A Saturday morning walk in Chicago’s Chatham neighborhood has become the center of an ongoing criminal investigation after 7-year-old Eddimar Paola Hernandez Chacon was fatally injured in an apparent street attack.
The child was walking along South Cottage Grove Avenue with her older sister shortly before noon on October 3 when police say a woman approached them carrying a sharp object.
According to prosecutors, the encounter happened near the 8600 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue. Eddimar and her older sister were walking together when the woman allegedly moved toward them and attacked the younger girl.
Witnesses quickly rushed toward the scene.
Several people then chased the woman and restrained her until police arrived. The suspect was taken into custody and later transported to a hospital for injuries that authorities described as non-life-threatening.
Eddimar was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.
Her family has since identified her as Eddimar Paola Hernandez Chacon, although relatives have also referred to her as Edi Mari Hernandez. She was 7 years old.
For her family, the focus has now shifted from trying to understand what happened on the sidewalk to remembering the little girl they knew.
Her mother, Estefany Hernandez, has publicly called for justice and said her daughter had done nothing to provoke the encounter.
At a community vigil held near the location of the incident, relatives and neighbors gathered to remember Eddimar and support her family.
Investigators now have a clearer timeline
The case has developed significantly since police first responded Saturday morning.
Initially, authorities said little was known about what prompted the attack or whether the woman and child had any prior connection.
That picture became clearer during court proceedings Monday.
Prosecutors identified the suspect as 48-year-old Shavon Gayden, a Chicago resident who is now facing one count of first-degree murder.
According to prosecutors, Gayden had been inside a nearby business shortly before the incident and was allegedly involved in a confrontation with an employee.
She then left the business and encountered Eddimar and her older sister on the sidewalk.
Prosecutors allege that Gayden pulled a knife from a bag and moved toward the two girls.
The older sister was able to get out of the way, while prosecutors say Gayden grabbed Eddimar, brought her to the ground and repeatedly attacked her.
The precise motive has not been publicly established.
Authorities have not said that Gayden and Eddimar knew one another, and investigators have not announced a confirmed reason for the confrontation.
Bystanders stepped in
One of the most notable parts of the investigation has been the response from people nearby.
Witnesses reportedly ran after Gayden as she attempted to leave the area.
They restrained her until police arrived.
According to prosecutors, Gayden suffered a head injury during the confrontation with bystanders and was subsequently taken to a hospital.
That injury is now affecting the timing of the court proceedings.
Gayden was initially expected to appear in court Monday for a detention hearing, but she remained hospitalized and did not appear.
Her hearing has now been rescheduled for Wednesday, October 7.
She remains in police custody.
Investigators are also examining evidence from the scene
Authorities have been reviewing surveillance footage and physical evidence as they reconstruct the sequence of events.
Security footage from nearby businesses reportedly captured portions of what happened before and after the attack.
Prosecutors also said investigators recovered multiple knives during their examination of the area and Gayden’s belongings, although the exact evidentiary significance of each item will be determined through the legal process.
The investigation is therefore moving beyond the initial arrest.
Detectives and prosecutors will now have to establish the sequence of events, the evidence connecting Gayden to the attack and what, if anything, led to the confrontation.
Gayden’s previous legal history is also being examined
Court records reviewed by local media show that Gayden has had previous encounters with the criminal justice system.
In one earlier case, she pleaded guilty to aggravated battery involving a CTA bus driver and received probation.
Records also show another battery-related case that resulted in additional court proceedings.
There was also an outstanding warrant connected to a missed court appearance, according to reporting based on court records.
Those previous cases are now receiving renewed attention following the charges involving Eddimar.
However, they remain separate legal matters and do not by themselves establish what happened in the current case.
The first-degree murder charge against Gayden is an allegation, and she remains entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty in court.
Eddimar’s family wants her remembered
As the investigation continues, Eddimar’s family has been trying to keep the focus on the child herself.
Relatives described her as a happy little girl with dreams for the future.
Her uncle, Richard Hernandez Chacon, created a fundraiser to help the family with funeral expenses and described the loss as leaving an enormous void for everyone who loved her.
At the neighborhood vigil, family members and community residents gathered with balloons and other tributes.
The scene that had been surrounded by police tape only a day earlier became a place where people came to remember a child whose life had been centered around family.
Her mother has continued asking for justice while also emphasizing that Eddimar was simply walking with her sister that morning.
What happens next?
The immediate next step is Gayden’s detention hearing, now scheduled for October 7.
Because she was hospitalized after the incident, the court could not proceed with the initial hearing as planned.
Prosecutors are expected to present additional information supporting their request that Gayden remain in custody while the case moves forward.
Beyond that hearing, investigators still have several questions to resolve.
What exactly happened immediately before Gayden approached the sisters?
Was the confrontation connected in any way to the earlier incident at the nearby business?
What evidence will ultimately connect the suspect to the attack?
And will investigators uncover a motive?
Those questions remain open.
For now, what is known is that Eddimar was walking with her older sister on a Chicago sidewalk on a Saturday morning when an encounter with a woman suddenly changed the course of the family’s life.
A suspect is now facing a first-degree murder charge, witnesses have provided information, surveillance footage is being reviewed, and the case is moving toward its first major court proceedings.
For Eddimar’s family, however, the legal process is only one part of the story.
They want their daughter and sister remembered not simply for the circumstances surrounding her final moments, but as a joyful 7-year-old with a family who loved her and a future that should have been much longer.
The investigation remains ongoing, and the allegations against Shavon Gayden have not yet been tested at trial.