Pregnant woman accused of killing unborn child’s father hours after baby shower

Prosecutors in Chicago said a pregnant woman fatally stabbed the father of their unborn child after they got into an argument over who should use a microwave. The fatal incident happened hours after their baby shower, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The suspect, Keshia Golden, is eight months pregnant. Her court-appointed attorney said her next court appearance will be held barely two weeks before she is expected to deliver.

The fatal October 23 incident occurred after Golden together with her boyfriend Calvin Sidney and some family members returned to her home after their baby shower. In the wee hours of that morning, prosecutors said that Golden and Sidney got into a dispute over who should warm leftovers with the microwave. Sidney is said to have “pushed” Golden “down on the counter” after she struck a plate he was holding.

Sidney subsequently entered a bedroom after his uncle separated them. But Golden, who had a knife in her possession, entered the bedroom and stabbed her boyfriend in the leg, prosecutors said. She subsequently exited the apartment.

The stabbing resulted in Sidney sustaining a femoral artery injury. He was taken to a hospital where he died. Golden’s mother, Tarsha Ellis, told the Chicago Sun-Times that her daughter “didn’t mean to kill anyone.”

“She’s broke up about it. She didn’t know you could kill someone by stabbing them in the leg. She just wanted him to leave because he was acting out, and she was worried about hurting the baby. And he wouldn’t go,” she added.

Golden was said to be unaware her boyfriend had died when she went back to the apartment hours after the altercation. Officers who responded to the scene arrested her. Prosecutors also said she did not deny stabbing Sidney. The suspect also sustained injuries from the physical altercation with her boyfriend. She was admitted to the hospital as a result. 

During her bail hearing, prosecutors said the fatal incident wasn’t the first time Golden and Sidney had gotten into an altercation that had escalated. Police, between June and September, were said to have received multiple domestic violence-related calls involving the couple. And they had to go to the suspect’s home on each of those occasions. On four of those occasions, Golden alleged she had been choked, punched, slapped, or pushed by her boyfriend.

Court records and police reports also stated that in July, the pregnant woman obtained an order of protection against Sidney after claiming he physically assaulted her. The next month, prosecutors said that Sidney opted not to file charges against Golden after she injured him during another altercation.

“It was just toxic with those two,” Ellis, said. “But they loved each other. If he could raise up right now, they wouldn’t have no case because he would never want charges against her.”

Golden is currently being held on a $2 million bail. Her attorney, Julie Koehler, said prosecutors asked for Golden to be denied bail despite a 2019 Illinois law which stipulates that pregnant women should not be jailed before a trial unless it is determined she poses a public threat. 

“To not only force Keshia to give birth in jail but then to immediately take her child away after birth is cruel to the mother and the baby,” said Koehler. “This heartless decision is contrary to Illinois law. All the evidence shows Keshia acted in self-defense. The only person she’s ever shown any violence toward was the man that was beating her.”