Lindsay Clancy said she was 'so glad' kids were 'safe' after killing them, chaplain testifies
The hospital chaplain who met with Lindsay Clancy days after she killed her children and attempted to take her own life testified in her murder trial Thursday about her first conversation with the Massachusetts mother, recounting how Clancy said during one of their conversations that a voice had allegedly told her to kill her children, and that she was "so glad" they were now "safe."
Sheila Cavanaugh, a board-certified chaplain at Brigham and Women's Hospital, testified that she met with Clancy at least 14 times while Clancy was hospitalized there, saying their first conversation took place on Jan. 31, after Clancy had been extubated. She had been hospitalized after attempting to take her own life after the killings.
"Her emotional state was very neutral, a flat affect, but I remember vividly the first thing she said to me," Cavanaugh testified, saying Clancy was still "covered" with tubes and a neck brace at the time. "We had been praying together, and so when I went in on Tuesday the 31st, she said to me as I held her hand to comfort her, 'I am so glad my children are safe.'"
Cavanaugh testified that she "replied theologically" to Clancy, saying, "Lindsay, your children are safe. They're safe in heaven with God."
"And I held her hand throughout that conversation, and we prayed for them," Cavanaugh added, referring to Clancy's three children.
Cavanaugh testified that Clancy mentioned hearing a male voice multiple times during their meetings immediately following the killings.
"The voice, according to Lindsay, told her that if she did not follow the command, neither she nor her children would be safe," Cavanaugh said told jurors. "She alluded to the fact that it was a male voice, and it was persistent."
During a brief cross examination, Cavanaugh was asked why her notes did not mention Clancy hearing a voice in her head prior to the killings. Cavanaugh testified that as a chaplain, she was "not there to evaluate the patient" but to "bear witness to their suffering."
Cavanaugh added that she continued to meet with Clancy and has visited her approximately 200 times during Clancy's stay at Tewksbury Hospital, where she has been held in state custody for the past three years.
Cavanaugh's testimony comes after jurors heard from defense witness Paul Zeizel earlier in the week, who also testified about Clancy's claim she heard a voice telling her to kill her children.
Zeizel, a forensic psychologist who did not treat Clancy prior to the killings, testified Tuesday that he met with Clancy approximately 60 times over the last three years, and that he helped facilitate a call over speaker phone between Clancy and her then-husband Patrick Clancy during one of those early visits.
"She was unable to express a lot of emotion, but she expressed love for him, and she had said that she heard a male voice ordering her, telling her that she didn't have any choice, but she had to kill her children and then kill herself," Zeizel told jurors.
According to Zeizel, the last time Clancy claims she heard a voice in her head was on Jan. 24, 2023, the day she killed her three children.
"Currently, she has not heard voices since the event took place in 2023," Zeizel testified Wednesday.
Defense could rest case as soon as Friday
Lindsay Clancy's attorney Kevin Reddington said in court Thursday that he expects to rest the defense case on Friday after calling one more witness, an expert on postpartum psychosis.
Clancy is facing three counts of first-degree murder for the deaths of her 5-year-old daughter Cora, 3-year-old son Dawson, and infant son Callan at her family's home in the Boston suburb of Duxbury on Jan. 24, 2023. She has pleaded not guilty.
Reddington has argued that Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis when she strangled her three children and attempted to take her own life.
Defense lawyers do not contest that Clancy was responsible for the deaths of her three children. Instead, they argue she should not be held criminally responsible for their deaths because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time.
Thursday's court session ended early after the jurors only heard about an hour of testimony. It's the second day in a row when the jury was sent home early, with the judge blaming Wednesday's delay on an "unforeseen circumstance."
The court provided no further details about the reason for the delay, and Judge William Sullivan ordered the jury not to speculate about the cause.
"It's going to be a short day, but also gear up for a longer day tomorrow," Sullivan said Thursday, before dismissing jurors for the day. "If you're going to hold it against anybody, hold it against me."
Outside the courthouse on Thursday, hundreds of people, many of them dressed in pink, gathered to show their support for Clancy. The supporters stood silently for more than an hour before court proceedings began, according to The Associated Press.
One supporter told Boston ABC affiliate WCVB-TV that she drove over six hours to be there, describing herself as “very passionate about postpartum mental illness.“
Another supporter told the news outlet of following Clancy’s trial, “It is the most tragic thing I've ever seen, but this has brought to light so much.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide -- free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call or text the national lifeline at 988.
