A woman accused of fatally stabbing a 7-year-old girl was ordered detained Friday as the girl’s loved ones packed a Cook County courtroom for an initial hearing that centered on the brutal attack and the defendant’s history of severe mental illness.
Cook County Circuit Judge John Hock found that Shavon Gayden was “as dangerous as a person can be,” then ordered her held in the Cook County Jail. Gayden, 48, faces one count of first-degree murder in the death of Eddimar Hernández-Chacón last week.
Eddimar’s family donned shirts emblazoned with her picture and listened closely as prosecutors described the “brutal and evil attack on a 7-year-old child.”
Eddimar and her older sister were walking in the 8600 block of South Cottage Grove around noon on Oct. 3 when Gayden began jogging toward them with her arm raised, Assistant State’s Attorney Mike Pekara said in court Friday.
Gayden first lunged toward the sister, then grabbed Eddimar, pulled her to the ground and began stabbing her, Pekara said.
The sister screamed out for help as Eddimar fell into her arms and Gayden walked away from the scene, according to Pekara. Eddimar suffered four stab wounds to her back and was pronounced dead at Comer Children’s Hospital soon after.
Three of Gayden’s four previous arrests also involved knives, according to Pekara and court records.
Before Saturday’s attack, Gayden was inside a store on Cottage Grove Avenue trying to pay her cellphone bill when she became “impatient” with the workers and threatened to stab one in the neck, Pekara said.
“The knife is her instrument of death, it’s her instrument of violence, it’s her instrument of assault,’ Pekara said. “The violence that she visited upon that child it was … unpredictable”
Hock ordered Gayden detained pending trial on Friday, citing her violent background and “severe mental health issues.” He also ordered a psychiatric evaluation.
“She’s shown now she will attack and potentially kill one of the most vulnerable members of our society,” Hock said. “She is as dangerous as a person can be, very likely due to serious mental health issues.”
Gayden’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Brett Balmer, didn’t oppose Pekara’s petition for detention. Balmer told the court she agreed that Gayden needed to remain in custody and under the care of a doctor.
“She obviously is not in any condition to be released on the street,” Balmer told reporters after court. “As I indicated on Monday, she is in the middle of a severe psychiatric crisis and needs help.”
Balmer said her client has struggled with mental illness and homelessness, noting that Gayden “was living on the street.” But Balmer pushed back on prosecutors’ characterization of Gayden as “evil.”
“I would counter by saying she’s mentally ill,” Balmer said. “Those are not synonymous. I have dealt with a lot of mentally ill clients with very very horrible cases, like this one. It is tragic. It is heartbreaking.”
Gayden’s mental health began deteriorating about a decade ago, but she “never received the psychiatric care she needed,” according to Balmer.
In 2016, Gayden was arrested for stabbing her boyfriend with a “small knife,” according to Pekara. She was arrested again in 2019 for running toward her son with a knife. Both cases were dismissed after the victims failed to appear in court.
Gayden was then charged with striking a Chicago Transit Authority employee in 2023 and threatening to stab her, court records show. Three knives were recovered from her purse. She later pleaded guilty to those charges in 2024 and received probation for two years.
About a month after her plea deal, she was arrested again for attacking a shelter worker. Gayden then stopped showing up to court in the CTA case, and a warrant was issued for her arrest last year, according to court records. The warrant was still active when she was arrested Saturday.
Balmer said Gayden’s mother is devastated by what happened “at the hands of her daughter.” Gayden’s mother has repeatedly said “this would not have happened” if her daughter had just received the help she needed, according to Balmer.
“I believe she used the words ‘ticking time bomb,'” Balmer added.