'Lindsay Clancy-Obsessed' Mom Just Killed Own Son: Police

She's the mom who was reportedly obsessed with the Lindsay Clancy trial who allegedly murdered her own toddler. Corey Walsh appeared in court today for the first time as an accused killer. What drove this mom to allegedly kill her two-year-old child? Hank joined BJ's Wholesale Club the day he became a father of 30. I coach football. Now Coach Hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices. 30 pounds of pasta, 3 cases of protein bars, 75 sports drinks. And that's just pregame. He knows teamwork and BJ's knows savings. This is your home, Coach. Home of the Save. Join for just $20 at BJ's.com slash mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for 6 months. Open soon. Limited time offer. New members only. BJ's. Home of the Save. And what role might the Clancy trial and all the attention that's surrounded it have played in this woman's mind? Mom admitted to drowning one of the childs somewhere else in the house here. So we're just giving it a look here. Right now we have two patients. We're on the case presented by Law and Crime. I'm Chris Stewart. We just got new information on a case that's strong comparisons to Lindsay Clancy. Court documents mention that the Illinois mom who allegedly killed her two-year-old was heavily invested in the Clancy case. So many people were. But Corey Walsh's defense just said in court that it's unfair. To compare her to Lindsay Clancy. Now Walsh just had a bond hearing and Walsh's defense also unveiled some pretty key details about her mental health history. As prosecutors argued that Walsh not only allegedly killed her two-year-old, but she had plans, they say, to kill her husband by poisoning him. Now I have some more information that just came out of court that we'll talk about here in just a moment. This is the mugshot for Corey Walsh. She's 40 years old. She's a mom to multiple kids. She lived in Frankfort, Illinois, in Will County, nice suburb south of Chicago. And today she made her first court appearance in Joliet, Illinois. Now Will County, where all of this is taking place, they typically don't allow cameras in the courtroom. We've covered a few cases there. And that was the case today. So we don't have any images of her in court. But this is one of those cases where you look at a defendant's mugshot. And then you look at what you might consider a normal picture. Them in their everyday life. And you just have a hard time understanding how we're talking about the same person. Here is Corey with her family. She was the mom to three children. She's married. Looks like in this picture, the family was at church. Now I'm going to walk through what police are alleging Corey did. And I will warn you, this is not easy to talk about. And viewer discretion is advised. It was Tuesday, September 1st, around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, that law enforcement was called. To the Walsh family home in Frankfort. And you can take a look at this house. They lived in a beautiful home. Really nice neighborhood. A lot of new homes there. These are images from the neighborhood where the Walsh family lived. Per true crime blogger, Abby Blabby. She was in court today for Walsh's hearing. And as you look at these pictures, you can see some of the ribbons and mementos that are now on the side of the road. A place where such a tragic situation happened. If you want to follow the latest on some big true crime updates online. You can head over to Abby's Facebook page at Abby Blabby True Crime and News on social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook. Now according to court documents cited by multiple media outlets, including CBS News Chicago. Police say it was a 17-year-old neighbor of the Walsh's who made the 911 call. It's unclear how that teenager knew something was wrong. But police say the teen found Walsh's two-year-old boy in the basement. He had allegedly been hung from a rafter. That boy was transgendered. He was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. And he died, according to court records, from asphyxia. Now the teenager who responded to this house also allegedly found Corey Walsh. Police say Walsh was in an upstairs bathtub that was covered in blood. Court documents state that Walsh had cuts to her wrists and thighs. And the teen allegedly took a knife away from the mom. Now Walsh had non-life-threatening injuries. She was injured, but she allegedly made statements. And statements that could be very. Very critical to where this case goes next. Now we searched dispatch recordings around the time that police arrived. And this is what we picked up from the Frankfort, Illinois Police Department. So we're just giving a look here. It's unclear if Walsh made statements about whether she allegedly hurt more than one of her children. We do know, according to those court records, that an infant was in the house. At the time all of this took place, but that infant was not hurt. Also, two other children, children of Walsh's, they returned home from school reportedly around the time that police arrived. Walsh's husband, he was out of state. Now Walsh allegedly told officers, quote, she did this to her baby because he was a devil and the Antichrist. They also say that she allegedly gave details of how she killed her son. Now Walsh allegedly told the neighbor that she was trying to take her own life. And she also allegedly said, quote, bear was in the basement. Bear was the two-year-old's nickname and the basement is where his body was found. So let's talk about what Walsh's defense may be. Her attorney is arguing that her client was having a psychotic episode. But in court records, prosecutors point to the recent interest that Walsh had in the trial of Lindsay Clancy. Now, as you probably know by now, you know who Lindsay Clancy is. The Massachusetts