WAND News investigates man wanted in Springfield murder

UPDATE (8/4/23):

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."

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(WAND) — A Bethalto man is still on the run after being accused of brutally stabbing a Springfield woman to death in July. Police believe Gabriel Calixto Pichardo stabbed Emma Shafer to death in her Springfield home, before fleeing.

Now he's wanted on three charges of first degree murder and one count of aggravated domestic battery. Springfield Police and U.S. Marshals Service are searching for him. But WAND News has learned Calixto has a history of dating violence. In 2018 he pleaded guilty to kidnapping Kathryn O'Brien.

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"I was opening my car door, ready to go home, and it was dark, and he said 'Katie I want to talk.' And I was like, 'I don't want to talk I've said everything there is to say'. And then he had a gun and said, 'I want to talk'," O'Brien told WAND News.

She said she had just broken up with Calixto, her high school boyfriend, a few weeks before he forced her into his car.

"Can I outrun a gun? Can I scream loud enough that someone is going to get here before that?" O'Brien recalled wondering that night. Her mind was racing as Calixto drove her to a nearby motel.

"In the motel, that night he really had two personalities. One that was like 'I'm just so in love with you, and I don't know what to do because we're already here. Now we're so far in and I don't know how to back out of this.' The other one was very cold, hard, flat, ready to hurt," O'Brien explained.

She said Calixto threatened to rape her. Police records show he also had a knife and rope with him.

"I just had to stay on the one side, his bad personality, just stay quiet and do what he says. And then hope when he switches to the other one I can convince him that I love him still, and I want to go back home and we can work this out. So that's how I got him to bring me back home," O'Brien said.

Gabriel Calixto mugshot — A mugshot from when Calixto was in custody in Taylorville.

Once home, O'Brien called police and officers arrested Calixto the next day.

But the nightmare actually hadn't started there. Days earlier, she said Calixto had started stalking her.

"He had been following me, showing up at my place of work and showing up at places," O'Brien explained.

Then he tracked her down to her grandmother's house, where she was cat sitting. He knocked on the door and confronted her.

"He ended up holding a knife to my throat, and I started hyperventilating, that was the first time I've ever had a panic attack," O'Brien told WAND News.

She said he eventually let her leave. When she got home, her parents helped her file a restraining order against him.

"It's very scary to think that day at my grandma's house, could have been the same as with Emma," O'Brien said.

Days later when the kidnapping accident happened, prosecutors charged Calixto with violating the order of protection that O'Brien had received after the knife incident. They also charged him with aggravated kidnapping and unlawful restraint.

He pleaded guilty to kidnapping and a judge sentenced him to six years in prison. Two years later his plea was thrown out and he instead pleaded guilty to unlawful restraint. He was again sentenced to six years behind bars, but was let out early. This all happened in Madison County, while Calixto and O'Brien were attending Southern Illinois University Edwardsville together.

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.

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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.

"It's very scary knowing that he's smart, if he wants to know where I live, he's going to know where I live, he's going to know what I drive. I work at some of the same places I've worked at before. So for me it's very scary," O'Brien explained.

O'Brien said she's been always looking over her shoulder since Calixto's release in 2021. A few weeks ago, she heard he was charged with killing Emma Shafer.

"I think it's hard to not to blame myself, a lot of survivor's guilt. Just because when the kidnapping thing happened, there wasn't even a newspaper article about it or anything. So if you looked him up, you wouldn't know," O'Brien said.

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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.

O'Brien said she is encouraging others to believe victims who speak out about domestic violence.

"I think that hurt me worse than when men didn't believe me, because it's like—you've never experienced anything like this? *crying* you can't see where I'm coming from?" O'Brien said.

If you, or someone you know, needs immediate help, Dove Inc. offers a 24-7 hotline. Staff can offer emergency shelter, help make a safety plan or simply talk with a survivor and discuss their options. Advocates said if you suspect a loved one is experiencing abuse, speak up.

"Reach out to them and ask, 'is everything ok?' If they're trying to cover something up or they're hesitant about answering the question, just keep checking in on that person, don't just give up on them," Deanna Burton, a Legal Advocate with Dove Inc., told WAND News.

You can call 217-423-2238 24-7. You can also submit anonymous questions to the Dove website or Facebook page.