Who is Shavon Gayden? What happened in the fatal stabbing of 7-year-old Eddimar Hernandez in Chicago

A 7-year-old girl is dead after she was allegedly stabbed in Chicago, and Shavon Gayden has been charged with first-degree murder. Gayden was in the hospital on Monday and did not appear in court as the case moved forward. Here is everything we know about the her:

Shavon Gayden, Chicago woman accused of killing 7-year-old Eddimar Hernandez. (Chicago Police Department)Who is Shavon Gayden?Gayden is the woman accused of fatally stabbing Eddimar on Saturday morning.

Gayden was taken into custody right after the attack. She has been charged with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Eddimar Paola Hernandez Chacon.

As per ABC7, court records show four earlier cases involving Gayden, including two domestic battery cases. In 2023, she was charged with attacking a bus driver and got two years of probation. Her mother says she went to court in that case and told the public defender about her worries.

A 2024 case involving two people at a shelter ended with a probation violation. Court records show that a warrant was issued for her arrest in February 2025 after she missed a court hearing. It is unclear whether the warrant was ever carried out.

Prosecutors said Gayden had just left a store on Cottage Grove Avenue after threatening an employee. The employee said Gayden appeared upset and was acting strangely after paying her cellphone bill and learning that her service would not be restored for another 10 minutes.

Eddimar and her 17-year-old sister were walking nearby. Gayden allegedly lunged at the older girl, who ducked. Prosecutors said Gayden then pulled the 7-year-old to the ground and stabbed her.

The Chicago Police Department said the attack happened in the city's Chatham neighborhood. A police report seen by the Chicago Sun-Times said Gayden “approached from the south and, unprovoked, produced a knife and began stabbing the victim.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that officers found Eddimar bleeding on the sidewalk and pressed on her wounds to stop the bleeding. Police escorted the ambulance to the University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 1:01pm local time.

Surveillance cameras captured the attack. The video showed Eddimar holding hands with her older sister shortly before the stabbing.

Bystanders chased Gayden and held her until officers came. According to WGN, one person stopped her by hitting her with jumper cables.

As per reports, one person struck her and knocked her unconscious. A Chicago police officer said at Monday's hearing that she is in hospital with a head injury and could not appear in court.

Officers found two knives in her purse. A third knife, believed to be the one used in the stabbing, was found between the attack site and the place where she was found.

According to ABC7, Gayden's detention hearing on the murder charge is set for Wednesday. She is also due in court the next day for an alleged probation violation. It is not clear if Gayden has entered a plea or hired a lawyer.

Gayden's mother, who asked not to be named, spoke to ABC7 Chicago by phone. She said her daughter had struggled with mental health issues for years.

"I am so sorry. I am so sorry for that family. The little baby didn't deserve it. My daughter was not in her right mind," she said.

She said she watched her daughter's mental health get worse for more than 10 years and tried again and again to get help.

"I'm just so upset, and I just feel like the system let me down, and the system let my daughter down, just because she was grown, and they told me that it wasn't nothing that I could do," she said.

Khushi Arora is a Content Producer at Hindustan Times, where she writes for the US Desk, covering everything happening in the United States, while maintaining quality and delivering impactful stories across all beats. She previously worked at Zee News for over a year where she explored multiple beats including News Desk, Education and Lifestyle. With a background in English Literature, Khushi blends sharp research with thoughtful storytelling, shaping stories that go beyond headlines and bring clarity and credibility to every piece she writes. Beyond the newsroom, she enjoys reading, watching cinema and loves having long conversations about books, films and everything in between.Read More