Fort Eisenhower woman charged with murder in child's death

A U.S. Army spouse at Fort Eisenhower near Augusta is in custody on a federal murder charge.

April Evalyn Short, 30, of Fort Eisenhower – formerly Fort Gordon – is charged by federal complaint with murder, with an aggravating circumstance of the alleged crime occurring during an act of child abuse, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

Short has appeared for an initial hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian K. Epps and has not yet entered a plea. She is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service and is awaiting further proceedings. She is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The criminal complaint alleges that on the morning of Nov. 15, 2023, Short used a knife to cut the neck of an 11-month-old child who later was pronounced dead at Eisenhower Army Medical Center.

The case is being investigated by Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division with assistance from the FBI, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Henry W. Syms Jr. and Patricia G. Rhodes.