Illinois mother texted friends about Lindsay Clancy’s murder trial hours before killing her 2-year-old, prosecutors say

Will County Sheriff's Office

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes graphic and disturbing details.

An Illinois mother had become “very invested” in the high-profile Lindsay Clancy murder trial before prosecutors say she killed her 2-year-old son on Tuesday, according to witnesses cited in court documents.

Corie Walsh, a 40-year-old resident of Frankfort, was charged with first-degree murder after prosecutors allege she fatally strangled her son, Barrett Walsh, according to a complaint filed on Friday and obtained by CNN affiliate WLS.

At the time over 1,000 miles away, the jury had been deliberating in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, a former nurse accused of killing her three children. Walsh had been discussing the case on a group text message with her friends up until 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, prosecutors said witnesses told them, according to court documents obtained by WLS.

Around 4 p.m., the Frankfort Police Department responded to a report of an unresponsive toddler before he was pronounced dead at a hospital, according to a Friday news release from police.

The tragedy comes as Lindsay Clancy’s trial, which gripped the nation and sparked passionate debate , ended after the jury remained deadlocked and the judge declared a mistrial Friday. Prosecutors argued Clancy acted “ intentionally, rationally, and swiftly ” to kill her children, while the defense said she should not be held criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis .

Walsh, who was “reportedly…attempting to harm herself,” told officers she did this to her son because he was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ,” prosecutors said. A neighbor arrived at the home to find the toddler lifeless in the basement and Walsh in the bathroom with a knife, according to court documents.

Walsh’s attorney, Andrea Lyon, told CNN Walsh had been in a mental health crisis.

Greg Derr/Pool/The Patriot Ledger

“This is a tragedy, for the Walsh family all of whom are mourning the loss of this child,” Lyon said Friday. “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 was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and her three other children were unharmed, according to police.

Walsh was taken into custody following an investigation by the Frankfort Police Department and Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force and is now being held at the Will County Adult Detention Facility as she awaits a detention hearing on Tuesday, according to the sheriff’s office. Prosecutors have sought to deny her pretrial release, alleging Walsh “made statements regarding harming her other children and statements that she intended to harm her husband upon his return home.”

An autopsy was performed by the Will County Coroner’s Office Wednesday, the office said in a statement. Preliminary autopsy findings indicate that Barrett died from asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck, according to court documents. The final cause and manner of death are pending following autopsy, police and toxicological reports, the coroner’s office said.

CNN has reached out to the Will County Coroner’s Office and Will County State’s Attorney for more information.

On Tuesday afternoon, a neighbor who tried to administer first aid to Barrett said he “was cold and had no pulse,” according to court filings.

The neighbor, who was not named in the complaint, reported that the toddler was hanging in the basement from a rafter with a ligature around his neck and his feet off the ground, according to court documents. She removed the ligature, lowered him to the ground and administered CPR while calling 911.

The Frankfort Fire District said an ambulance “arrived to find a two-year-old patient in cardiac arrest.” They “immediately initiated advanced resuscitative efforts and transported the patient to the ambulance,” the fire district said in a news release Thursday. The toddler was pronounced dead around 5 p.m. Tuesday at a New Lenox hospital, according to the coroner’s office.

A baby was in the home at the time and was unharmed, court documents say. Two school-aged children returned home around the time the toddler was found and were also unharmed. Walsh’s husband was out of state but flew home Tuesday evening.

When they arrived at Walsh’s home, officers found her in an upstairs bathroom lying in a bloody tub with her neighbor pressing a towel on her thigh. The neighbor said she had taken a knife from Walsh’s hand and thrown it into the sink. Walsh had cuts on her wrists and thighs, court documents say.

Walsh was “actively harming herself,” according to her neighbor’s account in court documents, and had asked her neighbor why she took the knife away from her as she was attempting suicide. Walsh told her “Bear,” a nickname for her son, was in the basement, according to court documents.

While hospitalized, Walsh allegedly described to officers how she killed Barrett, which prosecutors say was “consistent with the evidence in this case.”

Walsh’s phone was located in the bathroom and a forensic analysis of her phone is now being conducted, prosecutors said. The knife was also taken into evidence.

The Illinois Department of Child and Family Services told CNN it doesn’t have any record of contact with the family.

Editor’s note: Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters. In the US, call or text 988 for help. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide have contact information for crisis centers around the world.

