Benjamin Reed has been sentenced to 100 years in prison for the murder of Deidre Silas in 2022.
Silas, from Springfield, was a DCFS employee making a child welfare check in Thayer due to allegations of child abuse or neglect. Authorities say Reed grabbed Silas from behind, stabbed her and then struck her with a sledgehammer. She died from her injuries.
Reed fled to Decatur where he was arrested.
"Whatever rehabilitative potential you had, you neglected, you ignored, you let it consume you - and it cost Ms. Silas her life," said Judge John Madonia Friday as he handed down the sentence in Sangamon County.
Silas, 36, was a Springfield mother who had worked for the agency for about a year. Her death put more spotlight on the dangers faced by DCFS employees. Silas was the second Illinois child protective services investigator to be killed on the job in less than five years.
Reed had entered an insanity defense. The judge determined Reed had a mental illness as defined by Illinois law that was present at the time of the murder, leading to a guilty but mentally ill verdict. Under Illinois law, a person convicted of murder, but found to be mentally ill, is sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Judge Madonia determined Reed's conduct was "accompanied by exceptionally brutal and heinous behavior indicative of wanton cruelty." He is ineligible for parole.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Deidre Silas and with Child Protection Workers across the state who work each day to keep the most vulnerable members of our community safe. The Court's sentence today holds the defendant accountable for this brutal murder and ensures this defendant will never get out of prison and hurt anyone else," said Sangamon County State's Attorney John Milhiser.
