Murder Charges Filed in Skokie Woman's Death

SKOKIE, IL - Murder charges have been filed against the Skokie man accused of killing his girlfriend at home and taking the couple’s baby to a church in Chicago last year.

Two counts of murder and one count of aggravated domestic battery were filed this week by the Skokie Police Department against Jermaine Powell, the 38-year-old accused in the case.

In March 2016, police reported the strangling death of Catherine Benyamin, 31 at her home in the 8200 block of Keating Avenue and that Powell was a suspect in the death. The couple’s 10-month old son was taken by Powell to a church on the South Side of Chicago, according to police.

A lengthy investigation ensued while Powell was in custody at the Cook County Jail on unrelated charges.
Powell, who has been denied bond, is set to appear in court to face the new charges on Feb. 2.

Two months before the murder of Benyamin, Powell was identified as the man caught on camera walking out of another Skokie’s residents garage carrying a baby.

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