Vigil to be held for Duxbury family Thursday; neighbor remembers 'nice young couple'
DUXBURY − A candlelight vigil is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday to remember members of a Duxbury family following a series of "tragic events" that unfolded earlier this week.
Cora Clancy, 5, and Dawson Clancy, 3, were found dead in their Summer Street home Tuesday night by first responders who were called to the house after their mother, Lindsay Clancy, tried to kill herself by jumping out a window, Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz said. A third child, a 7-month-old boy, is being treated for injuries at a Boston hospital.
Lindsay Clancy, who is also hospitalized, will face two charges of homicide and three counts each of strangulation and assault and battery with a deadly weapon. Cruz said she will be arraigned "as soon as she is able."
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"Our community is, of course, reeling from the tragic events of last night," Duxbury Town Manager René Read said at a news conference Wednesday.
The vigil for the family will be held Thursday, Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. at Holy Family Church, 601 Tremont St., Duxbury.
"During moments like this, we can come together as a community to pray for one another, to grieve with each other and to support our brothers and sisters. Join us as we pray for the Clancy family, their family and friends, the first responders and all those so deeply affected by the events of this week," the church posted on Facebook.
A 'nice young couple'
Ruth Hearson, who lives across the street from the Clancy family, described the parents as a "nice young couple." They moved into the neighborhood five years ago, and Hearson introduced herself the first week with a tray full of brownies, she said. Since then, they've kept largely to themselves.
"They're very busy with their family. Young couple and young family who tend to keep to themselves. They're in and out of the driveway all the time and in nice weather she's out pushing the carriage in the street with the older kids on their bikes in the driveway," Hearson said. "They have a boat, so they're in and out all summer. It's not like neighborhoods were back in the day. People are more private."
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Hearson said she didn't know the couple had a third child until the news of the tragedy broke Tuesday night.
"When I saw all the ambulances, I thought, 'What the heck is going on? There are four ambulances out here,'" she said. "I thought it could be carbon monoxide poisoning. I didn't know there was a new baby, so I thought there were four ambulances for four people."
Police and reporters were on the street all day, Hearson said Wednesday. Several people laid flowers at the foot of the driveway. Hearson said she and the Clancys are all members of Holy Family Church, and the congregation said a prayer Wednesday morning.
"This is a tragedy," she said.
Clancy is a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital. She was previously a nursing assistant at South Shore Hospital, according to her Facebook page.
“We are shocked and saddened to learn of this unthinkable tragedy," Mass General said in a statement Wednesday. "We extend our deepest sympathies to all those affected by these devastating events.”
Reach Mary Whitfill at mwhitfill@patriotledger.com. Information from WCVB, The Patriot Ledger's media partner, was used in this report.
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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Vigil to be held in Duxbury after deaths of Cora, Dawson Clancy
