Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced the arrest in Mexico Thursday of 27-year-old Gabriel Calixto-Picardo in the brutal stabbing death of his girlfriend, immigrant activist Emma Shafer, 24, that occurred at Shafer’s Springfield, Illinois home on July 11, 2023.
Calixto was brought to the U.S. by his mother when he was 5 years old and had DACA status until he was jailed for kidnapping a previous girlfriend who says Calixto was later granted asylum after he was released from prison in 2021 and after his deportation case was dropped because of fears of torture in his native Mexico.
Noem highlighted Shafer’s murder in a visit to Springfield earlier this year. Noem was denounced by Shafer’s mother, who joined a protest against Noem and complained she had not given permission for Noem to speak about her daughter.
The vicious illegal alien murderer who has been evading justice for two years after stabbing 24-year-old Emma Shafer has been ARRESTED. We will continue to work with federal authorities to coordinate extradition proceedings.
THANK YOU to our law enforcement partners for bringing this perpetrator to justice.
The vicious illegal alien murderer who has been evading justice for two years after stabbing 24-year-old Emma Shafer has been ARRESTED. We will continue to work with federal authorities to coordinate extradition proceedings.
THANK YOU to our law enforcement partners for… pic.twitter.com/ur3RBebSlM
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) August 28, 2025
WAND-TV report on the murder (excerpt):
In July 2023, police responded to the 1000 block of S. 8th Street after a call from a woman saying her brother had injured his girlfriend.
When they arrived, officers found Shafer stabbed to death. A short time later, a warrant was issued for Calixto’s arrest.
NPR Illinois reported on the arrest of Calixto and the background of Shafer (excerpt):
Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, the Springfield Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service announced today that Gabriel P. Calixto, wanted in connection with the 2023 murder of 24-year-old Emma Shafer, has been apprehended in Mexico.
Calixto was indicted by a Sangamon County Grand Jury and is charged with three counts of First-Degree Murder and one count of Aggravated Domestic Battery.
On July 11, 2023, Springfield Police officers responded to a residence in the 1000 block of South 8th Street, where they discovered Ms. Shafer deceased. Shafer, 24, was found dead in her home. The Sangamon County Coroner said Shafer sustained multiple sharp force injuries.
Shafer has been described as a young woman intent on making a difference. She was the membership chair of the Sierra Club Sangamon Valley Group, an incoming board member for the Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network, a former organizer with Faith Coalition for the Common Good, and an active volunteer with countless other community groups.
The Illinois Eagle described Shafer as being involved with the Resistor Sisterhood (excerpt):
Shafer was part of the leadership council of Resister Sisterhood, a Springfield activist group advocating for progressive causes. She had been active in work for the LGBTQ community, fighting for women’s rights, and bodily autonomy.
Excerpt from Shafer’s obituary:
Emma Marie Shafer, 24, community organizer, died July 11, 2023. A Springfield native born on April 13, 1999, she graduated from Springfield High School, received an Associate Degree in Political Science at Lincoln Land Community College, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies from the New School in New York City. She was the membership chair of the Sierra Club Sangamon Valley Group, an incoming board member for the Springfield Immigrant Advocacy Network, a former organizer with Faith Coalition for the Common Good, and an active volunteer with countless other community groups.
…From early childhood, Emma pursued twin passions — theater and social justice…
…Emma was a life-long activist. Even as a child, she tended to go sit with the kid eating lunch alone and recruit her friends to join them. She recognized inequities in the way certain classmates were treated and spoke up to ask adults to realize the harm they were causing. As a teenager, she participated in several youth service projects with Westminster Presbyterian Church, such as helping repair homes for low-income families in Appalachia and later joined the Appalachian Service Project staff. Emma was very involved in public office, serving as an intern in the office of U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Fellow in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, and a committee clerk at the State of Illinois House of Representatives. At the time of her death, she was making special concoctions and connections at The Wakery. She then had just been hired to work for M.H. Action, where she was looking forward to advocating for the rights of people who live in manufactured homes.
…Her favorite part of organizing was canvassing — going door-to-door and meeting people to hear and address any concerns they had, always working towards a more equitable community. Held hour-long one-on-one meetings with anyone who had a cause, usually scheduling those meetings at a downtown local business. She hosted weekly “soup night” gatherings in her home, bringing together advocates she believed needed to know each other.
