Illinois mother charged with murder after killing 2-year-old, attempting to harm herself

A suburban Illinois mother, who had become interested in the Lindsay Clancy case, has been charged with murder after she allegedly killed her 2-year-old son then attempted to harm herself, according to police and court records. A quiet street in the affluent village of Frankfort, Illinois, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago, became a scene of terror earlier this week when the 2-year-old child was found hanging in the basement and his mother, Corie A. Walsh, was discovered in a bathtub in an apparent suicide attempt. Walsh, 40, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder on Friday, police announced. Before the killing, Walsh had “recently become very invested in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial,” prosecutors said in their petition to deny her pretrial release. Clancy, who was accused of murdering her three children in January 2023, has been in the national spotlight the last few weeks as her trial was live-streamed. It culminated in a mistrial Friday. Walsh had been “actively discussing the case” in group text messages with her friends up until 12:30 p.m. Tuesday — just three and a half hours before the grisly scene at her home was discovered, the filing said. At the time in the trial, the jury was in deliberations. Frankfort police had responded to the home just after 4 p.m. Tuesday on a report of an unresponsive child, authorities said. When officers arrived they found a neighbor performing CPR on the toddler, Barrett Walsh, who she had found hanging in the basement, court documents said. The neighbor took the child down and attempted CPR while calling 911, but he was already cold with no pulse, prosecutors said. The child was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased. The Will County Coroner’s Office ruled his death as an apparent homicide. Preliminary findings of the autopsy say he died from asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck, the petition said. Officers found Walsh in the bathroom of the upstairs master bedroom, laying in a tub fully dressed and “surrounded by bloody water.” Walsh was found with cuts to her wrists and thighs, the petition said. She was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Walsh told officers “she did this to her baby because he was the ‘devil’ and the ‘anti-Christ,’” the filing said. The neighbor told officers she had found Walsh with a knife in her hands, “actively harming herself.” The neighbor took the knife and threw it into the sink, and it was later taken into evidence, according to the petition. After she took the knife away, Walsh asked her why she did that, “as she was trying to kill herself,” the petition said. Walsh then told the neighbor that “Bear,” the child’s nickname, was “in the basement,” the filing said. Police on Wednesday said that the preliminary investigation indicated it was a domestic-related homicide. Walsh’s husband was out of town at the time. An infant was home and unharmed, prosecutors said. Two school-aged children had returned home around the time Barrett was found and they were also physically unharmed, the filing said. Walsh allegedly made statements regarding harming her other children and statements that she intended to harm her husband upon his return home, prosecutors said in the filing. Once hospitalized, she also described to officers “the manner in which she killed Barrett,” which was consistent with evidence at the scene, the petition said. Walsh was in custody Friday night and being held for medical treatment. Once released, she’ll be transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility. It was not immediately clear whether she has retained an attorney. Frankfort police called the case a “heartbreaking tragedy,” saying, “We ask our community to keep them in their thoughts and prayers.” If you or someone you know is struggling or in emotional distress, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7, to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. For additional resources, visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.