Judge Makes Big Move In Lindsay Clancy Trial

Cavanaugh described first encountering the defendant on January 25, 2023, when Clancy could not speak.

“She was dressed in medical armor. 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 breathe,” Cavanaugh said.

Cavanaugh testified she vividly recalled the first words Clancy uttered once the breathing tubes were removed.

“She said to me, as I held her hand to comfort her, ‘I am so glad my children are safe,’” Cavanaugh said. “I replied theologically to Lindsay, and I said, ‘Lindsay, your children are safe. They are safe in Heaven with God.’”

The chaplain further stated that Clancy referenced hearing a persistent male voice. “She alluded to having heard a voice.

And the voice, according to Lindsay, told her that if she did not follow the command, neither she nor her children would not be safe,” Cavanaugh said, adding that discussions of “the voice” arose multiple times during those hospital visits.

Prosecutors quickly challenged the reliability of that account during cross-examination.

Prosecutor Shanan Buckingham noted Cavanaugh’s meticulous written records of the meetings.

“You wrote very detailed notes,” Buckingham said.