2023 WAND-TV report on Calixto’s kidnapping of ex-girlfriend Kathryn O’Brien and his immigration status (excerpt):
(Note: there is a host of information in this article. Please click through for the entire WAND report.)
WAND News is learning more about the criminal record of Gabriel Calixto Pichardo. Calixto was initially charged with violating an order of protection, aggravated kidnapping and unlawful restraint after a 2018 kidnapping incident. Calixto agreed to plea guilty to a kidnapping charge and was sentenced to six years in prison.
In 2020, court records show Calixto’s plea was vacated for constitutional reasons. He immediately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, unlawful restraint, and was resentenced to six years behind bars. However, he was released early.
WAND News asked the Madison County State’s Attorney what the constitutional reasons were, to allow Calixto to plea to a lesser felony charge.
State’s Attorney Thomas Haine released the following statement:
“We offer our deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of Emma Shafer. What transpired here is deeply disturbing and upsetting. In October 2020, prior to my administration, this defendant’s guilty plea was modified. The reason for this modification is frustratingly unclear. There was no hearing held on the modification, and there is no transcript. The employment of the former assistant state’s attorney responsible for this modification terminated in February 2021. My office will continue to assist the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s Office and the other authorities in Sangamon County in any manner.”
More:
…About six months after he was released in the kidnapping case, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Calixto. He was charged with improper entry and the Department of Homeland Security began removal proceedings.
Court records show Calixto was born in Mexico and brought to the U.S. by his mom when he was five years old. He was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival status—or DACA—when he was 15. But his status expired while in prison, and he was no longer eligible for DACA because he had committed a felony.
Court records show U.S. Attorneys ultimately declined to prosecute him for improper entry. WAND reached out to learn why the case was dropped.
“I’m restricted to providing only the information that’s contained in the publicly-filed court documents, and the office will not be releasing further comment at this time,” a spokeswoman shared in a statement to WAND News.
Calixto had filed an application for asylum and protection under the Convention Against Torture, based on his fear of harm in Mexico due to his severe mental illness. O’Brien told WAND News that Calixto was allowed to stay in the United States because he was granted this asylum status.
…Just two years after Calixto was released on bond by immigration officials, he was accused of murdering Shafer. Weeks after the murder, Calixto is still on the run.
WCIA-TV reported on Noem’s visit to Springfield last May where spoke in front of Shafer’s home where she was murdered. In the video report, an activist ally of Shafer’s said Emma would have been out protesting Noem that day (well, if she hadn’t been murdered by her illegal alien boyfriend.)
Excerpt:
On Wednesday, Noem speculated about Shafer’s case and used her death as a political talking point, and not only without her family’s consent, but while Shafer’s mother was actively protesting Noem’s trip to Springfield.
…Following Noem’s speech, Shafer’s family members released a statement expressing their disappointment:
My daughter Emma radiated love and light everywhere she went and for all people. Even as a child, she was a friend to everyone and someone who spoke up for the less fortunate. She dedicated her life – her career and her free time – to causes of social justice and equity. That was just who she was.
To see her used by Secretary Noem and others to advance a cruel and heartless political agenda is not just deeply painful to us – it is an insult to her memory. Noem’s words are in direct conflict with who Emma was as a person. Emma built up community and stood with all members, including immigrants.
No parent should have to experience the loss of a child. But every time her name is brought into these conversations – conversations she would have wanted nothing to do with – we have to relive the pain of her death.
Secretary Noem, as a mother still grieving the loss of a child, I beg you to stop. This is not who she was. This is not helping us. Her memory should live in all the people she touched and the causes that she fought for. And I ask all of you to remember Emma as she was. And to live your life as she did: with courageous empathy and love for all.
Video of Noem’s remarks in Springfield:
I went to Springfield, Illinois, to join Angel families to call for the end for dangerous sanctuary city policies under J.B. Pritzker and bring attention to an at-large illegal alien murderer who has been evading justice for two years for the stabbing of Emma Shafer.
We stand… pic.twitter.com/0P1anlupVR
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) May 7, 2025
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