Illinois – In a deeply disturbing case in Illinois, a 39-year-old man, identified as C. Brand, will spend the rest of his life behind bars for a violent home invasion that claimed the life of an 11-year-old boy, identified as J. Perkins. According to reports, Brand rushed into his pregnant ex-girlfriend’s home with a knife a day after getting out of jail and started stabbing the woman and her 11-year-old son, who stood in his way, trying to defend his mother.
Brand was convicted in June of first-degree murder, attempted murder, domestic battery, and home invasion in the March 2024 attack. On Tuesday, a judge sentenced him to life in prison for the murder and an additional 120 years for the other charges. Prosecutors said Brand had a long history of abuse toward his ex-girlfriend, whom he began dating as a teenager. In the days before the attack, she sought a protective order against him. That request was denied.
Brand had just been released from prison on March 12, 2024. The very next day, he forced his way into his pregnant ex-girlfriend’s apartment with a knife, declaring, “If I can’t have you, nobody can have you.” He immediately launched a frenzied assault and inflicted over a dozen stab wounds on the pregnant woman. Her 11-year-old son, Perkins, stood in Brand’s way during the attack, and the attacker turned the knife on the boy, stabbing him in the chest and killing him. Perkins’ mother survived the attack.
The courtroom was filled with grief during Tuesday’s sentencing. Perkins’ mother spoke directly to the man who took her child’s life. “You have taken away one of the greatest gifts God has blessed me with,” she told him, her voice breaking. “I am broken without my son.” Brand refused to appear in person for the hearing, instead listening via Zoom. He showed no remorse and grew impatient as the judge pronounced his sentence. “You gonna give me life anyway, so it’s like why the f— am I sticking around?” he said before abruptly logging off.
Perkins’ father also addressed the court, expressing his anger at Brand for not facing the family. The judge deemed his comments a threat and ordered him briefly removed from the courtroom. The victim’s father later returned in the courtroom and apologized for his remarks during the trial. “I miss my baby, bro. It’s senseless. It ain’t going to be a lot of relief. We’re still missing my baby. It’s just a little bit of closure for us, that’s all,” the victim’s father added. The case sparked outrage beyond the courtroom. The judge who denied Perkins’ mother the protective order before the murder was reassigned from handling domestic violence cases. Two members of the Illinois parole board who approved Brand’s early release resigned from their positions.
In response to the tragedy, Illinois lawmakers passed new legislation allowing victims to submit impact statements before parole hearings—meant to give those impacted and their families a stronger voice in decisions about releasing offenders. Brand will now spend the rest of his life in prison, with no chance of parole. For Perkins’ family, the sentence brings some sense of accountability, but not true healing. “We can’t get him back,” his mother said. “All we can do is make sure people remember who he was—a brave, loving boy who died protecting his mom.”
