In late August of 2026, social media erupted with fascination over the Lindsay Clancy trial. Within a single month of the trial’s start, more than 164,400 TikTok videos were uploaded under the trending #Clancy hashtag. The former labor and delivery nurse, charged with three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her children – Cora (age 5), Dawson (age 3), and Callan (8 months old) – pleaded not guilty.
During the trial, the true events unfolded in a nightmarish reality for both the jury and court spectators, as well as viewers watching online.
On January 24th, 2023, former husband Patrick Clancy departed from the family home in Duxbury, MA for two errands – to retrieve a prescription from the local CVS Pharmacy and takeout dinner from the ThreeV Restaurant. Upon returning, though, nothing would ever be the same.
According to court testimony, Lindsay Clancy strangled the couple’s three children with exercise resistance bands in the downstairs basement. Following the gruesome murders, she attempted suicide by jumping through the second-story window. In trial, Clancy’s defense attorney argued a lack of criminal responsibility due to postpartum psychosis and other severe mental illness.
Despite six weeks of nonstop testimony, evidence, and witness accounts, the judge declared a mistrial after the jury deliberated for over 30 hours, still deadlocked at 11-1.
Ultimately, the inability to reach a unanimous verdict essentially reset the entire case back to square one: Lindsay Clancy remains in a psychiatric hospital while still charged with murder.
Although interest in the case arguably slowed down after concluding in a mistrial, networks jumped to grab viewers’ attention again by rapidly releasing documentary-style programs like:
- “A Mother’s Mental State: Inside the Clancy Case”
- On AppleTV, Amazon Prime Video, & FoxNation
- “48 Hours: Case by Case”
- On Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, & official 48 hours Youtube channel
- “The Trial of Lindsay Clancy – Special Edition of 20/20”
- **Coming soon on Disney+, Hulu, and ABC**
While the trial’s outcome remains uncertain, the surrounding media coverage reveals a more pressing issue – a recurring bias within true-crime storytelling where…
white, heterosexual women dominate the spotlight as the face of victimhood, leaving others equally significant in the shadows
Take some of the most popular documentaries on Netflix, for example:
- “American Murder: Laci Peterson”
- “Death of the Pastor’s Wife”
- “American Nightmare”
- “A Toxic Love Story”
Each of these stories exemplifies a single narrative that paints white women as the victim; however, Netflix concentrates on the same individual even as the perpetrator. For instance:
- “Maternal Instincts”
- “The Crash”
- “Killer Sally”
- “Sins of Our Mother”
It’s clear: true-crime storytelling repeatedly privileges white voices over intersectional experiences of violence. BUT…
What about the equally harrowing stories of marginalized identities that are dismissed, silenced, or left entirely untold?
The systemic imbalance of representation in media becomes most visible in cases like Reyna Marroquín, Mitrice Richardson, Alexis Gabe, Teka Adams, and countless others. Despite the gravity of their stories, these victims remain overlooked – both then and now – because they fall outside the narrow cultural mold of whiteness and/or heterosexuality.
For Reyna Marroquín:
A Salvadoran immigrant who migrated to the United States in 1966 for a fresh start. She disappeared in January 1969, known to be pregnant after a long-standing affair with her employer, Howard Elkins. After 30 years, her remains were discovered in a 55-gallon industrial drum.
For Mitrice Richardson:
An African American woman from Los Angeles who was openly lesbian. She was detained after exhibiting signs of mental distress in public; however, when released the next day on September 17th, 2009, she went missing. After a year, her remains were found in Malibu Canyon, and the circumstances of her death remain unclear.
For Alexis Gabe:
A Filipino American woman from Oakley, California. She disappeared on January 26th, 2022, after spending time with friends and ex-boyfriend Marshall Curtis Jones III. The police deduced that Jones committed the heinous crime of killing, dismembering, and disposing of her remains in trash bags, only some of which were discovered on November 3rd, 2022.
For Teka Adams:
A pregnant African American woman homeless in Washington, D.C. during 2009. While staying at a homeless shelter, a woman named Veronica Deramous lured Adams into her apartment. She held her captive for several days and attempted fetal abduction with a box cutter. Despite severe injuries, Adams escaped with both her and the baby’s lives.
For these women, visibility means justice.
The act of saying their names, telling their stories, and sharing with the public challenges a media culture that normalizes selective empathy and silences marginalized voices.
However…
Remembrance is not enough – it must become action. We must demand media that tells every story with equal humanity. We must extend beyond the boundaries of whiteness and heterosexuality. We must confront structures that don’t belong to everyone.
Speak out. Speak up. Speak back.
Their stories only begin with acknowledgment. The rest is up to us.