威尔县警长办公室

编者按：本文包含令人不安的画面和细节。

据法庭文件中引用的证人称，伊利诺伊州一位母亲在周二杀害了她 2 岁的儿子之前，对备受瞩目的林赛·克兰西谋杀案审判“非常投入”。

据 CNN 附属电视台 WLS 周五获得的一份起诉书显示，40 岁的法兰克福居民科里·沃尔什被控一级谋杀，检方指控她勒死了自己的儿子巴雷特·沃尔什。

当时，远在1000英里之外，陪审团正在审议林赛·克兰西（Lindsay Clancy）的谋杀案，克兰西是一名退休护士，被控杀害了自己的三个孩子。据WLS电视台获得的法庭文件显示，检方称，证人告诉他们，沃尔什直到周二下午12点半还在与朋友们通过群发短信讨论此案。

据警方周五发布的新闻稿称，下午 4 点左右，法兰克福警察局接到报告称一名幼儿失去反应，随后该幼儿在医院被宣布死亡。

就在林赛·克兰西的审判结束之际，这起悲剧发生了。这场审判曾牵动全国，引发激烈辩论，但由于陪审团意见不一，法官于周五宣布审判无效。检方认为克兰西“蓄意、理性且迅速地”杀害了自己的孩子，而辩方则辩称她不应承担刑事责任，因为她患有产后精神病。

据检察官称，沃尔什“据称当时试图自残”，她告诉警方，她之所以这样对待儿子，是因为他是“魔鬼”和“反基督者”。法庭文件显示，一位邻居赶到现场时，发现幼童已在地下室失去生命迹象，而沃尔什则手持一把刀在浴室里。

沃尔什的律师安德里亚·里昂告诉 CNN，沃尔什当时正处于精神健康危机之中。

格雷格·德尔/Pool/《爱国者纪事报》

“对于沃尔什一家来说，这是一场悲剧，他们都在为失去这个孩子而悲痛欲绝，”里昂周五说道。“更令人悲痛的是，科里本人当时正处于精神病发作期。我们希望通过对事实的全面陈述和调查，让所有人都能真正理解这场悲剧的意义。”

据警方称，沃尔什因非致命伤住院治疗，她的其他三个孩子安然无恙。

据警长办公室消息，在弗兰克福特警察局和威尔-格伦迪重案组展开调查后，沃尔什被拘留，目前被关押在威尔县成人拘留中心，等待周二的拘留听证会。检方试图拒绝她的审前释放申请，指控沃尔什“曾发表过伤害其他子女的言论，以及意图在丈夫回家后伤害他的言论”。

威尔县验尸官办公室周三对巴雷特进行了尸检，该办公室在一份声明中表示。根据法庭文件，初步尸检结果显示，巴雷特死于颈部被勒住导致的窒息。验尸官办公室称，最终的死因和死亡方式将在尸检、警方报告和毒理学报告出炉后确定。

CNN已联系威尔县验尸官办公室和威尔县州检察官办公室，以获取更多信息。

根据法庭文件，周二下午，一位试图对巴雷特进行急救的邻居说，他“身体冰冷，没有脉搏”。

据法庭文件显示，这位未在投诉中透露姓名的邻居报告说，她发现这名幼儿被绳子勒住脖子，双脚离地，悬挂在地下室的椽子上。她解开了绳子，将幼儿放到地上，并在拨打911的同时对其进行心肺复苏。

弗兰克福特消防区表示，一辆救护车“到达现场后发现一名两岁儿童心脏骤停”。消防区在周四发布的新闻稿中称，他们“立即展开高级复苏措施，并将患者送上救护车”。据验尸官办公室称，这名幼儿于周二下午5点左右在新莱诺克斯的一家医院被宣布死亡。

法庭文件显示，事发时家中还有一名婴儿，但安然无恙。两名学龄儿童在发现幼童前后返回家中，也未受伤。沃尔什的丈夫当时在外州，但已于周二晚间乘飞机返回。

警方到达沃尔什家时，发现她躺在楼上浴室一个血迹斑斑的浴缸里，邻居正用毛巾按压她的大腿。邻居称她从沃尔什手中夺过一把刀，扔进了水槽。法庭文件显示，沃尔什的手腕和大腿都有割伤。

根据法庭文件中邻居的描述，沃尔什当时“正在自残”，并质问邻居为何在她试图自杀时拿走了刀。法庭文件显示，沃尔什告诉邻居，她儿子的昵称“熊”在地下室。

据称，沃尔什在住院期间向警方描述了她如何杀害巴雷特，检察官称这“与本案的证据一致”。

检察官表示，沃尔什的手机在浴室被找到，目前正在进行法证分析。那把刀也被作为证据收缴。

伊利诺伊州儿童和家庭服务部告诉 CNN，他们没有任何与该家庭联系的记录。

编者按：如果您或您认识的人正遭受自杀念头或心理健康问题的困扰，可以寻求帮助。在美国，请拨打或发送短信至988寻求帮助。国际预防自杀协会和Befrienders Worldwide提供世界各地危机中心的联系方式。