Chicago woman avoids prison for fatally stabbing boyfriend over microwave after 50 domestic calls: prosecutors

“I HAD TO PROTECT MYSELF AND MY BABY”!!! BELIEVE IT OR NOT, PROSECUTORS AGREED TO A PLEA DEAL AFTER A CHICAGO WOMAN ORIGINALLY CHARGED WITH MURDER IN THE FATAL STABBING OF HER BOYFRIEND RECEIVED PROBATION INSTEAD OF PRISON TIME… FOLLOWING EXTENSIVE DOCUMENTATION OF ALLEGED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND DOZENS OF CALLS FOR HELP.

A pregnant mother’s murder case in Chicago has concluded without prison time.

Defense attorneys presented records describing what they characterized as years of documented domestic violence before the fatal encounter.

Her defense also cited repeated attempts to obtain intervention prior to the deadly confrontation.

In 2022, Keshia Golden was eight months pregnant when a domestic confrontation turned fatal.

The encounter involved her boyfriend, 29-year-old Calvin Sidney.

The argument between the two reportedly began over a microwave.

During the confrontation, Golden grabbed a knife.

She struck Sidney in the leg with the blade.

The knife severed Sidney’s femoral artery.

Sidney died as a result of the injury.

Golden was initially facing a murder prosecution following the stabbing.

But her attorneys argued that the fatal encounter could not be separated from the history between the couple.

According to her defense, Golden had called 911 approximately 50 times.

Golden had also obtained an order of protection against Sidney.

Public defender Sierra Bartlett said there was extensive documentation detailing previous violence in the relationship.

That history included an incident in which Sidney allegedly choked Golden while she was 18 weeks pregnant.

“There’s lots of documentation, and I wish there had been more intervention at those earlier stages,” Bartlett said.

Then, rather than proceeding to a murder trial, Golden accepted a plea agreement.

She pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.

Golden was sentenced to 24 months of probation.

The plea agreement allowed her to avoid incarceration.

The outcome of the case has divided the families and advocates surrounding the proceedings.

Attorney Julie Koehler argued that Golden’s actions had to be viewed in the context of the violence she allegedly endured.

“When a man beats a woman, especially a pregnant woman, he forfeits his right to live,” Koehler said.

Sidney’s family strongly disagreed with the resolution.

Symmieona Goss, who shares children with Sidney, stated that the sentence allowed Golden to avoid meaningful punishment.

“Twenty-four months of probation and community service for murder,” Goss said.

Golden issued an apology to Sidney’s family.

She stated that accepting the agreement allowed her to stay with the daughter she was carrying when the confrontation occurred.

“All she got is me,” Golden said.

“I feel like I did the right thing for my child,” she added.

Golden’s mother, Tarsha Ellis, said her daughter accepted the plea deal for her child rather than out of guilt.

“She’s not guilty, but she took it to stay home with her daughter,” Ellis said.

Dyanna Winchester of the Women’s Justice Institute argued that the case demonstrates what occurs when repeated requests for help fail.

“Justice is not ignoring a woman’s cries for help until it’s too late and then condemning her for surviving,” Winchester said.

And the State’s Attorney’s Office ultimately determined that resolving the case with an involuntary manslaughter conviction and two years of probation “serves the interests of justice.”