Murder is hardly ever justified, but when domestic violence is involved, I could see how the lines in the sand get a little less defined. Sure, responding to violence with violence rarely ever solves anything, but one could argue there are times it is a necessary means to an end. For Chicago mom Keshia Golden, her abusive relationship boiled down to a life-defining moment after her baby shower.
It came to a head after a heated argument ensued.
Law & Crime stated that in 2022, Golden and the father of her then unborn child, Calvin Sidney, were arguing over using a microwave in their Chicago home. Golden reportedly knocked a plate of food out of Sidney’s hands and he responded by pushing her into the counter, just hours after Golden’s baby shower.
Following that, per WLS, Golden allegedly went into the bedroom with a knife and ended up stabbing Sidney in a femoral artery, causing him to bleed to death.
People are rallying to support the woman.
“She reached for a knife to protect herself from her abuser, who was trying to kill her and her unborn child,” Golden’s lawyer, Julie Koehler, said at a public rally on April 6, 2026, according to WLS.
“He grabbed her hair, slammed her head down on a kitchen counter, and the fight was then dragged into another room,” Koehler alleged about the 2022 attack that preceded Sidney’s death. “Keshia grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the leg,” the lawyer added.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men will experience “sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner during their lifetimes,” which is a pretty staggering statistic. What’s worse the Domestic Violence Hotline states “women in the US are 11 times more likely to be killed with guns than women in other high-income countries.”
Golden now faces first-degree murder charges.
Per Law & Crime, prosecutors offered Golden a deal where she would plead guilty to second-degree murder with no additional time served, but she evidently turned it down.
“That would be two years probation, but I mean, she checks in every day with pretrial already,” said Sierra Bartlett of the Cook County Public Defender’s Office.
“She’s been doing that for three years. She’s proved that she is an upstanding citizen, and she doesn’t deserve any of this,” Bartlett added, per Law & Crime. “I hope that Eileen O’Neill Burke [Cook County state’s attorney] does the right thing, because this is telling the women of Cook County that if you are in a violent relationship and you try to defend yourself, you could be facing first-degree murder charges.”
There were reportedly five domestic abuse reports filed against Sidney by Golden, WLS reported. Allegations of physical violence, including choking, slapping, pushing, and punching were present in four for the reports filed.
“He choked her while she was 18 weeks pregnant,” Bartlett noted. “So there’s lots of documentation, and I wish there had been more intervention at those earlier stages.” Golden’s trial will begin officially over the summer.
If you or someone you know has been the victim of domestic abuse, you can find help and support at DVIS.org, the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or by contacting your local women’s shelter (domesticshelters.org).
