A U.S. Army wife stationed at Fort Eisenhower in Georgia has pleaded guilty to the murder of her infant son. April Evalyn Short, 31, admitted to the crime, which took place in November 2023. The tragic incident involved the death of her 11-month-old baby, who was found stabbed and wrapped in a shower curtain.
Short’s plea agreement includes a 20-year prison sentence, along with significant financial penalties and five years of supervised release after her time in prison. Since this is a federal case, there is no possibility of parole.
On the morning of November 15, 2023, Short sent her husband, a staff sergeant in the Army, a series of troubling text messages filled with biblical references. Concerned, he returned home to find their baby bleeding from the neck in the bathtub. The child was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center.
An autopsy revealed that the infant had multiple stab wounds, inflicted with two different knives, one of which was serrated. Short later told authorities that the first knife was too dull, leading her to use a second one. At the time of the incident, the couple’s other children, aged 11 and 6, were in a nearby bedroom but were warned by Short not to enter the bathroom.
Col. Dori Mitchell Franco, a U.S. Army doctor, confirmed the details of the autopsy. The FBI has stated that Short will now have two decades to reflect on her actions. The case has shocked the community, and U.S. Attorney Tara M. Lyons described it as a tragic and disturbing homicide.
Short remains in custody and will be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall after a pre-sentence investigation. The plea agreement, while not bringing back the lost child, offers some measure of justice for those who loved the baby during his brief life.