“I AM SO GLAD MY CHILDREN ARE SAFE”: CHAPLAIN DESCRIBES LINDSAY CLANCY’S CLAIM OF A VOICE DIRECTING HER

A hospital chaplain who says she met with Lindsay Clancy more than 200 times delivered emotional testimony Thursday as the defense continued presenting evidence about Clancy’s mental state.

Sheila Cavanaugh, a chaplain at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, testified that Clancy told her she had heard a voice directing her to kill her three children.

According to Cavanaugh, Clancy believed the children would not be safe if she refused to obey the voice.

“I AM SO GLAD MY CHILDREN ARE SAFE”

Cavanaugh said she first began meeting with Clancy shortly after Clancy was hospitalized in January 2023.

At first, Clancy was intubated and unable to speak.

During the second week of her hospitalization, Cavanaugh said one of the first things Clancy told her was:

“I am so glad my children are safe.”

Cavanaugh said she reassured her that the children were safe and that they were with God.

The two then prayed together.

MORE THAN 200 MEETINGS

Cavanaugh continued visiting Clancy as she moved between hospitals and rehabilitation facilities.

She estimated that she met with Clancy more than 200 times.

Even after Clancy transferred to a hospital where Cavanaugh no longer worked, Cavanaugh said she continued visiting her approximately once a week.

She also testified that Clancy frequently spoke about her children.

According to Cavanaugh, Clancy “loves them deeply” and continues to carry profound grief over their deaths.

PROSECUTORS CHALLENGE THE ACCOUNT

But prosecutors focused heavily on one issue during cross-examination.

Cavanaugh’s detailed notes from her meetings with Clancy do not contain a reference to a voice telling Clancy to kill her children.

Cavanaugh acknowledged that some entries reflected her own impressions about Clancy’s thoughts or emotions rather than direct quotations.

That distinction could become important as jurors weigh the reliability of testimony about Clancy’s mental state.

THE DEFENSE’S CENTRAL ARGUMENT

The testimony fits directly into the defense’s broader argument that Clancy was suffering from severe psychiatric symptoms around the time her children died.

Earlier testimony described allegations of psychosis, hallucinations, paranoia and intrusive thoughts.

The defense is seeking to establish that Clancy’s mental condition significantly affected her ability to understand or control her actions.

Prosecutors, meanwhile, have challenged that interpretation by pointing to evidence of Clancy carrying out ordinary activities before the killings.

AN UNUSUALLY SHORT COURT DAY

Thursday’s proceedings ended earlier than expected.

Judge William Sullivan told jurors that an unspecified issue involving the attorneys had arisen and instructed them not to speculate about it or hold it against either side.

The jury was dismissed and is expected back Friday morning.

Outside the courthouse, dozens of women dressed in pink gathered in a silent show of support for Clancy, while many people inside the courtroom also wore pink.

Now, as attorneys discuss jury instructions, the case is moving closer to its final stage.

THE JURY MUST ULTIMATELY DECIDE WHAT CLANCY’S MENTAL STATE WAS — AND WHAT THAT MEANS UNDER THE LAW.

The chaplain’s testimony may become one of the defense’s most emotional pieces of evidence.

But prosecutors have highlighted a critical question:

Does the contemporaneous record support everything Cavanaugh remembers Clancy telling her?

That question will now be left for the jury to consider.