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Man Arrested in Mexico in Connection with 2023 Murder of Emma Shafer

By Mike Wennmacher Aug 28, 2025 | 6:27 PM

A man wanted for the stabbing death of Springfield community organizer Emma Shafer in 2023 has been arrested in Mexico.

Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser, Springfield Police and the U.S. Marshals Service announced on Thursday evening that 27-year-old Gabriel Calixto had been taken into custody.

No details of his arrest were provided.

Police found 24-year-old Shafer dead in her apartment in the 1000 block of South Eighth Street on July 11, 2023. Calixto was Shafer’s former boyfriend.

A U.S. Marshals Service wanted poster said he fled the area before police found Shafer, and authorities acknowledged at the time that he may have fled the country. Calixto is a Mexican national.

A Sangamon County grand jury indicted Calixto on three counts of first-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery about two weeks after Shafer’s death. The state’s attorney’s office said they will coordinate Calixto’s extradition with federal authorities.

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