The Chicago case has drawn advocates who say a domestic violence survivor is being punished.
CHICAGO, Ill. — Supporters of Keshia Golden filled a Cook County courtroom in purple as her lawyers again pressed prosecutors to drop a murder case rooted in a fatal stabbing after a baby shower.
The April 7 hearing did not bring the dismissal Golden’s backers wanted. Cook County Judge Steven Watkins set an Aug. 17 trial date, keeping the first-degree murder case on track. Golden is accused of killing Calvin Sidney, her boyfriend and the father of her daughter, in October 2022. Her lawyers say she acted in self-defense while eight months pregnant. Prosecutors say the evidence supports moving forward.
The public campaign around Golden began with her pregnancy and detention. After Sidney died, Golden was jailed on a $2 million bond. Defense lawyers and advocates warned that she could give birth in custody while facing a murder charge for what they said was an act of survival. A judge later reduced bond to $50,000 and said the change served the best interest of Golden’s unborn child. The amount required Golden to post $5,000. Moms United Against Violence and Incarceration and the Chicago Community Bond Fund helped provide the money, and Golden left jail in early November 2022.
That release became central to how supporters describe the case. Golden gave birth to her daughter, Ky’liyah, and has remained out of jail while the case moves through court. Her lawyers say she has no prior criminal record and has followed pretrial requirements, attended counseling, taken classes and reported to pretrial services. Defense attorney Julie Koehler said Golden has done what the court asked of her. “What more do they want from this woman?” Koehler said after prosecutors declined to dismiss the case. Advocates argue that the prosecution has kept a mother under threat of prison while she raises a child whose birth was at the center of the original fight.
Golden’s supporters say the facts of Sidney’s death cannot be separated from abuse allegations that came before it. Police reports show five domestic violence calls involving Golden and Sidney between June and September 2022. Four included Golden’s claims that Sidney choked, slapped, pushed or punched her. In July 2022, she obtained an order of protection after alleging Sidney punched her in the face. Defense lawyers say Sidney had choked Golden while she was 18 weeks pregnant and that she had previously miscarried after physical abuse by him. Prosecutors have also pointed to a prior allegation by Sidney that Golden cut his neck, though no charges followed from him pressing that claim.
The fatal encounter happened after a baby shower Oct. 22, 2022. Golden’s attorneys say Sidney became violent, grabbed Golden by the hair, hit her, slammed her head into a kitchen counter and pulled the fight into another room. Koehler said Golden reached for a knife only because she believed Sidney was trying to kill her and the child she was carrying. “She reached for a knife to protect herself from her abuser, who was trying to kill her and her unborn child,” Koehler said at a public rally. The knife struck Sidney’s leg and cut the femoral artery. He was later pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Prosecutors have offered a different sequence. They say Golden and Sidney argued over use of a microwave in the early morning hours of Oct. 23, after the shower. They allege Golden knocked a plate of food from Sidney’s hands before Sidney pushed her onto a counter. A relative separated the couple, prosecutors say, and Sidney went into a bedroom. According to the prosecution account, Golden then armed herself, entered the bedroom and stabbed Sidney while he was lying on the bed. That account is why prosecutors have continued to treat the case as murder rather than a justified act of self-defense.
The state’s attorney’s office offered Golden a plea deal to second-degree murder with two years of probation and no additional time served. Golden rejected it. Her lawyers said the offer would still leave her with a felony conviction and major consequences. They said it could require registration as a violent offender, limit jobs, affect benefits and follow her as she raises her daughter. Prosecutors said in a statement that Golden rejected the offer and that they could not comment further because the case remains pending. The rejection moved the case closer to trial.
At the courthouse, advocates framed Golden’s case as part of a broader problem in how survivors are treated when they use force. Dyanna Winchester of the Women’s Justice Institute said the system should not ignore cries for help and then condemn someone for surviving. Sierra Bartlett of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office said the prosecution tells women in violent relationships that defending themselves can bring first-degree murder charges. Holly Krig of Moms United Against Violence and Incarceration said women face high risks from intimate partners but are not always believed when they claim justifiable force. Their comments drew support from people who packed the courtroom and stood with Golden outside.
Sidney’s death remains the reason the state says the case must be heard. Prosecutors are expected to focus on the moment after relatives separated the couple, the path to the bedroom and whether Sidney still posed an immediate threat when Golden used the knife. They may also use prior allegations involving Golden to challenge the defense picture of the relationship. The defense is expected to focus on pregnancy, prior reports, the order of protection and what Golden believed Sidney could do to her and the unborn child. The judge will decide which evidence jurors may hear before opening statements begin.
The structure of the upcoming trial could place community arguments beside courtroom rules. Advocates can call for dismissal outside court, but jurors will be asked to apply Illinois law to the facts allowed into evidence. Golden’s lawyers have said the prosecution should end before that point. Prosecutors have chosen to proceed. The result is a case in which a mother who was released so she would not give birth in jail is now preparing to argue that the same pregnancy helps explain why she feared for her life.
Keshia Golden remains free while awaiting trial. The next scheduled hearing is July 13, followed by the Aug. 17 trial date unless the case is resolved earlier.
Author note: Last updated May 5, 2026.