Benjamin Howard Reed convicted of stabbing murder of DCFS employee Deidre Silas in Thayer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – An Illinois man accused of stabbing a state child welfare worker to death as she made a home visit to check on children has been found guilty but mentally ill.

Sangamon County District Judge John Madonia sentenced Benjamin Howard Reed on Thursday for the first-degree murder of Deidre Silas, a child protection specialist with the Department of Children and Family Services.

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Maldonia called Silas' killing “one of the most brutal and heinous” cases he has seen during his legal career, the (Springfield) State Journal-Register reported.

Silas was murdered in January 2022 while responding to a call about potentially endangered children at a home in Thayer, about 23 miles south of Springfield.

According to authorities, Reed, 35, stabbed Silas, a 36-year-old mother of two, 43 times in his home and also beat her to death with a sledgehammer.

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Sangamon County Prosecutor John Milhiser said in a statement that the judge concluded that Reed “had a mental illness within the meaning of the laws of the State of Illinois at the time of the murder, resulting in a verdict of guilty by reason of insanity.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Deidre Silas and with child protection officers across the state who work every day to protect the most vulnerable members of our community,” he added. “Today's verdict holds the defendant accountable for this brutal murder.”

Silas' death prompted the passage of two laws in the state of Illinois addressing the safety of Department of Child Services employees.

Reed opted for a trial before a single judge rather than a jury late last year. His sentencing is scheduled for November 15 and he faces a sentence of 20 years to life in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Silas was called to the home to investigate “a report of abuse and neglect” against the parents of two children who lived there. Although the report did not initially involve Reed or his wife's four children and stepchildren, Silas was responsible for investigating all six children who lived in the home with six adults.

Witnesses testified that Reed became agitated when he learned that Silas worked for DCFS and that the state agency had taken children away from several of his relatives.

Reed's attorney, Mark Wykoff, said his client has “suffered from mental illness his entire life.” Despite Thursday's guilty verdict, he found comfort in the fact that Reed would now receive the treatment he needs at the Illinois Department of Correction.

Wykoff added: “The outcome is tragic for the victim and for the victim's family. It is tragic for Mr. Reed.”

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