Mother of infant Chance Walsh charged with first-degree murder in Sarasota

SARASOTA -- Detectives with the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office have charged Kristen Bury, 32, of 217 Orduna Drive, North Port, with first-degree felony murder in the Chance Walsh investigation.

The body of the Bury's infant son was found in a makeshift grave Thursday.

Bury arrived at the Sarasota County jail and was taken into custody at 11:31 p.m. Friday.

She was represented by the Public Defender's Office in a first appearance at 9 a.m. Saturday. She was denied bond.

The baby's father, Joseph Walsh, also will be charged with murder after he is extradited from South Carolina, according to Bury's probable cause affidavit.

"Both Kristen Bury and Joseph Walsh were principals in the commission of first-degree felony murder," the affidavit says.

Bury is being held on one count of child neglect with a $150,000 bond and one count of first-degree felony murder with no bond.

Bury kept her head down for the majority of the court proceedings. Chance Walsh had not been seen since Sept. 9, and detectives had been looking for him since Oct. 4, after the infant's grandmother reported him missing.

Authorities obtained arrest warrants for Bury and Walsh, and the two were arrested in Ridgeland, S.C. Both reportedly disclosed during interviews Wednesday that Chance Walsh had died the morning of Sept. 17 at 217 Orduna Drive in North Port.

Detectives say Bury directed them to a grave site near Elliott Court in North Port. Members of the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office forensics unit excavated the site and found Chance Walsh's decomposed body covered only with a diaper.

Also found in the hole was a fragment of a blue surgical-type glove resembling gloves worn by the infant's father, the affidavit says.

Investigators say Bury and Joseph Walsh left Florida without Chance on Sept. 27 and got into a crash in Hardeeville, S.C. When asked why they had left Florida, Walsh said the two were headed to start a new life.

The two initially gave conflicting stories about infant Chance's whereabouts, investigators say.

Bury has an arraignment set for Nov. 20.

This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Mother of infant Chance Walsh charged with first-degree murder in Sarasota."