Families of Baby Chance feud over brother’s remains

SARASOTA, Fla. – The families of a couple accused of brutally beating then burying their newborn child feuded in court over the remains of the infant’s older brother.

Kristen Bury, 32, entered a plea of no contest to aggravated manslaughter charges in January and will testify against her husband, Joseph Walsh, 36, who is charged with second-degree murder in the death of their 9-week old baby, Chance Walsh.

But on Monday, both Bury and Joseph Walsh presented arguments about another dead child: Bury’s second child, Duane Jacob Walsh. He was 22 days old when he died of a severe kidney infection in 2014, according to a police report. The September 2015 disappearance of Baby Chance rehashed curiosity into Bury’s history with her own children, which included Duane and a first child reportedly given up for adoption more than a decade ago.

Bury’s long-term use of drugs has been noted by law enforcement officials and friends, who said Bury’s shared home with Joseph Walsh was in terrible condition immediately after Duane’s birth.

“The smell was so bad in the house, I had to step back outside,” Bury’s former co-worker, Chris Kallas, said in November. “The dogs were everywhere, going to the bathroom all over the place. The rugs had to be ripped up. The piles of dog stuff was there so long it was white.”

Within a few weeks of life, Duane’s body was being cremated.

Bury reportedly told a relative she despised Chance because he was not Duane. And a former roommate, one of the last people to see the married couple before they bolted from North Port, said Bury told her she didn’t want Chance anymore.

“She had made the comment to me that she was hoping that Chance would help her deal with the loss of Duane but it actually made it worse and that she was sorry she had him and that maybe she should put him up for adoption,” the roommate, Diane Wood, said.

But when it came to remains of her first son, Bury, who was called a “monster” by her own father, said she hoped to come to an agreement with her husband, pleading to have a say in where Duane’s ashes were placed.

“Losing Duane broke our hearts and broke us down, we should have a choice in a final resting place,” she said.

Following the recovery of his would-be brother Chance, who was found on Oct. 15 in a wooded area about 13 miles from Bury and Joseph Walsh’s North Port home, Duane’s remains were recovered in a backpack found at the couple’s last known address. His urn was initially taken into evidence by the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office. Monday’s hearing was for a motion for the return of property, but with both of Duane’s parents in custody, a decision on its placement was needed.

Each set of grandparents wanted Duane’s urn.

As part of her plea deal, Bury faces a 25-year jail sentence. She requested that her family work with Walsh’s family to place Duane’s ashes in a place she could visit once she serves her prison term. But if the two parties couldn’t agree, maybe the families could split Duane’s ashes, Bury suggested.

Bury and Joseph Walsh have been ordered to keep separate by a judge, but Joseph Walsh was reprimanded several times for stealing glances at Bury. He told the judge that he wanted his mother to have Duane’s urn.

“My mother was there the most for him. Only grandparent he was left alone with. Had good intentions, wants to see if he can be buried with other son Chance,” he said.

Emotions ran high in the courtroom, but it was decided that Duane’s ashes will be placed in a mausoleum at the Walsh’s family plot in Sarasota. This plot is not where Baby Chance was buried.

Bury’s mother, Sally Susino, was upset by the ruling but the judge explained that the decision about the infant’s remains was his parents’ to make.

A signature about the specifics of Duane’s placement is needed from Joseph Walsh’s mother, the judge said.