Illinois toddler Barrett Mark tragically killed by mother

A heartbreaking obituary was penned for two-year-old Barrett Mark Walsh after he was allegedly hanged by his own mother in Illinois. The tribute, published on Wednesday, described the toddler as joyful, funny, entertaining and rambunctious. His family remembered him as a cherished little brother to older siblings Grady and Anna and a caring big brother to a baby boy.

Barrett, affectionately known as Bear, loved singing and dancing to Super Simple Songs and Miss Rachel while learning colors with Pinkfong and Hogi. He enjoyed playing soccer with friends and counting out loud to 5 Little Duckies. The family noted he loved animals and bedtime stories plus doing the good-bye dance with joyous perfection. Bear will forever be missed by all who knew him, especially for how his smiling face would light up a room and fill it with joy, wonder and awe.

The two-year-old was found with a rope around his neck in their family home on September 1. Corie Walsh, forty years old, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder after her son was discovered hanging. Her attorneys told the court she was suffering from a psychotic episode when she allegedly killed Bear. Walsh was found in a bloodied bathtub at her Frankfort home trying to harm herself with a blunt kitchen knife according to the pre-trial release denial petition.

Walsh's defense claims she lost control during that mental breakdown. Witnesses described her as having fixed dilated eyes and a weird giggle when neighbors found her acting unlike her normal self. Her attorney Robert Kerr told the judge his client was unaware of what was happening to her and gave conflicting reports to investigators. The same neighbor who found Walsh tried to perform CPR on the young boy but Barrett did not have a pulse anymore and was cold to the touch. He was pronounced dead at the scene immediately after being discovered.

Friends reportedly said Corie Walsh was obsessed with the Lindsay Clancy trial and apparently believed that Clancy's husband killed the children rather than their own mother. The defense has fiercely rejected suggestions that she was a Clancy copycat since her case remains ongoing after a mistrial ruling in the original high-profile death. Barrett died of asphyxia due to ligature compression of the neck according to court records citing the boy's autopsy.

Prosecutors said the mother was deeply invested in the Lindsay Clancy case and gave an unhinged interview to detectives after she allegedly killed her son. The New York Post also reported that Corie was previously texting friends in a group chat about jury deliberations happening hours before she murdered her own child. Those texts were described as confusing and out of character while appearing to show she believed the father did it instead.