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The husband of an Illinois mother accused of strangling their 2-year-old son during a “psychotic episode” is standing by her, even as prosecutors say she also plotted to poison him amid an fixation with the Lindsay Clancy trial, according to her attorney.
Corie Walsh, 38, told officers that she killed her 2-year-old son Barrett on Sept. 1 because she believed he was the “devil” and “anti-Christ,” according to documents obtained by Fox News Digital. He was found hanging in the basement from a rafter, officials said.
A neighbor found the toddler and administered CPR while calling 911, with court documents noting he was “cold and had no pulse.” The 2-year-old was pronounced dead later that day at New Lenox Hospital. Barrett’s cause of death was determined to be “asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck.” Walsh was treated at a local hospital for self-inflicted wounds to her wrists and thighs.
Defense attorneys for Walsh said her husband and mother “have unwavering love and support” for her.
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Corie A. Walsh, 38, in a booking photo provided by law enforcement. Prosecutors are asking a judge to deny her pretrial release following the death of her 2-year-old son. (Will County Detention Facility)
Walsh’s husband and mother weren’t at her detention hearing on Sept. 8 because that was the same day as Barrett’s funeral.
Andrea Lyon, a defense attorney for Walsh who previously served on Casey Anthony’s defense team, told Fox News Digital in a statement that Walsh’s actions were driven by mental illness.
“This is a tragedy for the Walsh family, all of whom are mourning the loss of this child,” Lyon said. “It is also a tragedy in that Corie herself was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time this happened.”
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Lyon acknowledged that Walsh was “psychotic” but denied that her client’s interest in the Clancy case had any connection to the alleged killing.
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“They are not correlated at all. It’s just accidental,” Lyon said, describing as “baseless and cruel” any suggestion that Walsh’s actions constituted a copycat crime.
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Corie Walsh, right, poses with her husband and children inside a church. Walsh faces three counts of first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old son, Barrett. (CREDIT: Facebook/ Corie Walsh)
Court documents indicate that Walsh had “recently become very invested” in the murder trial for Clancy, who was accused of murdering her three children. Clancy acknowledged she killed her children, but argued she was experiencing postpartum psychosis.
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Walsh “had been actively discussing the [Clancy] case via group text message with her friends up until 12:30 PM on September 1, 2026, three and a half hours before the scene was discovered.”
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Police tape surrounds the Frankfort, Illinois, home where officers found an unresponsive 2-year-old boy. (Fox 32 Chicago)
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Retired Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy told Fox News Digital that a psychiatric defense rarely succeeds in cases like this one, and is more common in adult cases than those involving children.
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“It’s very rare. It’s more predominant in adult cases,” Roy said. “Cases like this are, with children involved, because of the publicity and just the pain it causes the community are what we call heaters. There’s a lot of media focus on them. There’s a lot of attention. There’s a lot of demands to resolve the case promptly.”
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Lindsay Clancy in court last month. (Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to Walsh’s attorney and her husband for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.