‘Grief is never easy’: late DeKalb County sheriff’s deputy remembered 1 year after line of duty death

SYCAMORE – One year after DeKalb County sheriff’s deputy Christina Musil was killed while on duty, Sheriff Andy Sullivan joined more than 100 others at a vigil in Sycamore Saturday to memorialize the fallen veteran and mother of three.

Sullivan spoke at crowded vigil Saturday at the Sycamore High School Field House with Musil’s fellow deputies, colleagues and loved ones. The mother of three, 35, was on patrol when her squad car was read-ended by a commercial truck around 10:40 p.m. on March 28, 2024, in Waterman. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital in the early morning hours March 29.

Sullivan said Musil “was the absolute best mother to her children.”

The grief he and his cohort have felt over the 365 days since Musil’s death has not abated, he said.

“These days do not get easier, and perhaps they never truly will,” Sullivan said. “But we can take comfort in knowing the love we shared with Christina lives on.”

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Community members wear EOW "End Of Watch" shirts during the a memorial vigil for the late DeKalb County Sheriff's Deputy Christina Musil on Saturday, March 29, 2025, at the Sycamore High School Field House. Musil was killed in the line of duty in a car crash while on patrol on March 28, 2024. (David Toney for Shaw Local News /David Toney)

Some of Musil’s family attended her vigil but opted not to speak.

A U.S. Army National Guard veteran, Musil was deployed to Afghanistan 2008 to 2009 as a military police officer before joining the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office a decade later.

“Tonight, let us remember Christina not in the shadow of our grief, but in the light of the hope and love she gave this world.”

—  DeKalb County Sheriff Andy Sullivan

Assigned badge No. 42, Musil started at the sheriff’s office in 2019 as a corrections deputy at DeKalb County jail. Three years later, she transferred to the patrol division.

The vigil held in her honor did not include candles – Sullivan said he didn’t want to worry Sycamore firefighters and Sycamore school district officials with open flames in the school facility. Instead, vigil attendees snapped glow sticks and held sunflowers, Musil’s favorite flower, in her honor.

Inside the field house, a DeKalb County sheriff’s squad car was adorned with black and purple drapery, and 13 battery-operated candles decorated the ground in front of the vehicle.

A table was setup with a cornucopia of memorabilia for Musil, including a wood engraved plaque with the phrase “end of watch 03-29-2024.”

Atop the table were stickers with the words ”forever in our hearts," trinkets with Musil’s badge number, and a banner from the National Association of Police Organization.

Mike McTighe, vice president of Illinois Concerns of Police Survivors, also spoke at the vigil. Sullivan said McTighe’s organization was instrumental in helping plan Musil’s funeral, which saw hundreds of law enforcement from multiple states come to DeKalb to pay their final respects.

McTighe also helped support Musil’s family and the sheriff’s office in the days following her death.

“Grief is never easy, but we find comfort in knowing that she [Musil] is at peace,” McTighe said. “May we honor her by living with the same compassion and grace she showed every day. Christina you are deeply missed and forever loved.”

DeKalb County sheriff’s Lt. Ryan Pettengell, who also works in the patrol division, shared an essay Musil wrote while attending the police academy.

“‘There are people in this world that are unable to advocate for themselves. I want to be their voice,‘” Pettengell recited from the essay.

The man charged in Musil’s death, Nathan P. Sweeney, 44, of DeKalb, was arrested April 3, 2024. He’s charged with driving under the influence and reckless homicide in connection with the crash. He has since pleaded not guilty and is on pretrial release awaiting court proceedings. A jury trial is expected to convene in June.

Sullivan, Pettengell and McTighe spoke twice, once at 6:15 p.m. and again at 7:15 p.m., so that all shift members of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office could have a chance to honor their colleague.

“Tonight, let us remember Christina not in the shadow of our grief,” Sullivan said, “but in the light of the hope and love she gave this world.”