Nancy Cavanaugh was a hidden villainess from "Precious Cargo", episode 1.04 of Taxi Brooklyn (airdate July 16, 2014). She was the wife of Kevin Cavanaugh and was a well-known foster parent, having five children in her care at the time of the episode. When she was found shot to death in her home, her social worker Rhonda stated that Nancy was the perfect foster mother who took in the troubled children no one else would take in.
But as revealed during the episode's ending by Tristan, a 10-year-old boy in the Cavanaughs' care, Nancy's persona as the ideal foster mother was a mask for her true self: a violent child abuser. While Kevin train the children in their care how to steal and deliver drugs to dealers, Nancy abused the children if they ever complained or failed to do enough for Nancy and Kevin's standards, beating them and locking them in the basement for days without food and water. She would also punish any "misbehaving" children by forcing them to watch as she abused Janie, the youngest child in their care.
Desperate to escape Nancy and Kevin's abuse, Tristan stole cocaine from Sami, a drug dealer working for the Cavanaughs, and planned to sell it to make enough money to run away with his foster siblings. When Sami found out and told Nancy and Kevin, the evil Nancy went at Janie with a knife, planning to kill her and tell Rhonda that she ran away. While Tristan claimed that he shot Nancy, the crime scene evidence proved that it had been Janie who killed her abusive foster mother.
Trivia[]
- Nancy Cavanaugh is similar to CSI: Miami villainess Laura Williams, as both were mothers who constantly abused their children, while playing the part of the perfect mother to hide their malevolent personalities. Both of them also met the same fate: killed by their children in self-defense.