Amanda Knox Defends Patrick Clancy From Conspiracy Theories After Mistrial

Amanda Knox has criticized conspiracy theories against Patrick Clancy following the mistrial in ex-wife Lindsay Clancy’s murder case.

“Last week, Patrick’s lawyer released a statement saying the online campaign, driven by influencers and conspiracy theorists boosting their own profiles, had produced real threats to his safety and livelihood, and that police had been notified. I can relate,” Knox, 39, wrote in a Tuesday, September 15, essay for The Free Press. (The author was wrongfully convicted and later exonerated for the 2007 murder of her roommate, Meredith Kercher, in Italy.)

Comparing public scrutiny over Patrick, 38, to her own experiences, she continued, “For years, I received very graphic and detailed death threats. In the end, I had to seek the help of the FBI. Why, I’ve often wondered, don’t these people direct their ire toward Meredith’s actual killer, who is unrepentant, free from prison, and now on trial for sexually assaulting another young woman?” (Rudy Guede was convicted of Kercher’s murder and served a prison sentence which ended in 2021. He is currently facing charges of sexual assault, mistreatment and stalking in relation to a former girlfriend.)

Knox, who spent four years in an Italian prison, further argued that “the internet” had put Patrick under a microscope after seeing him running in a 2024 marathon — as she put it, “coping too well” — after Lindsay, 36, was accused of strangling their daughter and two sons in January 2023 before jumping from a window in an apparent suicide attempt that left her paralyzed from the waist down.

Lindsay Clancy’s Attorney Addresses Conspiracies About Her Ex After Mistrial

“Here was a man who had lost everything, and wasn’t hiding it. This isn’t how someone who’s grieving should act. He should be too busy crying to train for a marathon. He must have done it,” Knox wrote. “Seeing this gave me flashbacks to the relentless scrutiny of my own behavior … for which I was falsely imprisoned.”

Knox further detailed, “When I cried, they were crocodile tears; when I didn’t, I was cold and unfeeling. When I smiled at my family in the courtroom — a brief glimpse to let them know I was okay — I was a whore for the cameras.”

She concluded, “It’s tempting to think conspiracy theories arise when it isn’t immediately clear what happened or who caused it, but that’s often not the case.”

Last week, Patrick’s lawyer threatened legal action against online conspiracy theorists who claim he is involved in the deaths of the former couple’s children: Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and 8-month-old Callan.

“Over the past months, Patrick Clancy and his family have been subjected to a relentless, escalating and destructive defamation campaign,” Howard Cooper said in a statement on September 8. “This campaign of misinformation has been launched and promoted by minor celebrities, so-called influencers and outright conspiracy theorists who appear intent on boosting their own social media profiles and potential profit by publishing what they know to be outright falsehoods that Patrick was somehow involved in the death of his young children and other vile claims.”

Patrick was never arrested or publicly named as a suspect in his ex’s case. Patrick also testified during Lindsay’s trial and said he forgave her for the killings.

Lindsay was on trial after she was charged with three counts of first-degree murder. During the trial, her defense argued that she shouldn’t be held criminally responsible for the killings due to a severe postpartum mental health crisis. Prosecutors argued, however, that Lindsay was well aware of what she was doing when she killed her kids before her apparent suicide attempt.

A mistrial was declared by Judge William Sullivan on September 4 after jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. Lindsay has since returned to Tewksbury Hospital, where she has been held since 2023. Another hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, but prosecutors have not yet advised whether a retrial will be pursued.

If you or someone you know is pregnant or just had a baby and is in crisis, help is available. Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline for free, confidential support 24/7 in English and Spanish at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262).