Man charged with killing woman, 65, and stabbing her granddaughter denied bail

A man charged with killing a 65-year-old woman and repeatedly stabbing her 18-year-old granddaughter last week in the Bronzeville neighborhood was denied bail at his initial court appearance Monday.

Benjamin Williams, 31, faces counts of first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, home invasion and domestic battery in the Friday morning attack, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said.

Just before 11 a.m., Williams and an unidentified co-offender came up to the door of a home in the 100 block of East 37th Place, where Williams’ former girlfriend was living with her grandmother, 65-year-old Peggy Goodman, prosecutors said.

The younger woman locked herself in an upstairs bedroom and called 911 after Goodman opened the door for Williams, prosecutors said. Williams followed the 18-year-old upstairs and began to pound on the bedroom door.

When he was unable to get inside the bedroom, Williams went back downstairs with the co-offender and they shot Goodman in the head, prosecutors said.

The two went back upstairs, where Williams kicked in the 18-year-old’s door, pointed the gun at her face and pulled the trigger twice. When the gun failed to fire, they stabbed her more than 20 times with a knife, prosecutors said.

Goodman was pronounced dead at the scene and her granddaughter was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, where she identified Williams to police, according to authorities.

Officers took Williams into custody about an hour later at his South Side home, according to police records.

The second suspect has not been taken into custody as of Monday afternoon.

Williams was scheduled back in court April 2.