Steven Paul Watkins, 32, was murdered on November 25, 2008, in Chandlerville, Cass County, Illinois. He had been visiting his estranged wife’s family home for a court-ordered visitation with their son when he was shot in the back of the head. Born February 7, 1976, Watkins grew up in Chandlerville, served in the Coast Guard, and later worked at a child support enforcement call center in Springfield. He was described as devoted to his family and fond of children.

The killing occurred amid a bitter divorce and custody dispute; Steven had filed for divorce six months earlier and was contesting visitation and custody issues concerning his daughter, Sidney. Investigators focused on the estranged wife’s family. Shirley Skinner, then in her late 70s and Jennifer Watkins’s grandmother, was arrested, charged, and in 2010 convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 55 years. The conviction was upheld on appeal and Skinner remains incarcerated.

Are there readers who remember the Watkins family or who have information about events in Chandlerville around November 2008?