An Illinois mother accused of killing her two-year-old son had been discussing the high-profile Lindsay Clancy murder trial with friends until just hours before the child was found dead, prosecutors have alleged.
Corie Walsh, 40, faces three counts of first-degree murder after her son, Barrett, was discovered in the basement of the family’s home in Frankfort, south-west of Chicago, on 1 September.
According to a petition seeking to keep Walsh in custody before trial, she had become “very invested” in the Massachusetts case and was actively discussing it in a group chat until about 12.30pm. A neighbour found Barrett less than four hours later.
Police were called to the property shortly before 4pm after the neighbour discovered the boy and began CPR while calling emergency services. Barrett was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead.
An autopsy found that he died from asphyxia caused by ligature compression of the neck, court documents said.
Walsh was found upstairs in a bath containing bloody water, fully dressed and suffering cuts to her wrists and thighs. Her injuries were described as not life-threatening.
Prosecutors allege Walsh told investigators she had killed her son because she believed he was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ”. Her lawyer, Andrea Lyon, said Walsh had been experiencing a psychotic episode at the time.
“This is a tragedy for the Walsh family, all of whom are mourning the loss of this child,” Lyon said in a statement. “It is also a tragedy in that Corie herself was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time this happened.”
The court filing also alleges that Walsh made statements about harming her other children and her husband, who was out of state when the incident occurred. An infant who was in the home was not injured, while two school-aged children arrived home around the time the child and Walsh were found.
Prosecutors have not alleged that the Lindsay Clancy trial caused or directly influenced the death of Barrett, and no publicly disclosed evidence has established a connection beyond Walsh’s discussions about the case.
Clancy, a former labour and delivery nurse, was accused of killing her three young children in Massachusetts in 2023. Her defence argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was not legally responsible, while prosecutors maintained that she understood her actions were wrong.
A Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial on 4 September after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict. Clancy remains charged, and prosecutors have not yet decided whether to seek a retrial.
