Just hours before 2-year-old Barrett Walsh was found dead inside his family’s Illinois home, prosecutors say his mother was discussing another case that had captured national attention.

Corie Walsh, 40, had become “very invested” in the murder trial of Massachusetts mother Lindsay Clancy, according to court records and prosecutors.

She was reportedly texting friends about the Clancy case until around 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 1.

Less than four hours later, a neighbor discovered Barrett in the basement of Walsh’s Frankfort home, about 35 miles southwest of Chicago.

Walsh is now charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

And newly disclosed court documents add another disturbing detail: prosecutors allege that after Barrett’s death, Walsh made statements indicating she also wanted to harm her three other children and her husband.

Her defense attorney says Walsh was experiencing a psychotic episode.

What investigators have not said is equally important: authorities have not alleged that Lindsay Clancy’s trial caused or inspired Barrett’s death, and no evidence released publicly establishes such a connection.

She Was Discussing the Clancy Trial That Same Day

The timing is one of the reasons Walsh’s case has attracted so much attention.

Lindsay Clancy, a former Massachusetts labor-and-delivery nurse, was tried over the 2023 deaths of her three young children.

Her defense argued that she was legally insane and suffering from postpartum psychosis at the time. Prosecutors argued that she understood her actions and knew they were wrong.

The trial ended in a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.

According to Illinois prosecutors, Walsh had been following that trial closely.

They said she was still communicating with friends about it around lunchtime on Sept. 1.

Then, shortly before 4 p.m., police were called to her home.

The proximity between those two events is striking, but prosecutors have stopped short of drawing a causal line between them.

For now, the connection is limited to what witnesses and prosecutors say Walsh was watching and discussing in the hours before her son was found.

A Neighbor Found Barrett in the Basement

According to prosecutors, a neighbor entered the home and discovered Barrett in the basement.

The neighbor attempted CPR and called 911.

Barrett was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy later determined that he died from asphyxia caused by compression of the neck.

Police searching the house found Walsh elsewhere in the home.

Prosecutors say she was fully clothed in a bathtub and had injuries to her wrists and thighs that authorities believed were self-inflicted. She was taken to a hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening.

Walsh’s infant child was also inside the residence but was unharmed, according to a prosecution filing reviewed by PEOPLE.

Her two school-age children returned home that afternoon as the emergency was unfolding.

Prosecutors Say Walsh Made Disturbing Statements

The allegations became even more troubling after investigators began describing what Walsh allegedly said following the discovery.

According to prosecutors, Walsh told police that she had harmed Barrett because she believed the 2-year-old was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ.”

Court documents cited by PEOPLE also allege that Walsh spoke about harming her other children.

Prosecutors further claimed she had expressed an intention to harm her husband when he returned home. One account cited in the filing said she discussed poisoning him through a drink.

These statements are allegations contained in the prosecution’s account and will be subject to scrutiny as the criminal case proceeds.

Walsh has not been convicted.

Her Attorney Says She Was Experiencing Psychosis

Walsh’s lawyer, Andrea Lyon, has emphasized mental illness in responding to the charges.

During a court hearing, the defense described Walsh as severely mentally ill and said she had been suffering from a brief psychotic disorder at the time of Barrett’s death.

Lyon later told reporters that Walsh had experienced a psychotic episode and described the child’s death as a tragedy for the entire family.

That defense immediately creates an obvious comparison with the Lindsay Clancy case because mental illness — particularly psychosis — was central to Clancy’s trial.

But the two cases should not be treated as medically or legally identical.

A claim that someone experienced psychosis does not automatically establish legal insanity or eliminate criminal responsibility.

Courts generally must consider a defendant’s specific mental condition, evidence, actions and legal standards in the individual case.

Walsh’s mental state is likely to become one of the most closely watched issues as her prosecution moves forward.

Why the Lindsay Clancy Detail Matters — and Why It Has Limits

The revelation that Walsh was following Clancy’s case is undeniably unusual.

The subject matter of that trial closely overlaps with issues now likely to arise in Walsh’s defense: a mother accused of killing a child, allegations of severe mental illness and questions about whether psychosis affected criminal responsibility.

There is also the timing.

Prosecutors say Walsh was discussing Clancy’s trial until about 12:30 p.m.

Barrett was found less than four hours later.

But timing alone does not establish motive.

AP specifically noted that Illinois authorities have not alleged the Clancy trial played a role in Barrett’s death, and there is no publicly released evidence showing a connection beyond Walsh’s interest in and discussion of the case.

That distinction is critical.

It would be premature to claim that watching the trial triggered Walsh’s alleged actions or that one case somehow produced the other.

Investigators may eventually uncover more about what Walsh was thinking that day.

At present, they have not publicly done so.

Three Other Children Were Unharmed

Another question emerging from the case is why Barrett allegedly became the victim while Walsh’s other three children survived physically unharmed.

Prosecutors say Walsh made statements about wanting to harm them as well.

Her infant was already inside the house.

Two older children returned from school during the unfolding emergency.

Authorities have not publicly described a complete timeline showing whether anything interrupted further alleged plans or how much time separated Barrett’s death from the neighbor’s arrival.

Those details could become important later.

For now, what is known is that all three surviving children were unharmed.

The Criminal Case Is Only Beginning

Walsh faces three counts of first-degree murder in connection with Barrett’s death.

As of Sept. 11, online court records reviewed by PEOPLE did not show plea information.

Her next scheduled court appearance is Sept. 24.

The case will now force a court to examine two very different narratives.

Prosecutors have presented allegations involving Barrett’s death, statements about harming additional family members and Walsh’s behavior immediately afterward.

Her defense says she was in the middle of a serious psychotic episode.

And hovering over the case is the unusual fact that, just hours earlier, she had been closely following another nationally watched trial centered on a mother, the deaths of children and claims of psychosis.

That parallel is powerful.

But investigators have not said it explains what happened.

For now, perhaps the most important question is not whether the two cases resemble each other.

It is what evidence prosecutors and the defense will eventually produce to explain Corie Walsh’s state of mind in the hours before her 2-year-old son died.