Hospital chaplain shares haunting words Lindsay Clancy said to her after killing children
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide and the death of children, which some readers may find distressing.
The chaplain of the hospital where Lindsay Clancy was treated after killing her children and her failed suicide attempt has revealed what she first said to her.
Sheila Cavanaugh says she met with Clancy more than 200 times while she was treated at Brigham and Women's.
As reported by PEOPLE, Cavanaugh said in court, of Clancy when seeing her on 31 January, a week on from the killings and a few days after her breathing tubes were removed that: "Her emotional state was very neutral, a flat effect. I remember vividly the first thing she said to me."
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The first thing Clancy said to her, while holding her hand, was apparently: "So glad my children are safe." All three of Clancy's children were dead by this point.
Cavanaugh, who was a witness for the defence, said that she responded by saying the children were 'safe in heaven'.
The chaplain also testified that Clancy said she heard voices, saying: “If she did not follow the command, neither she nor her children would be safe.”
During cross-examination, prosecutors pointed out Cavanaugh hadn't written that Clancy spoke of hearing voices in her notes.
Clancy carries 'immense grief' says Cavanaugh
Clancy is currently on trial in Massachusetts, USA, for the murder of her three children, Cora, five, Dawson, three, and eight-month-old Callan, in January 2023.
Her lawyers are not disputing that she killed the children, but have argued she should not be held criminally responsible as she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and severe mental illness as well as being ‘overmedicated’.
After killing her kids, Clancy allegedly tried to take her own life by jumping from a window but survived, being left paralysed from the waist down.
Cavanaugh first saw Clancy on 25 January 2023, the day after the killings.
"The unit was filled with law enforcement," Cavanaugh recalled. "She was dressed in medical armour, she had tubes, she was intubated, she had bandages, she had a neck brace.
"She was just covered and layered in equipment that allowed her to breath."
Even though she could hardly speak through the tube, Cavanaugh prayed with Clancy by her hospital bed.
She has seen her weekly ever since, with the most recent visit coming just before the trial got underway in July.
The chaplain said in court that Clancy still mourns her children, who are constantly on her mind.
She said: "Lindsay talks frequently about her children; she loves them deeply. She carries immense grief."
She added that when the pair talked on 3 February, 2023, Clancy told her she: "Fears of not being able to walk again" and that it would make her vulnerable to other people.
The day in court came to another early close
The trial is in its third week in Plymouth County Superior Court, with the jury being informed that Friday will be a full trial day after the judge brought Thursday to a close early after testimony from just a single witness, Cavanaugh.
After the jury had left, Judge William Sullivan held a preliminary charge conference to discuss potential jury instructions.
It came after Wednesday's session was also brought to an unexpected early close for what Judge Sullivan described as an ‘unforeseen circumstance.’
The judge didn't say what prompted the shorter session but asked the jury not to speculate on what was behind it.
He told the jurors: "This is not something we saw coming, but you're not to speculate about what it is.
"You're not to hold it against either side. It's just something that we have to deal with."
The prosecution team is arguing that Clancy planned out the murders and have raised questions over the suicide attempt.
The trial will continue on Friday, August 21.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000, 10am-8pm Monday to Friday. If you are a child seeking advice and support, call Childline for free on 0800 1111, 24/7.
Timeline of Lindsay Clancy case
May 2022
Lindsay gives birth to her third child, Callan.
She’s open about her postpartum struggles with her other two kids on social media. Six weeks after Callan’s birth, she posts that she’s feeling ‘dialed in’ while focusing on exercise, nutrition, and mindset, and ‘it has made all the difference’.
September 2022
As the end of her maternity leave nears, Lindsay, who works as a labour and delivery nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, starts to experience anxiety about returning to work.
She visits two different psychiatrists and receives a diagnosis of generalised anxiety disorder.
Lindsay is prescribed several different psychiatric medications.
October 2022
According to court docs, she writes in a note on her phone: “I think I sort of resent my other children because they prevent me from treating Cal like my first baby. And I know that’s not fair to them. I know that. I was feeling so depressed last evening when Cora and Dawson came home from school, I know it runs off on them, so we had a pretty rough evening, I want to feel love and connection with all my kids.”