mom who was accused of fatally, strangling her three children in 2023 in their home. Her trial ending last week in a mistrial after the jury couldn't reach a unanimous verdict. And Lindsay Clancy's defense was that she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. They said she suffered from postpartum psychosis at the time of her children's deaths. Prosecutors say that Illinois mom, Corey Walsh had become very invested in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. They also say that Walsh was talking about the Clancy trial in a group, just hours before she allegedly killed her son. Now, on the day that Walsh. I coach football. Now, Coach Hank saves up to 25% off grocery store prices, 30 pounds of pasta, three cases of protein bars, 75 sports drinks. He knows teamwork, and BJ's knows savings. Home of the save. Join for just $20 at BJs.com. Mesquite and save 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer. New members only. BJ's. Home of the save. Based on the best-selling novel. I was hired to help Verity write. Verity had a car accident. She'll never walk or talk again. On October 2nd, discover the truth. This place is insane. Yeah. Here you are. About Verity. She was standing right there. She can't walk. I know what I saw! Anne Hathaway. Dakota Johnson. Josh Hartnett. I feel like I'm losing my mind. Morning. Darkness ahead. Verity. Directed by Michael Showalter. Rated R. Under 17. Animated without parent. October 2nd. Allegedly committed this terrible crime. The Clancy jury was still deliberating Lindsay's fate. Now, according to NBC Chicago, Walsh also made statements about wanting to harm her husband and her three other children. Again, one infant was home at the time all of this happened, and Walsh's other two children arrived back from school around the time that police arrived on scene. Now, let's talk a little bit more about who may be representing Walsh as this case goes forward. One note of interest is the attorney she has retained, an attorney who knows something about high-profile cases with child victims. The attorney that Walsh hired is named Andrea Lyon, and she is one of the attorneys who famously defended Casey Anthony, the Florida mom who was accused of killing her daughter but was found not guilty in 2011. Now, it's so early in the process, it's hard to say what Corey Walsh's defense may be, but I will be joined by trauma, expert, licensed clinical social worker, Sherry Botwin, here in a moment to talk about what the defense may look like, what the bar is when using mental health as a defense when you have someone accused of such a horrific crime. Now, today in court, the judge decided that Walsh will remain in custody. She was denied bond, but according to Abby Blabby and other local media outlets who are in the courtroom, Walsh's defense is pushing back on any sort of comparison to Lindsay Clancy, even though that reference was made in court documents by investigators, that she was heavily invested in the Clancy case. Now, Walsh's attorney said that Walsh had been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder, but she has not been diagnosed with any sort of postpartum mental health issues. That part was in CBS News Chicago's report. Walsh allegedly had been seeing a counselor prior to all of this happening last week. Now, Walsh also, allegedly yelled and made threats to EMTs as they put her in an ambulance after first responders responded to her house on Tuesday. And the prosecution said that Walsh also planned to allegedly kill her husband by poisoning him. And they say that they found medication on the counter. Now, the fact that Lindsay Clancy's name was brought in court documents, it's brought a lot of attention and comparisons between the two cases, especially because you have victims who are so, BUT PROSECUTORS ALSO ALLEGEDLY said that they're not trying to compare the two cases. Here's my conversation with trauma expert Sherry Botwin that we recorded prior to Walsh's hearing today. Join us now to talk a little bit more about this, certainly the mental health aspect of it. Sherry Botwin, licensed clinical social worker, trauma expert, and the author of Thriving After Trauma, Stories of Living and Healing. Thank you as always for being with us as we kind of, you know, try to understand these stories, though it's very hard to comprehend any of it with what's alleged in this case. When you look at what's been laid out thus far from law enforcement, and we don't know what Walsh's criminal history or a criminal history or any sort of like mental health history may look like, but how do you go about determining whether someone was having a psychotic episode, which her attorneys, you know, reportedly say she was going through? I think it's going to be really important, just like with the Clancy case, to really do a very thorough investigation, what was happening in this woman's life before the murder, what was happening before she had children, does she have a mental health history, when she's claiming that she has these hallucinations or these thoughts, or she's hearing a voice that's telling her to do X, Y, and Z. We need to really look into that. There needs to be involvement from medical professionals, forensic psychiatrists, again, people who really specialize in treating and diagnosing postpartum psychosis. That's going to be really important. Right now, we know so little about what happened or what was going on in this woman's life. I mean, I have like 50,000 questions that I want to ask in order to better understand what caused her to do this. Well, and what seemed to grab, I mean, certainly just the details of this story will grab your attention no matter what, but we have the Lindsay Clancy trial ending in a mistrial, last week, and it is in court documents that she was, as many people were, very invested in this trial and