Patrick Clancy has revealed the last words he spoke to his infant son Callan during the four days the boy clung to life after his siblings were killed.
Patrick, the father of three children killed in January 2023, gave the account in an interview’ 60 Minutes that aired following the Sept. 4 mistrial of his ex-wife Lindsay Clancy. Lindsay, who does not deny killing the children, had faced three counts of first-degree murder before jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Her defense argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, while prosecutors maintained she knew right from wrong.
When correspondent Ross Douthat asked whether he spoke to Callan during those final days, Patrick replied simply: “Yeah.”
Pressed on what he said, the father shared: “I said, I’m so sorry.”
He continued, describing the physical closeness he managed to preserve: “And I got to hold him. I got to lay down next to him. And he died in my arms.”
Patrick had returned to the family’s Massachusetts home on Jan. 24, 2023, after running an errand to find Lindsay seriously injured outside. He discovered Cora, five, and Dawson, three, in the basement. Callan, eight months old, still had a heartbeat and was airlifted to Boston Children’s Hospital.
That first night, Patrick held onto hope that his youngest might defy the odds. He recalled his mindset in those early hours: “So I remember that night, I really thought there was a chance that Callan would live. And I remember just thinking, just give me one. Just give me one kid. And I would raise him as best I could, and I would give him the best life I possibly could. And I’d tell him about his brother and sister, and I was holding out hope for that.”
The hope dissolved once he reached the hospital and saw a doctor’s expression. “And then when I got to the hospital, I saw the doctor, I saw the look on her face, and I knew that it wasn’t going to be a good prognosis.”
Despite the outcome, Patrick expressed gratitude for the brief extension of time. “I’m so grateful for those four days that I had with him. And I’m so grateful he hung on.”
During those hours at Callan’s side, Patrick wrote tributes to all three children, typing with one hand while holding his son’s hand with the other.
Patrick has spoken before about maintaining a connection to Cora, Dawson and Callan in the years since their deaths. He told 60 Minutes he still talks to his children and asks them for help. “I like to believe they do,” he said. “It’s a way I stay connected to them.”
The case returned to public attention when Lindsay Clancy’s trial ended in a mistrial on Sept. 4 after jurors could not agree on a verdict. Lindsay does not dispute that she killed the children, leaving the central legal question of criminal responsibility unresolved.
Patrick’s 60 Minutes interview marked his most detailed public discussion of Callan’s final days and the hope he carried into the hospital before confronting the prognosis that ended it.