Corie Walsh, the Illinois mother accused of hanging her 2-year-old son and becoming fixated on the case of Lindsay Clancy, has the backing of her family, her lawyer said. Attorney Andrea Lyon attributed the “unimaginable tragedy” to a psychotic episode similar to the condition cited in Clancy’s case.
Lyon, who previously represented Casey Anthony, has said Walsh was experiencing psychosis when her son, Barrett, was found hanging from a basement rafter at the family’s Illinois home last month.
“We are continuing to investigate and thoroughly represent our client by learning everything that we can about her and about her psychosis,” Lyon told WMAQ outside the Frankfort courthouse Monday, where Walsh attended a pretrial hearing.
“Psychosis is not a choice, and the death of Little Bear — that was Barrett’s nickname — is an unimaginable tragedy,” Lyon said.
“We are getting prepared to defend her, and that requires us to know everything. The only way to do that is to get all the discovery,” she added.
Lyon said Walsh’s family remains “fully supporting her.”
Walsh, 40, faces a first-degree murder charge after prosecutors said her two older children came home from school and discovered their mother in a bathtub filled with bloody water. She was fully clothed and appeared to have harmed herself, authorities said.
The children reportedly ran to a neighbor for assistance. The neighbor later found Barrett in the basement, with a rope around his neck and his feet suspended above the ground. The home is in Frankfort, a suburb roughly 30 miles southwest of Chicago.
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The neighbor called 911 and attempted CPR, but the child had no pulse and was cold to the touch. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
An 8-month-old child was also found inside the home and was not injured.
Before the incident, Walsh had reportedly become “very invested” in the murder case involving Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother accused of strangling her three children. Clancy’s defense has argued that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.
Clancy also attempted suicide by jumping from a second-story window, an act that left her permanently paralyzed from the waist down.
The case drew national attention and ended in a mistrial after one juror refused to support a not-guilty verdict based on insanity.
Prosecutors allege that Walsh, who was hospitalized after being found, told investigators she killed her son because she believed he was the “anti-Christ” and the “devil.”
She also allegedly told investigators that she had considered poisoning her husband.
Walsh has pleaded not guilty and is expected back in court on Nov. 23.