seeing the outcome. And the day that all of this happened was one of the days where they were, the jury was still deliberating. And she was apparently in a group chat, and we don't know what the texts specifically say, but she was texting about the trial hours before all of this allegedly took place. How does that factor into what may be argued in court? We're going to have to really talk with her about what drew her to the Clancy case and what really compelled her to be so involved. But here's what I think. When people are going through something that they don't understand, when they feel like they're losing their mind or they're having any type of problem, whether it's a mental health issue, if they're involved in any type of situation where there's abuse involved, what I do see and hear a lot from clients is they will gravitate to stories that are going to affect their lives somehow. So one of the first things I was thinking when I'm thinking, when I'm reading about this story is, so was she watching that intently because she too was really struggling with something that many people don't even know what it's called in terms of postpartum psychosis? Was she looking for a way to understand, oh, that's what it is, or this is what's happening? Sometimes when people are at their wit's end and they don't understand what's going on, or they're too afraid to tell somebody what is going on in their minds, they will look out into things. 10 cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer. New members only. BJ's, home of the save. Based on the best-selling novel. On October 2nd, discover the truth. Yeah. Here you are. About Verity. She can't walk. I know what I saw. Anne Hathaway. Dakota Johnson. Josh Hartnett. Morning darkness. Ahead. Verity. Rated R. 117 animated without parent. October 2nd. Things like social media, following other trials, just to find out, is it just me or is there somebody else in the world that can relate? The thing that bothers me about this case is that this woman was so, she was so involved in the case. Wasn't that an indication to her? Maybe look at, look at what's happening with Lindsay Clancy. I mean, her life is pretty much over, no matter whether we have a trial or a mistrial, her life is pretty much over. So the thing that bothers me is if you're watching this case and you're following it and you're recognizing that you're having these urges to do something horrible to your child, why not do something different in the, in the Clancy trial? We heard over and over. She tried to ask for help. She went to the hospital. She saw a therapist. We don't know anything about this woman. So maybe she was. But that's the piece that bothers me. Why didn't she recognize, oh my gosh, I'm having the same thoughts that Lindsay had. I need to get help. That piece is really bothering me. And unfortunately, we don't, we don't know enough yet to know what was happening in her mind as she was following the trial. Well, I think my next question too is, you know, really for, and I'm sure the comments are going to be in the comment section because you see like in these cases when it's no longer just people who are interested in the trial. It's like, oh, well, I'm interested in like true crime stories, you know, and it kind of becomes this larger conversation and it's kind of its own like beast in and of itself. And like, you see the line of like, oh, the next time I do something wrong, I'm just going to claim postpartum psychosis and, you know, act like I didn't know what was going on. Like, really, though, like, you know, take all of that out of it. Like, what is the bar when it comes to, you know, for her, you know, whether she would be able and we got a long way to go in this case, but like if there was an argument over not guilty by law, it's like, oh, well, I'm not guilty by law. Like, what is the bar when it comes to, you know, for her, you know, whether she would be able and we got a long way to go in this case. who also happens to be your child. Right. And it's just it's horrific. And like more details keep coming out. Will County, where this took place, can be a little difficult when it comes to releasing court documents. And a lot of times, you know, we can only go through what we're getting out of some of the local media outlets. But it just seems like each new detail that comes out is just it's just so it's incredibly horrific. You know, there's there's going to be a lot of people involved in, you know, on both sides can be the defense. It's going to be the prosecution of having experts that are really going to. I want to hire a private investigator. Some folks are the best. ABC Tuesdays TV's hottest P.I. is back. You sure you're ready to take on a serial killer? It's like a dozen more likely explanations other than serial killer. All right. Maybe not a dozen. In Florida, crime has no off season. I just heard you were shot at today with a rocket launcher. Well, I missed. R.J. Decker, Tuesdays, 10, 19. Central on ABC. Next day on Hulu. Tammy regularly hauls stuff to her kids at college. That's why she shops at BJ's Wholesale Club, saving up to 25 percent off grocery store prices. Beef jerky, microwave meals, laundry pods, even they can't screw up. Have you met my kids? And with BJ's gas, she gets there for less. They call me the road warrior. This is your home, road warrior mom. Home of the save. Join for just twenty dollars at BJ's dot com slash mesquite and save ten cents per gallon for six months. Open soon. Limited time offer. New members only. BJ's home of the save. Look at her and try and figure out exactly what was going on in her mind if she was someone who was not going to see. Because I think with like Lindsey Clancy, like a big part of it was like we had these doctors on the stand during the trial. And, you know, Kevin Reddington, it was just like blistering