Keshia Golden, accused of killing boyfriend, pleads guilty to involuntary manslaughter, gets 2 years probation

A woman accused of killing her boyfriend in 2022 has agreed to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter charges ahead of her trial for first-degree murder.

Keshia Golden has said she was acting in self-defense when she stabbed her boyfriend, Calvin Sidney in 2022.

On Monday, as she was set to go on trial for first-degree murder, Cook County prosecutors offered to let her plead guilty to lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter in exchange for serving two years of probation.

After Monday's hearing, Golden said the plea deal was not a win, but a choice she made for her daughter.

"I do not want to hurt my child no more then what she already hurting – all she got is me," she said. "My child will not have a father, and I'm the only person that's going to take care of her, so I feel like I did the right thing for my child."

Golden has maintained she was protecting herself and her unborn child, and her defense attorneys said it was a life-or-death situation for her.

"When a man beats a woman, especially a pregnant woman, he forfeits his right to live," Cook County Assistant Public Defender Julie Koehler said.

As part of the deal Golden accepted on Monday, she will have to undergo regular drug testing as part of her probation and perform 30 hours of community service.

Golden's defense attorneys have said she was eight months pregnant when her boyfriend, Calvin Sidney, attacked her while she was reheating leftovers from her baby shower. Golden stabbed Sidney once in the thigh, severing his femoral artery. He later died at Mount Sinai Hospital.  

Golden was charged with first-degree murder, and since then, domestic abuse advocates have repeatedly rallied to support Golden and call on prosecutors to drop the first-degree murder charges against her.  

Golden's attorneys accused police and prosecutors of a rush to judgment in her case.

"There is no justice in this case, and that's why she was charged. They walked into that apartment and they put her in hand cuffs in less than 30 seconds," Cook County Assistant Public Defender Julie Koehler said.

In a statement after Monday's hearing, the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender said the plea offer "clearly shows that prosecutors never believed they could convince a judge or jury that our client, Keshia Golden, was guilty of first-degree murder."

"It is a disgrace that it took almost four years for the prosecution to admit this. Continuing to prosecute Keshia for first-degree murder has caused her and her family unbelievable stress as she was threatened with decades in prison," Golden's public defenders added. "Keshia has made the difficult decision to accept the prosecution's offer to plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter and a sentence of probation in this case to ensure that she will be able to raise her daughter and see her grow up. This is a rational decision, but it is not a just outcome.Our clients face these difficult and personal decisions every day when choosing between their freedom and pleading to something they are innocent of, but which risks much harsher penalties after trial."

Earlier this year, prosecutors offered Golden a plea deal to lesser charges of second-degree murder, but she turned it down, arguing she killed Sidney in self-defense. 

"After a careful review of the evidence and applicable law, prosecutors previously offered to resolve this case in March with a plea that the defendant rejected. Today's resolution reflects our commitment to making fair evidence-based decisions that consider the full circumstances of each case and serve the interests of justice," the Cook County State's Attorney's Office said in a statement on Monday.

Prosecutors have offered a different account of what happened the night Golden killed Sindey, saying Golden followed Sidney into a bedroom with a knife, and stabbed and killed him while he was lying in bed unarmed.

Golden's attorneys described a history of abuse at Sidney's hands, including an order of protection Golden had obtained months before his death.

Koehler said, on Sept. 3, 2022, when Golden was 6 months pregnant, Sidney pushed her down a flight of stairs.

Golden's supporters had been protesting for the murder charge to be dropped, saying the history of domestic violence should have been considered, but prosecutors declined to dismiss the case.

"You bullied an innocent mother into taking a plea deal that will haunt her for the rest of her life," Koehler said.

The plea deal she accepted on Monday avoids prison time for Golden, and means she won't have to register as a violent offender, but the felony conviction will follow her.

"By me pleading guilty, I might not have no house for me and my daughter. I might not be able to get employment for me and my daughter," she said.

Her attorneys said they hope the prosecutors "will keep Keshia's case in mind moving forward, particularly in the case of criminalized survivors."

"The State's Attorney's Office has an obligation to pursue justice even when it means not achieving a conviction," the public defender's office said.

Golden's attorneys also said they will ask Gov. JB Pritzker to pardon her.

Golden also had a message for other survivors of domestic abuse.

"I don't want to see anyone going through this, woman nor man. I don't think it's right for anybody to go through domestic [violence], or to be beaten on, or to have to hide who they is. So I send a message of please get out. Please don't stay because you're pregnant. Don't stay because you love that person, because it's never going to stop," she said.

Sidney's family was in court for Monday's hearing, and said the plea deal does not mean any justice for them. They were hoping for a harsher sentence for Golden.