Trial begins in fatal stabbing of Illinois DCFS worker Deidre Silas

Lina Portman3 weeks ago

3 2 minutes read

Trial begins in fatal stabbing of Illinois DCFS worker Deidre Silas

A former first assistant in the Sangamon County District Attorney's Office said Deidre (Graham) Silas was “simply doing her job to protect children” when the child protection specialist was fatally stabbed in a home in the southern tip of Sangamon County on Jan. 4, 2022.

Benjamin Howard Reed, 35, is accused of killing the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services employee.

Reed's trial, delayed earlier this year, began Monday in Sangamon County Court with opening statements and several witnesses, including Reed's mother, Jennifer Askins, who tearfully admitted to calling police after Reed told her “he lost it” and killed Silas.

More: Study: Illinois shows significant improvement in mental health since COVID-19

Reed, who wore a long black beard and a striped prison uniform, sat at the defense table and appeared to have little eye contact with witnesses. Reed did not speak during the trial.

Several of Silas' family members were present in court, as well as some of his former DCFS employees.

Askins testified that Reed, his wife, Amanda, and four children stopped by his Decatur apartment late in the afternoon of Jan. 4, 2022.

Askins said Reed did not say who he killed, but his wife told him it was “the DCFS lady.”

“I almost let my grandchild down,” Askins said in response to what Reed did.

Askins testified that she told Reed and his wife they could not stay at the apartment. The two went to HSHS St. Mary's Hospital where Reed was being treated for a knife cut.

Askins then called the police and told them where Reed was headed.

Earlier, Silas' former supervisor, Jamie Bramblett, testified that Silas was called to investigate “a report of abuse and neglect” at Reed's home in Thayer, a village of about 700 people 22 miles south of Springfield, although the complaint did not involve Reed or his children.

Because the environment was a concern, Bramblett said Silas was responsible for assessing the six children living in the home, including Reed's.

Bramblett said there were “no plans to remove the children” from the home that day.

In his opening statement, Derek Dion, who now works in the state appellate attorney's office but is arguing the case with Kendra Hansel, said Reed's wife told Silas she couldn't see her children. That's when Reed armed himself with a knife, Dion said, and stabbed Silas 43 times.

Reed also hit Silas in the head with “a hammer,” Dion said.

The autopsy photos, with commentary by forensic pathologist Dr. Nathaniel Patterson, were viewed in open court.

In a brief opening statement, defense attorney Mark Wykoff said “the only question for the court is what was Reed's mental state at the time of the crime.”

The defense could call Terry Killian, a psychologist, as an expert witness to speak to this mental state.

The State filed a motion stating that rebuttal witnesses were contacted to match Killian's potential testimony.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; [email protected]; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

Lina Portman

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