Illinois child welfare worker fatally stabbed during visit

By JOHN O’CONNOR
AP Political Writer

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — A man is facing charges after an Illinois child welfare worker was stabbed to death during a home visit in a town south of Springfield. Sangamon County authorities say 36-year-old Diedre Silas was conducting a welfare check at a home in Thayer on Tuesday afternoon when she was stabbed by a man living there. Thirty-two-year-old Benjamin Reed faces charges of first-degree murder and aggravated battery. Authorities say detectives found Reed at a Decatur hospital where he was being treated for a minor injury. He is being held in the Sangamon County Jail on a $5 million bond.