Illinois mom murdered her toddler son after becoming ‘very invested’ in Lindsay Clancy case, cops say

An Illinois mom murdered her 2-year-old son after she became “very invested” in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, police said. Corie Walsh, 40, was taken into police custody on September 1 at her home in Frankfort, Illinois. Officers rushed to her house after a neighbor found Walsh’s 2-year-old hanging from a cord in Walsh's basement. The neighbor called 911 and attempted CPR on the child. The boy was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital, NBC News reports. Police searched the house and found Walsh sitting in her bathtub, fully clothed, and suffering from reportedly self-inflicted knife wounds. She was moved to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The neighbor reportedly told police that she had found Walsh holding the knife and "actively harming herself." Corie Walsh, 40, of Frankfort, Illinois, allegedly killed her 2-year-old son and then tried to die by suicide on September 1. Walsh had reportedly become 'very invested' in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial just before the incident, witnesses told police (Will County Sheriff's Office)The woman said she took the knife away from Walsh and threw it in a sink, at which point Walsh asked her why she intervened and told her that the child was in the basement. Walsh's husband was out of state when the incident occurred, police said. Another infant was in the house at the time and was unharmed, and two school-aged children had returned home around the time the 2-year-old was found. They were also unharmed. The mom allegedly told investigators that she "did this to her baby because he was the 'devil' and the 'anti-Christ.'" Investigators claim that Walsh did ultimately confess to murdering her child.Prosecutors claim that Walsh allegedly threatened to hurt other children and threatened to hurt her husband upon his return, according to NBC News. She is being charged with first-degree murder.Walsh’s attorney, Andrea Lyon, said that the mother was “experiencing a psychotic episode.”"This is a tragedy for the Walsh family all of whom are mourning the loss of this child," the attorney told ABC 7 Chicago. Lindsay Clancy looks on as Judge William Sullivan has declared a mistrial in Plymouth, U.S., September 4, 2026 (Reuters)Witnesses told law enforcement that the woman had become "very invested" in the Clancy murder trial, which also involved a mother killing her three children and then attempting to kill herself. Clancy, like Walsh, was charged with first-degree murder. In that case, Clancy's defense argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and was not able to differentiate right from wrong. On September 4, the case ended in a mistrial when the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. According to police, Walsh had been "actively discussing the case via group text message just hours prior to the child's death."Once Walsh is released from her medical treatment, she was be transferred to Will County Adult Detention Facility.