Mom ‘very invested’ in Lindsay Clancy case hires Casey Anthony attorney after allegedly killing son: docs
Maine News Now – 11 Oct 2023
Illinois Mother Charged with Murder of 2‑Year‑Old in Case Drawn to Lindsay Clancy Trial
A 38‑year‑old mother in Frankfort, Illinois, faces three counts of first‑degree murder after her 2‑year‑old son, Barrett Walsh, was found dead in their home on September 1. Prosecutors say the toddler died by strangulation after being hung from a basement rafter. The case has attracted national attention because investigators discovered the mother was discussing the high‑profile Lindsay Clancy murder trial with friends only hours before the fatal incident.
The Tragic Discovery
Frankfort police were dispatched to 22700 Block of Brook Stone Court after a neighbor called 911 at about 4 p.m. on September 1, reporting an injured child. Officers arrived to find the child, Barrett, hanging from a basement rafter with his feet dangling. A neighbor attempted CPR, but the boy was unresponsive; he was pronounced dead at the scene. A preliminary autopsy later concluded Barrett died from asphyxia caused by strangulation.
Police recovered a kitchen knife from the master bathroom, where they found a fully dressed woman – identified as mother Corie A. Walsh – attempting suicide. She was lying in a bathtub surrounded by blood‑stained water; the neighbor had wrapped a towel around her left inner thigh and disarmed the knife, which was later seized as evidence. Cuts on Walsh’s wrists and thighs were documented by investigators. The neighbor told officers that Walsh had asked why the knife had been taken from her and that she had said “Bear” was in the basement, referencing her son’s nickname.
While hospitalized, Walsh told investigators she believed Barrett was “the devil” and the “anti‑Christ” and that she had killed him. Prosecutors say her statements align with the physical evidence.
Links to the Lindsay Clancy Case
A group text conversation involving Walsh and friends was recovered from her phone, which investigators found in the bathroom. The messages, dated September 1 and dated 12:30 p.m., reference the Lindsay Clancy murder trial – a Massachusetts case in which a mother was accused of killing her three children. Witnesses testified that Walsh had become “very invested” in that trial just hours before Barrett’s death. The forensic analysis of the phone was still underway as of September 3, and prosecutors have not tied the conversation to the murder of Barrett.
Attorney Andrea Lyon, who represents Walsh and previously defended Casey Anthony in her 2011 trial, has denied any connection. “They are not correlated at all. It’s just accidental,” Lyon told reporters. She also said, “She was psychotic. And this is not a first‑degree murder.”
Legal Proceedings
Walsh is charged with three counts of first‑degree murder. Because Barrett was a toddler, a conviction would carry a mandatory sentence of 60 to 100 years in prison with no possibility of early release. Prosecutors have asked the court to deny Walsh pre‑trial release, arguing that she poses a threat to her husband and the three surviving children. Walsh’s husband was out of state at the time of the incident and flew home that evening. The three other children – an infant and two school‑aged children – were unharmed.
On Tuesday, a judge denied Walsh’s request for pre‑trial release to a locked hospital setting. Lyon expressed disappointment but said the defense would continue to investigate the case while Walsh recovers from her wounds. She also said the defense may seek pre‑trial release again.
Walsh remains hospitalized at Silver Cross Hospital and is expected to be transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility once medically cleared.
The case is pending in the Will County Circuit Court. The state’s attorney’s office has yet to issue a statement in response to this story.