cross-examination at times where you just felt like at least for me, like when I watched, it was like these were people she went to for help and she didn't get it. You know, she didn't get what she was looking for. And I think a lot of people felt that way watching it. Like if, you know, someone like Corey Walsh, who might claim psychosis, might claim some sort of psychotic episode, but you didn't have, you know, that person to put on the witness stand to kind of show that like, well, maybe she tried to get help, but she didn't. How much does that history of mental health and maybe coming to someone and talking of issues play into whether someone can successfully argue? And successfully is a tough word because there's nothing successful about any of this. But like how does. A documented mental health history actually impacts someone's ability to argue that they're in a psychotic episode in court. I mean, I think having a documented mental health history would play out in your favor for sure, because then there would be documentation of symptoms that were presenting of things getting worse of what happened when somebody was treated with this medication or saw this ex or saw this provider. So in this case, that's some of the questions that I have. Does she have a mental health issue? Mental health history. The other thing I'm thinking about when you talk about bringing all this to trial, what about the family? Did she have a husband? Who did she live with? Did anybody notice? This is where the collateral witnesses are very important because Lindsay also had her sister, her parents, her in-laws, her ex-husband talking about what they all notice and what they all saw. So in this case, there's so much that we don't know if she has a similar background. And she did, too, go to seek help and didn't get the help she needed, that would, I mean, it would be terrible. And again, these are, this is something that's happening every day. Maternal mental health is not taken seriously and it doesn't, it doesn't have the attention that it needs. This case, I feel like will help with educating the public about the importance of really understanding when someone has a baby, things can happen. You can develop postpartum depression sometimes. And I know it's not near as likely, but some women will develop postpartum psychosis. So in this particular case, if Corey doesn't have that background, if she doesn't have doctors that worked with her and all these different witnesses that can get on the stand and try to explain what happened before the murder, she may have a harder time. But the other thing is, is if there's qualified experts who can get in there and really do a thorough evaluation, we will find out. We will find out a lot more about what was happening with this woman and we will find out if she too had a similar story to Lindsay Clancy. We just, we just don't know yet. I just wonder too, like just kind of, you know, another comment that I saw, you know, on social media, it was like, oh, everybody's going to start claiming postpartum psychosis now, you know, as you see these cases. But it's, it's not that simple, you know, as you're alluding with the amount of experts who are involved, like, can you just lay out for. People who are watching to like understand, you know, if you have, you know, and, and so we cover murder every day here, you know, at law and crime, it's just kind of like part of, of what we do, obviously. But, you know, and there have been cases where someone says I blacked out and like that defense just doesn't like hold up or, or someone, you know, claims a psychotic episode, but there's like no evidence of it. Like what truly, like, how do you, I guess, what really goes into determining whether someone had a psychotic episode, because if someone shows up and said, hey, I had a psychotic episode like that. That isn't enough to be able to make an effective defense. There are trained professionals who go to school for years after they've gotten their medical degree on really understanding and learning how to diagnose someone with something like psychosis. So what I would say to people is that you can't just go to any therapist or psychiatrist and assume that person's going to know, because we also are hearing about many stories where people like Lindsey Clancy were seeking out help. But they weren't getting the attention or the kind of help they needed. I think partly because she was working with inexperienced therapists, psychiatrists who didn't have a specialization in treating postpartum psychosis. It's really important for the public to understand that when we're trying to really figure out what was happening with that person and what caused that person to do something like that, we can sit here and have judgments and we can, we can say all kinds of things. Right. We can write comments on social media about this person is cruel and this person is evil. That's not really going to teach us anything about mental health and maternal mental health. It's really important. And I do believe that if they find the right professionals to sit down with Corey and do a thorough evaluation, they will find out. She's just saying that, you know, she's just saying she had postpartum psychosis because she's trying to get a lesser sentence or or whatever. But I feel like that's. That's where we need to keep working on educating the public about what you need to find out and what is postpartum psychosis. You have to know what it is and then you have to be able to use the proper screenings and testing and evaluation. This woman, if she's if she's given a fair chance, she will be undergoing hours and hours of sitting with probably two or three forensic psychiatrists who I would hope have extensive history and also. You have to know what it is and then you have to be able to use the proper screenings and evaluation.