An Illinois mother has been charged with murder after allegedly killing her 2-year-old son before attempting suicide, according to court documents.
Corie Walsh, 40, lives in Frankfort, Illinois.
Walsh allegedly became “very invested” in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, according to court records obtained by ABC Chicago station WLS.
The mother was actively discussing Clancy’s case through text messages with friends up to three and a half hours before her child was discovered, records state.
Officers were called to a residence in Frankfort on the afternoon of September 1, according to the station.
A neighbor was performing CPR on Walsh’s 2-year-old son, Barrett, when police arrived at the home, the outlet reported.
The neighbor had found the toddler inside the basement and placed a call to 911, court documents show.
The neighbor told authorities that she found the mother actively harming herself inside the house, according to records. She claimed she took a knife away from Walsh and tossed it into a sink, police said.
Walsh told the neighbor she was trying to kill herself, authorities said.
Responding officers found the 40-year-old upstairs inside the home, police said.
Walsh allegedly told the officers that her son was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ,” according to court documents.
Another infant was located inside the residence, according to authorities. That child was found unharmed, according to the report.
Prosecutors have asked a judge to keep Walsh detained pending trial, according to WLS.
The accused woman made statements about harming her other three children, prosecutors alleged in court documents.
Walsh also allegedly intended to harm her husband when he returned home from out of state, prosecutors said.
Walsh’s alleged actions unfolded during Clancy’s high-profile case, which began when the Massachusetts mother was arrested in January 2023, court records show.
Clancy was accused of strangling her three young children: 5-year-old Cora, 3-year-old Dawson, and 8-month-old Callan, police said.
The 36-year-old mother later leapt from a second-story window in an apparent suicide attempt, authorities said. The fall left Clancy paralyzed from the waist down, court documents state.
Clancy pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to three counts of first-degree murder, according to records.
Her defense argued at trial that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and had no control over her actions, court records show. Prosecutors argued that the killings were premeditated and intentional, records show.
A Massachusetts judge declared a mistrial in Clancy’s case on Friday, September 4, following a deadlocked jury, according to reports.
Prosecutors in Massachusetts have not yet stated whether they intend to retry Clancy, according to the outlet.
Walsh’s defense 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,” 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.”
Walsh remained in custody and was being held for medical treatment as of Thursday, September 3, records show.
The defendant is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, September 8 at 9 a.m., according to court records.
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