ILLINOIS – The husband of a Lindsay Clancy-obsessed mom accused of hanging their 2-year-old son supported her in court Thursday as she pleaded not guilty during a preliminary hearing in the harrowing case.
Corie Walsh – who allegedly left the lifeless body of her toddler, Barrett Walsh, dangling from a rafter before trying to kill herself on September 1 – appeared in bright red jail garb with her hair tied back.
Walsh, 40, was charged with first-degree murder after Barrett’s two older siblings found him with a rope around his neck and feet off the ground in the basement of the family’s home in Frankfort, a suburb about 30 miles southwest of Chicago, and ran to a neighbor’s house for help, according to court documents obtained by The Post.
The frantic neighbor called 911 and tried fruitlessly to perform CPR on the tot, who didn’t have a pulse and was cold to the touch. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An autopsy later confirmed that Barrett – who was affectionately called “Bear” – died of “asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck,” according to court records.
His mom — whom cops discovered fully clothed, soaking in a bathtub full of bloodied water at the house – tried to take her own life by slashing her wrists and thighs with a dull kitchen knife.
Walsh allegedly confessed to killing the youngster, claiming he was the “anti-Christ” and “devil,” the documents state.
Thursday’s hearing comes less than 24 hours after a heartbreaking obituary was released remembering little Barrett as a happy-go-lucky child who loved playing games with his siblings.
The tragic toddler “will always be remembered as a joyful, funny, entertaining, rambunctious 2-year-old who loved singing and dancing to Super Simple Songs and Miss Rachel,” reads the obit, which was first reported by The Post.
He also enjoyed “learning his colors with Pingfong and Hogi, kicking a soccer ball with his friends and counting out loud to 5 Little Duckies.”
Most importantly, Barrett was a “cherished little brother” to Grady and Anna and a “caring big brother” to a baby boy, Cormick, the devastating webpage states.
During Walsh’s custody hearing earlier this month, prosecutors claimed she was infatuated with the Clancy’s high-profile murder trial, which captivated the nation over the defense team’s argument that she was legally insane due to postpartum psychosis when she fatally strangled her three children with exercise bands.
The mom had even sent several “confusing” and “out of character” text messages about Clancy’s trial to her neighborhood mommy friends just a few hours before Barrett was discovered dangling from the rafter, her defense attorney admitted during that hearing.
“Prior to this incident, [Corie] outwardly embraced and agreed on a theory that Lindsay Clancy’s husband [Patrick Clancy] committed the acts in that case,” defense lawyer Robert Kerr said at the time.
“According to the witness, Judge, ‘We were all going back and forth, like, [he did it, he did it, and then all of the sudden she, Corie, goes, ‘He’s not guilty, she’s not guilty, 100% not guilty.’ And we’re like, ‘Corie, Corie, are you okay? Ha-ha. Who’s home? Do we need to do a well-being check?’ because all of the sudden she just changed her thought,’” Kerr continued while quoting the purported neighbor.
Kerr argued that Walsh was “severely mentally ill” and in the throes of a “psychotic episode” during the grisly incident – arguments echoing those used by Clancy’s attorneys during her weeks-long courtroom battle that ultimately ended in a hung jury and mistrial.
However, he refuted the idea that his client is a Clancy “copycat” and described the accusation as “sickening.”
“Describing Corie to a copied Lindsay is to take an easy bait,” Kerr said – and accused cops of conducting “a careless and insensitive investigation of a copycat theory,” according to a transcript of that hearing.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
