LIVE UPDATES: Defense calls hospital chaplain to the stand on Day 17 of Lindsay Clancy’s trial
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Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial is underway in Massachusetts. The 36-year-old woman is charged with three counts of murder for the strangling deaths of her three children, ages 5, 3, and 8 months old. Clancy is present in a wheelchair after she was paralyzed by injuries she sustained when she jumped from her home’s second-story window in an alleged suicide attempt. Her defense lawyer claims she was insane at the time, suffering from postpartum psychosis, and could not appreciate the wrongfulness of her actions. We are posting live updates from the courtroom here. Time notes are Eastern Daylight Time. Please forgive typos.
11:51 a.m. Judge asks if there is anything else the defense or prosecution needs to address with him. They both reply “no.” He adjourns court until tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. EDT.
11:48 a.m. Judge says he will take counsel’s suggestions under advisement and intends to have a “rough draft” of jury instructions ready for their review tomorrow. Reddington clarifies that the plan for tomorrow is to start with his witness Dr. Phillip Resnkik, and then the Commonwealth will bring in 3 more rebuttal witnesses. He asks if the judge expects to be ready for closing arguments on Monday. Judge says that is a possibility, but he also anticipates that counsel may need a day to review all the evidence presented at trial and prepare their closing arguments. He suggests that, depending on the timing of tomorrow’s testimony, the court could adjourn for a day before returning for closing arguments. He says closings could come as early as Monday, but may not happen until Tuesday.
11:43 a.m. Sprague argues that a charge of involuntary manslaughter would not apply in this case because that charge assumes the person did not intend to cause death, and Lindsay clearly did intend to kill the kids.
11:41 a.m. Defense attorney Kevin Reddington argues that the word “intoxication” should remain in the instructions because the foundational question in this trial is whether Lindsay’s cognitive abilities were affected by the prescription medications she was taking. And that the side effects of those drugs caused involuntary intoxication. Reddington also asks the judge to include secondary conviction options for jurors to a charge of involuntary manslaughter, and a charge of involuntary intoxication.
11:37 a.m. Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Sprague tells the judge that the prosecution wants the word “intoxication” removed from the instructions. She says it has been established that there is no evidence of intoxication from her prescription drugs before she killed the children; and even when she took prescription meds after she killed them, the amount found in her blood after she killed the children did not amount to levels that would intoxicate her to the point it would affect her cognitive abilities. The definition of intoxication is discussed.
11:31 a.m. Court is back in session. Judge Sullivan says he wants to start with a preliminary discussion about jury instructions.
10:43 a.m. Judge tells counsel the court will take a short recess and then come back to discuss jury instructions and other matters. Court is in recess.
10:40 a.m. Judge calls counsel to sidebar. After a short sidebar, the judge addresses the jury, saying: “I told you this was going to be a short day.” The jury is excused for the day and asked to return tomorrow at 9 a.m. EDT.
10:39 a.m. Defense Redirect: Reddington verifies that information about SSDI meetings was outside of the scope of Cavanaugh’s work with Lindsay. End of questioning.
10:38 a.m. Prosecution asks witness if she is aware that at one point Lindsay was “working out with a yellow exercise band.” Witness says no. Prosecutor asks if witness is aware that Lindsay “worked with an SSDI representative to get an income.” Witness says no. Prosecutor verifies with witness that her notes include what she felt about Lindsay’s mental health, not quotes of things Lindsay said.
10:35 a.m. Prosecution Cross: Prosecutor establishes that the witness did not know the heavy police presence the first time she saw the patient was due to a court order for evidence collection. Prosecutor goes over Cavanaugh’s “meticulous” notes of her visits with Lindsay, points out that there are many notes about what Lindsay might be thinking and feeling. Witness agrees. Prosecutor points out there is no note of “a voice” directing Lindsay to kill her children. Witness agrees. Witness verifies Lindsay’s concerns about her paralysis and that she could be “vulnerable to others in the future.”
10:33 a.m. When Lindsay moved to Spaulding Rehab, Cavanaugh continued to meet with her. When Lindsay was discharged, she went to Tewksbury Hospital. Cavanaugh says she continued to meet with Lindsay afterward, on a weekly basis, even though the hospital was not affiliated with the other hospitals where she worked. Says she met with Lindsay over 200 times. Reddington: Did she speak of her children? Cavanaugh says, “Lindsay talks frequently about her children. She loves them deeply. She carries immense grief” to this day. (Prosecution objects; judge overrules objection). Cavanaugh says the last time she saw Lindsay was at Tewksbury prior to the trial starting.
10:30 a.m. Cavanaugh says that when she met with Lindsay during the second week of her stay at Brigham and Women’s, Lindsay had ben extubated and could speak. Cavanaugh said she had prayed with Lindsay in previous visits. She says one of first things Lindsay said to her was, “I am so glad my children are safe.” Cavanaugh says she replied: “Lindsay, your children are safe. They’re safe with God.” Says the two women prayed together. Cavanaugh says Lindsay “alluded to having heard a voice” that told her to kill the children, saying she felt that if she did not follow the voice, her children would not be safe.
10:20 a.m. Defense calls Sheila Cavanaugh, a chaplain at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Reddington establishes her credentials, and Cavanagh verifies that she met with Lindsay Clancy after her arrival at the facility in January 2023. Cavanaugh says that the first time she saw Lindsay, she was intubated and unable to speak. Says she saw Lindsay twice that first week, and she remained intubated during that time.
10:17 a.m. Judge questions jury members on their continued impartiality and whether they have concerns about their ability to continue service. As he begins outlining the schedule, he tells jurors, “You’re allowed to kind of roll your eyes.” Sullivan says Friday will be a short day and tells jurors to expect “a longer day” on Friday. We are still on schedule, he says, and the delay we will have this afternoon will not affect that. Judge says the “issue” that came up yesterday concerns the attorneys, but he says nothing further about it other than telling jurors not to speculate or hold it against either side.
10:10 a.m. Court is back in session. Members of the jury are being brought in.
9:58 a.m. Judge William Sullivan briefly addressed the court, saying they would take a short recess before the defense calls its next witness. To this point, it’s unclear what has delayed the proceedings this morning.
9:10 a.m. Dozens of women dressed in pink gathered Thursday morning outside of the Plymouth Trial Court, where the trial of Lindsay Clancy is being held. The women said they were there to rally in silent support of Lindsay Clancy, according to WBTS NBC10, the NBC affiliate in Boston. “This is organized by the same group that organized a rally outside the Norfolk Superior Courthouse in Dedham (Mass.) during both of Karen Read’s murder trials,” the outlet reports.
WFXT Boston 25, Boston’s Fox affiliate, shared this video of the rally on Instagram:
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