Illinois mother hanged toddler son, thought he was the ‘anti-Christ,’ was following Lindsay Clancy trial: prosecutors

Corie A Walsh, 38, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in the killing of her son, identified as Barrett Walsh, that took place on her $1 million property in Frankfort, Illinois on Tuesday, per the Daily Mail. Neighbors have compared the killings to the Lindsay Clancy case.

An autopsy conducted on Wednesday determined that the child died from asphyxia caused by ligature compression of the neck, prosecutors said, per Fox 32. When police arrived at the scene, a neighbor was performing CPR on the boy. The neighbor told investigators she found the boy hanging from a rafter in the basement from a device. The boy’s feet were off the ground. The neighbor removed the ligature from the boy’s neck, lowered him, and started CPR while calling 911. The boy was pronounced dead on Tuesday.

Walsh was found by police in a bathtub fully dressed, surrounded by bloody water. A neighbor was holding a towel to her left inner thigh and told police that she had taken a knife from Walsh and thrown it into a sink. Walsh had also cut her wrists. Prosecutors said that Walsh had allegedly told officers that she killed her young son because he was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ.” Prosecutors said witnesses told investigators that Walsh had become interested in the Lindsay Clancy case, where Clancy admitted to killing her three children in Massachusetts and then tried to kill herself.

Walsh is currently getting medical care after officers found her trying to harm herself in the home. Walsh will be transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility when she is released from the hospital. There were three other children in the home at the time of the incident who were unharmed. Walsh's husband was out of state at the time of the incident.

Frankfort police chief Leanne Chelepis said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family, their loved ones, and everyone affected by this heartbreaking tragedy. We ask our community to keep them in their thoughts and prayers and to respect their privacy as they navigate this profoundly difficult time."

Neighbors have likened the killing to the Clancy case. Resident Carolyn Pappas told NBC Chicago, "This is just absolutely devastating, that this could be another Lindsay Clancy situation in our neighborhood, in our community. You never think it's going to hit so close to home. That absolutely makes us think of that."

"And again, just more people, I think, are struggling than we realize and so we just need to be there for one another," Pappas added.