Arrest of Mexican national for 2023 murder called ‘long overdue’ justice
[September 04, 2025]
By Catrina Barker | The Center Square contributor
(The Center Square) – Authorities confirmed the arrest of Gabriel
Calixto in Mexico for the 2023 murder of Emma Shafer in Springfield,
Illinois. Surviving victim Katie O’Brien, who was previously attacked by
Calixto, welcomed the news, calling it long-overdue justice after years
of fear.
O’Brien said she first learned about the arrest when another reporter
reached out while she was out shopping.
“I truly was stunned because I thought everyone was done looking for
him,” she said. “It just kind of seemed like something that fell off the
radar.”
Calixto’s conviction of kidnapping O’Brien was vacated in October 2020,
and he was released after pleading to a lesser charge of unlawful
restraint and time served. In 2021, he was arrested on a federal
immigration charge and transferred to Immigration and Customs
Enforcement custody, but records are unclear how he was later released
from Department of Homeland Security detention.
The case has already attracted political attention. Earlier this year,
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem visited Springfield, just blocks from where
Shafer was killed, to criticize Illinois’ immigration policies.
“Just a couple of houses away from here, Emma Shafer was brutally
stabbed and murdered by an illegal immigrant who was released into the
United States by the Biden administration,” Noem said during a
Springfield news conference in May.
O’Brien said she has mixed feelings about Noem’s Springfield visit.
“She did give the case the momentum it needed for him to be found,”
O’Brien said. “But on the flip side, Emma was very for immigration laws
and opening our borders and being accepting of everyone around us. So it
was kind of a slap in the face for Emma’s family for Noem to show up
there, basically on their front porch advertising something they don’t
believe in and that she didn’t believe in.”
[to top of second column]
|
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds up
a wanted post for Gabriel Calixto in Springfield, Illinois on May 7,
2025
BlueRoomStream
The Shafer family did not immediately respond to The Center Square
request for comment.
Looking ahead, O’Brien said she and her mother plan to attend
Calixto’s court proceedings in Springfield, if he is extradited, to
ensure victims and their families are represented in the process
“Since he was never a citizen and lost his [Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals] status after his first crime, we definitely
expected him to be deported after my case,” said O’Brien. “So once
again, why didn’t that happen back then? If you’re not a citizen
here and you commit felonies, you shouldn’t be able to stay.”
While relieved, O’Brien said the arrest should have happened much
sooner.
“I can see how it’s a lot harder once it becomes an international
case, but I’m just really glad they were still looking for him even
though they were keeping it on the down low,” said O’Brien.
Her relief comes with lingering frustration over how her own case
was handled. Calixto was previously convicted of kidnapping O’Brien
but served only two years after his sentence was reduced. She said
no one notified her when his conviction was vacated.
“I feel like the justice system kind of let me down,” O’Brien said.
“They didn’t pay for my victim therapy afterwards, and no one called
to tell us he was out in the first place.”
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
