinions in the podcast are solely of Hitched 2 Homicide and are for entertainment purposes only. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Copyright & OwnershipThis podcast episode, including all audio, video, and written content, is the property of Hitched 2 Homicide and its creators, © 2025 Kris Calvert & Rob Pottorf of RP Music, Inc. All rights reserved.

Do not copy, reproduce, or distribute any part of this content without express written permission.For licensing, press inquiries, or collaboration requests, contact: kris@hitched2homicide.comFor more true crime episodes, visit: www.Hitched2Homicide.com Thanks for listening and remember… Southern charm won’t save you from true crime.