Former schoolfriend shocked by murder charges against Illinois mother
A former Catholic school classmate of Corie Walsh, the Illinois mother accused of murdering her two-year-old son, has spoken out to describe her shock at the allegations, saying the woman she remembers was "beautiful, kind, intelligent, talented and giving." The account offers a stark contrast to the disturbing details emerging from the case, in which Walsh, 40, is charged with killing her son Barrett "Bear" Walsh after he was found hanging in the family's basement in suburban Chicago.
The former classmate told TMZ that Walsh was sociable and involved in various school activities, including the poms team and Helping Hands club, and that she never displayed signs of extreme religious belief, despite prosecutors alleging Walsh later claimed she killed her son because she believed he was the "Antichrist." Bear died on 1 September from asphyxiation, and Walsh was reportedly found injured in a bathtub afterwards, having harmed herself with a knife; she faces three counts of first-degree murder and has not yet entered a plea. Her husband was out of state at the time, an infant sibling was found unharmed, and the case has drawn comparisons to the Lindsay Clancy murder trial in Massachusetts, which Walsh had reportedly followed closely.
- Old school friend says accused killer mum Corie Walsh was once "kind" and "giving"
- Walsh charged with murdering two-year-old son found hanging in basement
- Friend says Walsh showed no signs of extreme religious belief at school
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Corie Walsh, 40, is an Illinois woman charged with murdering her two-year-old son, Barrett, known as Bear, after he was found hanging in the basement of the family's home in a Chicago suburb. She faces three counts of first-degree murder, has not yet entered a plea, and was reportedly found injured herself shortly after the child's death.
The case has drawn wider attention partly because of the extreme allegations involved, including reports that Walsh told investigators she believed her son was the "Antichrist," and partly because of comparisons being drawn to another high-profile American case, the trial of Lindsay Clancy in Massachusetts, which Walsh is said to have followed closely. Her husband was away at the time of Bear's death, and another young child in the household was found unharmed.
Separately, people who knew Walsh earlier in life, including a former schoolfriend, have begun speaking to the media about their memories of her, offering a personal picture of who she was before the allegations that is at odds with the disturbing details now emerging in the case.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Alleged killer mom Corie Walsh’s old Catholic school friend speaks out after her son’s death: ‘Never in a million years could I have imagined this’”.