Frankfort, Illinois, mom Corie Walsh detained in murder of 2-year-old son, hires Casey Anthony's attorney

A Frankfort, Illinois, mother accused of killing her  2-year-old son last week was ordered detained in custody at her first court appearance Tuesday morning.

Corie Walsh, 40, appeared in Will County Court in Joliet. She is charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

Walsh appeared in court at 11:23 a.m., wearing a red jumpsuit with a bandage wrapped around her wrist.

Walsh's attorney said she was experiencing a psychotic episode at the time of the toddler's death. But prosecutors successfully asked a judge to keep the mother in custody as the case moves forward. 

Walsh is being represented by Andrea Lyon, who defended Casey Anthony against murder charges in the death of her daughter Caylee. 

Walsh is accused of killing her son, Barrett.

Frankfort police said officers were called to the home in the 22700 block of Brook Stone Court around 4 p.m. Tuesday after a 17-year-old neighbor called 911 for help.

When they arrived, officers found a 2-year-old being given CPR by the teenager. The toddler was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

According to court records, the neighbor found the boy "hanging in the basement on a device from a rafter," and it was determined he "died from asphyxia."

The court records also said, "one other child, an infant, was present in the home at the time and unharmed." Walsh, the documents say, was found clothed in an upstairs bathtub in a pool of blood with "cuts to her wrists and thighs."

Walsh appeared to be actively cutting herself when the teen found her, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said the teenage neighbor took a knife away from Walsh before police arrived.

Two other kids came home from school around the time police arrived. Their father was out of state at the time.

An infant was also inside the home at the time, but was not harmed, authorities said.

According to the court documents, Walsh told officers "she did this to her baby because he was a 'devil' and the 'anti-Christ'" and even gave details of how she killed her son. Prosecutors say Walsh had "become very invested in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial."

Clancy is the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children. Her defense argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.

The Clancy trial ended on Friday of last week when the judge declared a mistrial after jurors remained deadlocked on a verdict.

Prosecutors said Walsh was in a group text talking about the Lindsay Clancy murder case just hours before killing her son, while the jury was still deliberating.

CBS News Chicago Legal Analyst Irv Miller said the text messages could become a key piece of evidence for prosecutors.

"That will be exhibit A by the prosecutors," Miller said last week. "It will be the first thing said in opening statements, the first piece of evidence they introduce, and the first and last thing they say in closing arguments. That's how important that is."

Prosecutors said Walsh also made statements that she was going to poison her husband and had bottles set aside for the purpose.

Defense attorney Robert Kerr, who works with Lyon, said what she is accused of doing is not first-degree murder by any standard of law, and said she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

Kerr said Walsh was in a state of psychosis when she talked with counselors and first responders. He said while she was bleeding out in the tub, she said her son was the devil and the antichrist.

Walsh was in and out of consciousness with first responders, yelling out the names of different kinds of fruit and not making sense, Kerr said. The attorney said Walsh was suffering from sudden-onset acute psychosis

Kerr said detectives handled the case in a "careless and copycat way."

Kerr said Walsh had been planning a trip to Disney World with her family, her husband, and her own mother. He said she told her mother she was excited to see her kids at Disney World.

Walsh's psychiatrist also said she was a good mother, and she attended to her own kids' special needs, Kerr said.

Kerr added that Walsh has been diagnosed with a psychotic disorder that requires psychiatric treatment, and has not been diagnosed with postpartum mental health issues.

Kerr said Walsh was a risk to her other children only if she did not get medical treatment, and asked for pretrial release. He said Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox cared for her for three to four days, and she could be treated in a locked psychiatric ward.

But prosecutors reiterated their contention that Walsh was a real and present threat. They said they did not have her medical information, but a period of psychosis during which she might kill a child and potentially harm others is dangerous, and she could refuse treatment and be released from a psych ward.

A judge agreed and ordered Walsh held in custody.