December 2022
Lindsay undergoes an evaluation at the Women and Infants Hospital Centre for Women’s Behavioural Health. She is not diagnosed with postpartum depression, prosecutors say.
Lindsay’s husband Patrick tells police she is having suicidal thoughts and thoughts of harming their children, according to his testimony in court.
1-5 January, 2023
Lindsay admits herself to McLean Hospital for psychiatric treatment. She is discharged after five days as clinicians do not believe she poses an imminent danger to herself or others, prosecutors say.
22 January, 2023
Lindsay, Patrick, Cora and Dawson have dinner at family friend Kyle Carney’s home. Kyle later tells police that Lindsay ‘seemed fairly normal’.
23 January, 2023
According to prosecutors, Lindsay pens a note on her phone which says she has ‘a touch of postpartum anxiety’ about going back to work.
24 January, 2023
Prosecutors allege the following took place this day:
Morning: Lindsay takes Cora to a scheduled paediatrician appointment. After returning home, they play in the snow with Dawson. She sends photos of the kids to Patrick and her mom.
4:02pm: Lindsay searches for ‘kids Miralax’ (a laxative) on her phone, and 11 minutes later looks up ‘take out 3v’, referring to restaurant ThreeV in Plymouth. She uses Apple Maps to calculate how long it would take to drive from the family’s home to ThreeV.
4:47pm: Lindsay rings a CVS in Kingston to ask if they have any Miralax in stock. A manager tells her they don’t, but they do have similar medications.
The manager later tells authorities that she did not slur her words or sound impaired during the call.
4:35pm: Lindsay texts Patrick, who is working from home: “Any chance you want to do takeout from 3V … I didn’t cook anything … It’s been a long day.”
Patrick says yes, and Lindsay asks him to ‘check the menu when you can’.
5:10pm: Lindsay calls ThreeV to place the order.
5:15pm: Lindsay allegedly texts Patrick: “Pedialax liquid stool softener.” He then leaves to pick up the medication.
5:54pm: Patrick gets to ThreeV, pays for the food and leaves.
6:09pm: Patrick returns home. “The first thing he noticed was the silence,” prosecutors say. “He did not see or hear the defendant or the children.”
Patrick calls for his wife but gets no response. He discovers their second-floor bedroom is locked. Patrick eventually manages to get in the room but sees blood on the floor and an open window. He runs outside and finds Lindsay lying on the ground, according to prosecutors.
6:11pm: Prosecutors say that Patrick rings 911 and Lindsay is saying: “I tried to kill myself and jumped out the window.”
He is then said to ask Lindsay: “Where are the kids?” She responds: “In the basement.”
While on the call, Patrick goes down to the basement and is heard ‘screaming in agony’,
Cora and Callan are discovered on the floor of the den. Dawson is found in his dad’s home office.
When officers arrive at the scene, Patrick alleges: “She killed the kids.”
Lindsay is taken to hospital, where she is treated for injuries that leave her paralysed below the waist. The three children are also rushed to hospital.
7:28pm: Cora and Dawson are pronounced dead. Callan is medically flown to another children’s hospital.
25 January, 2023
Police issue Lindsay an arrest warrant, charging her with two counts of murder, three counts of strangulation or suffocation, and three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
27 January, 2023
Callan is pronounced dead at 11.18am.
According to Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague, Lindsay later wakes up and uses a whiteboard to ask: “Do I need an attorney?”
6 February, 2023
While in the presence of a psychologist hired by her lawyer, Lindsay calls Patrick and tells him she had a ‘moment of psychosis’ and heard ‘a man’s voice telling her to kill the kids and kill herself’ after he left on January 24.
7 February, 2023
On the day of her arraignment, Lindsay’s attorney says that she’s still suicidal. She pleads not guilty to three counts of murder.
October 2024
Patrick asks the public to forgive Lindsay, telling The New Yorker: “I wasn’t married to a monster - I was married to someone who got sick.”
January 2026
Lindsay and Patrick file a civil lawsuit, accusing medical providers of not properly diagnosing, treating and monitoring her for a ‘severe postpartum psychiatric condition’.
9 July, 2026
The Plymouth County District Attorney's Office says the three counts of strangulation would be subsumed into the murder charges.
27 July, 2026
Lindsay’s murder trial begins.
Daniel Murphy