BS BULLETIN:

• Former “Real Housewives” star Lisa Rinna publicly declared that Patrick Clancy — whose three children were strangled by his then-wife Lindsay Clancy — was actually responsible for their deaths, despite offering no evidence to support the accusation.
• Rinna said she reached the conclusion after discussing the case with her therapist, arguing that women “typically” don’t strangle people and declaring, “Patrick did it.”
• Patrick testified emotionally about his family’s ordeal at Lindsay’s trial, where the defense acknowledges Lindsay killed Cora, Dawson and Callan but argues she was not criminally responsible because she suffered from postpartum psychosis.

Patrick Clancy has endured something almost impossible to comprehend.

His three children were strangled to death. His then-wife admitted killing them. He testified publicly about the destruction of his family. And now a reality-TV celebrity has apparently decided he should also be accused of murdering his own children.

Lisa Rinna, formerly of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” posted a video declaring that Patrick — not Lindsay Clancy — killed Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months.

“Alright, he did it. Patrick did it,” Rinna said. “Patrick’s the one who did it. Not Lindsay. Patrick did it.”

Her evidence? Her therapist apparently agreed with her.

Rinna said she discussed the case during therapy and her therapist suggested Patrick was responsible. Rinna then offered another piece of reasoning: “women, typically, don’t strangle.” She suggested women who kill are more likely to poison or drown their victims.

There is no evidence presented at Lindsay Clancy’s trial implicating Patrick in the killings. Quite the opposite: Lindsay’s own defense acknowledges that she killed the children. The question jurors are considering is whether she was criminally responsible when she did it.

Her attorneys argue that Lindsay was suffering from postpartum psychosis and experiencing severe mental illness when she strangled all three children with exercise bands inside the family’s Duxbury, Massachusetts, home in January 2023. Prosecutors argue that she understood what she was doing and deliberately arranged to get Patrick out of the house before killing the children.

Patrick was the prosecution’s first witness. He described his wife’s deteriorating mental health and his efforts to get her treatment before the killings. He also described returning home that night, discovering Lindsay outside after she jumped from an upstairs window, and then finding his children in the basement.

Patrick initially issued an extraordinary statement forgiving Lindsay. “I took so much pride in being Lindsay’s husband and a dad,” he wrote shortly after the killings.

The couple eventually divorced. Patrick has since remarried and attempted to rebuild his life. None of that stopped Rinna from announcing to her enormous social-media audience that he was actually the killer.

The remarks generated an immediate backlash, including calls for Patrick to pursue legal action against her. New York Post columnist Maureen Callahan went considerably further Wednesday, excoriating Rinna’s accusation and arguing that Patrick should sue her. Callahan noted the particularly grotesque position Patrick now occupies: a father who lost all three children and has nevertheless become the target of internet conspiracy theories blaming him for their deaths.

The Rinna episode also comes amid an increasingly bizarre public circus surrounding the Clancy trial.

Hundreds of supporters have rallied for Lindsay outside the courthouse. Social media is filled with amateur theories about the case. Pro-Clancy merchandise is being sold online.

And this week, a self-described “crime junkie” was arrested after allegedly filming jurors leaving the courthouse from a restricted area. Police allegedly discovered footage of jurors in the deleted folder of her phone. She has pleaded not guilty to aggravated intimidation of a juror.

Meanwhile, the actual jury has twice reported being deadlocked over whether Lindsay was criminally responsible for the killings.

Deliberations continue.

MY QUICK TAKE

This is what happens when true crime, social media and celebrity narcissism collide: everybody becomes a detective, evidence becomes optional, and a grieving father becomes content.

Patrick Clancy has already lived through enough.

DBS WIRE SOURCES

• New York Post — I hope Patrick Clancy sues Lisa Rinna over her vile rants
• Associated Press — Lindsay Clancy trial coverage
• People — Patrick and Lindsay Clancy trial coverage
• New York Post — Coverage of spectator accused of filming Clancy jurors
• New York Times — Coverage of public support surrounding Lindsay Clancy