An Illinois mother accused of murdering her two-year-old son allegedly experienced a psychotic episode at the time of the child's death, according to her attorney. Corie Walsh, 40, faces first-degree murder charges after her son, Barrett 'Bear' Walsh, was found dead in their Frankfort home last Tuesday.
Walsh's attorney, Andrea Lyon, stated Friday that Walsh was experiencing a "psychotic episode" when her son died. "This is a tragedy for the Walsh family, all of whom are mourning the loss of this child," Lyon said in a statement to NBC 5 Chicago. "It is also a tragedy in that Corie herself was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time this happened."
Court documents indicate that Walsh was actively discussing the high-profile Lindsay Clancy case in a group chat hours before her son's death. Prosecutors allege that Walsh told police her son was "the devil" and "the Antichrist."
Officers arrived at the Walsh residence to find a neighbor performing CPR on the toddler. Barrett died from "asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck," according to the documents. Walsh was discovered upstairs by the neighbor, found in a bathtub "fully dressed, surrounded by bloody water." The neighbor reportedly rendered aid after Walsh inflicted a knife wound on herself in an apparent suicide attempt.
Walsh's husband was out of state at the time of the incident. Another infant was found unharmed in the home, and two school-aged children returned to the residence during the unfolding events. Walsh was taken to a hospital and allegedly admitted to killing her son, officials said.
Neighbors have noted the "eerie similarities" between Walsh's case and that of Lindsay Clancy, whose murder trial for the January 2023 killings of her three young children collapsed on Friday due to a hung jury. A mistrial was declared, meaning Clancy could face a new trial.
Walsh was booked into the Will County Adult Detention Facility on Friday on three counts of murder and is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday.