Illinois Mom Who Closely Followed Lindsay Clancy’s Trial Now Charged With Murder of Her 2-Year-Old Son
Walsh's attorney claims she was in a mental crisis.
A mother who had become “very invested” in the Lindsay Clancy trial is now facing murder charges after she allegedly strangled her toddler son in their home in Frankfort, Illinois. The crime was reportedly discovered by a neighbor, who later found the mother trying to harm herself in a bathtub.
40-year-old and mother of four, Corie Walsh, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder on Sept. 4 after her two-year-old son, Barrett Walsh, was found hanging by his neck in the basement of their home following a report of an unresponsive child to the Frankfort Police Department at 4pm on Tuesday, per CNN. Officers arrived to find a neighbor providing CPR on Barrett; however, he already had no pulse, prosecutors said.
Barrett was immediately rushed to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. According to preliminary findings by the Will County Coroner’s Office on Sept. 2, Barrett’s autopsy points to death by asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck. However, the final cause and manner of death remain undetermined pending police, toxicological, and autopsy reports.
Walsh was invested in the Lindsay Clancy trial
Investigators found that Walsh had grown highly invested in the high-profile murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, who was accused of murdering her three children before attempting to take her own life in 2023. The case recently deadlocked and ended in a mistrial on Friday.
Clancy’s case in particular has the nation watching as prosecutors argued she planned the killings, based on the timing and actions before committing the act. Clancy’s defense team claimed that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis; therefore, she should not be held criminally liable. Now, the nation might be seeing another eerily similar case.
According to prosecutors, Walsh had been actively discussing the case in group text messages with her friends until around 12:30pm on Sept. 1, nearly four hours before police discovered the heartbreaking scene at her home. Walsh allegedly told officers that she killed her son because he was the “anti-Christ” and the “devil.”
Walsh’s attorney claims she was in a mental health crisis
Walsh’s neighbor would later find the young child lifeless in the basement and Walsh in the master bedroom’s bathroom with a knife and “actively trying to harm herself.” According to court documents, Walsh had been lying in a tub fully dressed and “surrounded by bloody water,” with cuts to her thighs and wrists.
The neighbor allegedly commandeered the knife and threw it into a sink before it was taken into evidence. Police said Walsh was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Andrea Lyon, Walsh’s attorney, claimed the mother had been in a mental health crisis in a statement to CNN. “This is a tragedy for the Walsh family, all of whom are mourning the loss of this child. It is also a tragedy in that [she] herself was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time this happened,” Lyon said. “It is our hope that through a thorough presentation and investigation of the facts, that all of us will come to see this heartbreak for what it is.”
After being taken into custody by the Frankfort Police Department and the Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force, Walsh is reportedly being held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility ahead of a detention hearing set for Tuesday. Prosecutors have petitioned to deny her pretrial release based on statements Walsh allegedly made about “harming her other children” and had “intended to harm her husband.”
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
