The Crime Ledger: September 7, 2026

Cheslyn Hay Woodland Baby: Four Held

Staffordshire Police arrested four people on suspicion of murder after a three-month-old girl went into cardiac arrest while camping with her family in woodland off Strawberry Lane, near Cheslyn Hay, at 08:45 BST Saturday. Emergency crews could not save her. The scene sat tucked off the main trail in the Wyrley and Essington Branch Canal Local Nature Reserve, not an official campsite, though locals fish the pools and walk dogs there.

Those held: a 42-year-old man and 30-year-old woman from south Staffordshire, a 20-year-old woman from Wolverhampton, and an 18-year-old man from Walsall. All four were detained at the scene and later bailed while inquiries continue. Det Insp Josh Lee said detectives are “keeping an open mind,” treat it as isolated, and asked the public not to spread unverified claims online. Roses appeared at the cordon. The four are presumed innocent.

Update, Oct. 11, 2026: The baby has been named as Lacey May Oxford, three months old. An inquest heard the cause of death is still unascertained, and the four people arrested remain on conditional police bail; no one has been charged, Staffordshire Police and BBC News report.

Keys Pleads Guilty in Lasrini Murder

Allen Keys, 68, of Patterson Lakes, appeared by video from Melbourne’s remand centre Monday and pleaded guilty to murdering Eva Lasrini, 53, a Dandenong mother of two. He admitted killing her at Little River, between Melbourne and Geelong, on April 1. She was reported missing the next day; her body was found April 4 near Little River Road and the Princes Freeway. Keys had been arrested April 3 at Melbourne Airport trying to board an international flight.

The Magistrates’ Court hearing was brief. He spoke only to confirm the plea. A directions hearing is set for Sept. 28 in the Victorian Supreme Court. AAP and ABC both reported from court.

Lasrini’s body was found at the roadside at Little River, and Keys, who had been her partner, later tried to leave the country, news.com.au reports. Update, Oct. 11, 2026: A pre-sentence hearing is set for December in the Victorian Supreme Court.

Frankfort Mother Charged After Clancy Texts

Frankfort Police and Will County prosecutors charged Corie A. Walsh, 40, with three counts of first-degree murder in the Sept. 1 death of her son Barrett, 2, at a home in the 22700 block of Brook Stone Court. Officers answered an unresponsive-child call about 4:04 p.m.; a neighbour had cut a ligature, lowered the boy, and started CPR. Barrett was pronounced dead at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox. Autopsy preliminaries cite asphyxia from ligature compression of the neck.

Walsh was found upstairs in a bathtub with self-inflicted cuts. Prosecutors say she told officers she killed Barrett because he was the “devil” and the “anti-Christ,” and that witnesses described her as “very invested” in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, texting friends about it until 12:30 p.m. that day, hours before the scene. Three other children were unharmed; her husband was out of state. Defense attorney Andrea Lyon said Walsh was in a psychotic episode. Law&Crime’s Jerry Lambe filed a fresh Sep. 7 write-up as Clancy’s Plymouth mistrial still reverberates. Walsh is presumed innocent.

Chennai Adyar: Five Arrested in TVK Killing

Chennai’s Shastri Nagar police arrested five 20-year-olds (Bharani, P Rakesh, P Naresh, D Manikandan, and N Hariharan) for the Saturday night hacking death of S Kannan, 45, a TVK functionary and B-category history-sheeter, near his Ellaiamman Koil Street office in Adyar. CCTV of the chase and attack circulated Sunday. Kannan’s cousin S Purushothaman filed the complaint; the body went to Royapettah Hospital for post-mortem.

Police allege revenge for the 2009 murder of Bharani’s maternal uncle Siva and the 2016 Saidapet killing of Bharani’s father Velu. Commissioner A Amalraj transferred Adyar’s DC and the Shastri Nagar inspector. Opposition leader Udhayanidhi Stalin used the killing to attack the state’s law-and-order record ahead of Assembly debate. The five are presumed innocent.

Police allege the attack was revenge by Bharani over the 2009 killing of his uncle, Siva, The Hindu reports. Update, Oct. 11, 2026: Four more people, including three minors who are not named, were later arrested, bringing the total to nine. All are presumed innocent.

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