Inset: Corie A. Walsh (Will County Sheriff's Office). Background: The area in Ill. where Walsh allegedly killed her son (Google Maps).
A 40-year-old Illinois mother who had become "very invested" in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial is accused of killing her own 2-year-old son, allegedly hanging the boy in her basement shortly after discussing the high-profile case with friends.
Corie A. Walsh was taken into custody and charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 1 slaying of Barrett Walsh, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Frankfort Police Department, officers responded around 4:04 p.m. to the family's home in the 22700 block of Brook Stone Court regarding a report of an unresponsive juvenile. Emergency medical personnel transported Barrett to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, where he was later pronounced dead.
A neighbor found the boy in the basement and began trying to revive him, according to court documents cited by Chicago NBC affiliate WMAQ.
"She removed the ligature, lowered the child to the ground, and attempted CPR while calling 911," prosecutors reportedly wrote. "According to the neighbor, Barrett was cold and had no pulse."
The Will County Coroner's Office performed an autopsy Sept. 2. The preliminary findings showed Barrett died from "asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck," according to court documents.
While officers were investigating, a neighbor directed them to an upstairs bathroom, where Walsh was found with injuries consistent with an apparent attempt to harm herself, NBC News reported. She was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The same neighbor told investigators that Walsh had been holding a knife. The neighbor took it from her and put it in a sink before Walsh asked why she had taken it. Walsh then said "Bear," the boy's nickname, was in the basement, per a report from CNN.
Walsh told officers she killed Barrett because he was the "devil" and the "anti-Christ," prosecutors said, according to NBC News.
Three other children were unharmed. An infant was in the home, while two school-aged children returned around the time Barrett was discovered. Walsh's husband was out of state and flew home that night, court documents cited by WGN said.
Just hours before allegedly killing her toddler, Walsh was reportedly messaging friends about the Clancy trial.
Witnesses told investigators she had "recently become very invested in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial" and had been "actively discussing the case via group text message with her friends" until about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, WMAQ reported.
Clancy, a Massachusetts mother who killed her three children in 2023, was just tried for murder in one of the most polarizing trials in recent memory. The case ended in a mistrial Friday when jurors failed to reach a verdict. Prosecutors argued Clancy acted rationally and intentionally when she killed her kids, while her defense maintained she was suffering from severe postpartum psychosis.
Walsh's attorney, Andrea Lyon, said her client was experiencing a psychotic episode.
"This is a tragedy, for the Walsh family all of whom are mourning the loss of this child," Lyon said, according to CNN. "It is also a tragedy in that [Corie] herself was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time this happened. It is our hope that through a thorough presentation and investigation of the facts, all of us will come to see this heartbreak for what it is."
Walsh is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing after her release from medical treatment, according to Frankfort police.
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