by Rose Gleason '29 on September 17, 2026
News
On Sept. 1, an Illinois mother, Corie Walsh, hanged her 2-year-old son in her basement. Walsh told the Frankfort Police Department that the son had to die because he was the “devil” and “antichrist.”
Walsh and attorneys claim she was suffering from a psychotic episode during the event. Andrea Lyon, a well-known defense lawyer during the Casey Anthony case, says Walsh’s actions were due to mental illness. “It is also a tragedy in that Corie herself was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time this happened,” Lyon reported. Walsh now faces first-degree murderCharges. However, defense attorney Robert Kerr states that “this is not a case of first-degree murder, it’s anything but that.”.
Witnesses say Walsh had grown interested in the Lindsay Clancy case prior to the murder of her child. The Clancy case follows a mother who strangled her three children and was on trial to determine whether she had calculated the offense or if it was driven by postpartum psychosis. Walsh was found texting friends about the case in a group chat until 12 p.m. the day of the incident. The death of Barrett followed a few hours after the texts.
Around 4 p.m., the Frankfort Police Department responded to a call from Walsh’s neighbor, who reported an unresponsive toddler in the basement of Walsh’s home. Walsh’s two older children had come home from school to find the aftermath of the incident. They ran to their neighbor’s house asking for help, prompting the call to the police.
Walsh’s neighbor found Barrett hanging from the rafters by a ligature. The neighbor pulled the boy down and tried to perform CPR. At that point the police arrived to assist in the situation. They observed there was no heartbeat and that the boy was cold. Barrett was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, IL, where he was pronounced dead, and the cause of death was stated to be asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck.
Walsh’s neighbor then found Walsh in a bathtub of bloody water, fully clothed with self-inflicted cuts on her wrists and thighs. The wounds were found to be non-life-threatening. Walsh’s neighbor removed the knife located near the woman and moved it to the sink. The neighbor reports that Walsh told her that “Bear” was in the basement—“Bear” was Barrett’s nickname. The neighbor also noted that Walsh had dilated pupils and a “weird giggle,” displaying behavior that appeared unusual to the neighbor.
Walsh’s husband was traveling at the time and planned to arrive home that night. Although not immediately disclosed, Walsh was also planning on poisoning her husband. Yet, the extent to which Walsh had planned and calculated the poisoning is unknown. Walsh’s 8-month-old was elsewhere in the house during the event, unattended and unsupervised.
Documents made statements saying that Walsh believed she had killed her other three children along with Barrett.
Defense attorneys reported that Walsh’s counselor observed that Walsh showed no signs of abuse toward others, especially not to her husband and children.
The judge ordained for Walsh to be detained for posing a risk to her husband and other children, especially as she had alleged plans to harm her husband as well. However, Walsh’s husband expressed “unwavering support of Corie” even after those threats against his life were made. Walsh is subject to return to court on Sept. 24.