An Illinois woman who allegedly became “very invested” in Lindsay Clancy’s trial has been charged with murdering her 2-year-old son before attempting to take her own life.
Corie Walsh was “actively discussing” Clancy’s case via text messages with friends up to three and a half hours before her child’s body was discovered, according to court documents obtained by ABC Chicago station WLS.
Officers arrived at a home in Frankfort, Illinois, on the afternoon of September 1, where a neighbor was performing CPR on Walsh’s son, Barrett, according to the outlet. The neighbor had found the toddler in the basement and called 911.
The neighbor told authorities that she had found Walsh “actively harming herself.” She claimed that she took a knife from Walsh and threw it into a sink. She told authorities that Walsh, 40, said “she was trying to kill herself.”
Officers found Walsh upstairs, where she allegedly told them that her son was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ.”
Another infant was reportedly found at the home and was unharmed.
Prosecutors have asked for Walsh to remain detained pending trial, claiming that she made statements about harming her other three children, WLS reported, citing court docs. Walsh also allegedly intended to harm her husband, who was out of state at the time of her alleged crime, when he returned home.
Walsh remains in custody and was being held for medical treatment as of Thursday, September 3. She is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, September 8 at 9 a.m.
Walsh’s attorney, Andrea Lyon, told ABC News that her client was suffering from a “psychotic episode at the time this happened.”
“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. 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.”
Walsh’s alleged crime comes amid Clancy’s high-profile murder case, which began in January 2023 when she was arrested for strangling her three children: Cora, 5, Dawson, 3, and Callan, 8 months.
Clancy, 36, later leapt from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt, which left her paralyzed from the waist down.
Clancy pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to three counts of first-degree murder. During her trial, which began in July, her defense argued that she suffered from postpartum psychosis when she killed her children and had no sense of control over her actions. Meanwhile, the prosecution argued that the murders were premeditated and that Clancy acted intentionally.
A Massachusetts judge ultimately declared a mistrial on Friday, September 4, due to a deadlocked jury. Prosecutors have not yet revealed whether they will re-try Clancy’s case.
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