In a story marked by a bitter custody dispute, Steven Watkins, a 32-year-old male, was killed on November 25, 2008. The events leading to his death unfolded in Ashland, Illinois, at the home of his estranged wife's family. Watkins had gone to the residence to pick up his 17-month-old daughter for a court-ordered visit, the day before a scheduled hearing to determine overnight visitation.
The relationship between Steven and his wife, Jennifer, had deteriorated significantly after the
birth of their daughter. The couple had married in August 2006 and separated shortly after their daughter was born in June 2007. Steven filed for divorce in May 2008, seeking custody of their child, which became a point of intense conflict between the two families.
On that November evening, just after Steven arrived at the home where Jennifer and their daughter were living with her parents and grandparents, a 911 call was made by Jennifer. She claimed her husband had tried to attack her and her grandmother, Shirley Skinner, and had been shot. When authorities arrived, they found Steven Watkins deceased on the floor from a single gunshot wound to the back of the head.
The investigation into Steven's death initially faced challenges as family members present at the scene were not cooperative with police. Investigators grew suspicious of the self-defense claim, noting the lack of evidence of a struggle and the fact that Steven was shot from behind. The day before his death, a judge had indicated that Steven would likely be granted more visitation time with his daughter.
Ten months after the shooting, in October 2009, Shirley Skinner, Jennifer Watkins' then 74-year-old grandmother, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. During her trial in May 2010, the prosecution argued that the motive for the murder was the family's fear of losing custody of the child to Steven. The defense contended that the state could not definitively prove that Skinner had fired the gun. The jury ultimately found Shirley Skinner guilty of first-degree murder.
Following her conviction, Shirley Skinner was sentenced to 55 years in prison. A subsequent request for clemency, based on her age and health, was denied. The murder and the ensuing legal battles for custody of the child drew national media attention. The custody dispute continued for years after Steven's death, with his parents eventually winning the right to visit their granddaughter.
