Trial begins in fatal stabbing case of DCFS employee Deidre Silas from Illinois

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

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

“I almost dropped my grandchild,” Askins said in response to Reed’s behavior.

Askins testified that she told Reed and his wife they could not stay in the apartment. Both went to HSHS St. Mary's Hospital, where Reed was treated for a knife wound.

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

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