A woman who was already wanted on a court warrant is in police custody after a 7-year-old girl was stabbed to death on a Chicago sidewalk on Saturday, October 3. A local news outlet reports that the court order to take her into custody dates to February 2025, and that it was still active in police records when she was arrested. That is why the case is drawing attention far beyond the neighborhood where it happened.
Four Facts to Know
- A local news outlet reports the woman in custody had an open arrest warrant, an order from a court to take a person into custody, going back to February 2025.
- The girl was identified by the Cook County Medical Examiner as Edimari Hernandez Chacon. She died at Comer Children’s Hospital.
- Police say the attack happened around 11:55 a.m. on Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood.
- On Sunday evening, October 4, she was charged with first-degree murder.
A Probation Case, Then a Warrant
The local outlet reports the woman is 48. It says she pleaded guilty in November 2024 to aggravated battery of a CTA bus driver and was placed on probation, which means she had to follow court rules while living in the community.
According to the outlet, the warrant came from a probation matter. She had failed to appear at a status hearing, which is a court date set to check on a case. The outlet says the warrant dates to February 2025 and had not been cleared when officers arrested her Saturday. Police named her as Shavon Gayden, 48.
Saturday on South Cottage Grove
Chicago police said the attack happened on a sidewalk in the 8600 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, near East 86th Street. They said a woman walked up to the girl and stabbed her several times in the back. The girl was rushed to the hospital and pronounced dead. Area 2 detectives with the Chicago police are working the case.
Some outlets spelled the girl’s name another way, so this report uses the spelling given by the medical examiner.
The Bystanders Who Stepped In
The local outlet reports that witnesses called 911 and that one of them waved down a passing police car. It also reports that one bystander knocked the woman unconscious a short distance from where the girl lay. Police said bystanders held the woman in place until officers reached the scene. She was treated for injuries that are not life-threatening and remains in custody.
Chicago Ald. Michelle Harris credited the bystanders. Their “quick actions may have prevented further harm,” she said.
What Police Have Said So Far
Police released no motive. Some reports say the woman did not know the girl, though police have not said whether the two knew each other. Gayden was charged on Sunday evening, October 4, with first-degree murder and was due in court on Monday, October 5.
The attack came in daylight, on an ordinary sidewalk, while a child was out walking. In her words, “No child should ever have to experience violence or fear while simply walking down the sidewalk.”
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, abc7chicago.com, wbtv.com
