A mother reportedly obsessed with the Lindsay Clancy murder trial is accused of hanging her 2-year-old son in her basement after discussing the case with friends. Corie Walsh, 40, was arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree murder relating to the death of Barrett Walsh on 1 September, Illinois police confirm.
Police called to family home
A formal statement from the Frankfort Police Department revealed that officers were called to the family home around 4:04pm following a report of an unresponsive child. Barrett was swiftly taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, where he was later pronounced dead. Court papers obtained by NBC affiliate WMAQ disclosed that a neighbour found the boy in the basement and tried to revive him.
"She removed the ligature, lowered the child to the ground, and attempted CPR while calling 911," prosecutors wrote. "According to the neighbor, Barrett was cold and had no pulse." An initial post-mortem carried out on September 2 concluded that Barrett's cause of death was "asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck," as per court documents.
Mother found with injuries
Upon reaching the property, officers were guided by a neighbour to an upstairs bathroom, where they found Walsh with injuries suggesting she had tried to harm herself, as reported by NBC News. The mother was rushed to hospital with injuries that weren't life-threatening. The same neighbour told investigators that Walsh had been clutching a knife. The neighbour took it away from her, put it in the sink, and then asked the mother why she'd had it. Walsh then allegedly revealed that "Bear," the boy's nickname, was in the basement, CNN reported.
Walsh told police she murdered Barrett because he was the "devil" and the "anti-Christ," prosecutors stated. A baby in the house was found safe and well. Two school-age children returned home around the time Barrett was discovered. Walsh's husband was away on business out of state and flew back that evening.
Fixation on Clancy trial
Witnesses told detectives that Walsh had "recently become very invested in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial" and was "actively discussing the case via group text message with her friends" until 12:30 pm, according to WMAQ. Clancy, a Massachusetts mother, murdered her three children in Massachusetts. The widely reported, controversial trial ended in a mistrial after jurors spent more than a week deliberating. Prosecutors argued Clancy acted rationally and deliberately when she strangled her children, Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months.
However, the defence argued that the mother was suffering from postpartum depression and psychosis at the time. The case ended in a mistrial last Friday (September 4) when the jury of nine women and three men failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
Psychotic episode claim
Walsh's solicitor, Andrea Lyon, stated her client was undergoing a psychotic episode. "This is a tragedy for the Walsh family, all of whom are mourning the loss of this child," said Lyon, who famously defended Casey Anthony when she was charged with murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee, in 2008. "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."
Following her release from medical care, Walsh is due to attend a detention hearing, according to Frankfort police.
