Fort Eisenhower, Ga., is the Army’s home of its Cyber Center of Excellence. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

A Fort Eisenhower soldier’s wife pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to second-degree murder for killing the couple’s infant son in a bathroom of their home at the Georgia Army base.

As part of a negotiated plea deal, April Evalyn Short, 31, agreed to a sentence of 20 years in prison, along with substantial financial penalties and five years of supervised release following her prison term, said Tara M. Lyons, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

“The plea agreement in this disturbing case represents a difficult but appropriate resolution to this tragic and shocking homicide,” she said in a statement.

Short admitted in the agreement that she used a knife on Nov. 15, 2023, to kill her 11-month-old son “willfully, deliberately, maliciously and with malice aforethought.”

April Evalyn Short, 31, pleaded guilty March 25, 2025, to second-degree murder in the death of her 11-month-old son on Nov. 15, 2023, at Fort Eisenhower, Ga. (Photo provided by Jefferson County Jail )

Short remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service, and Judge J. Randal Hall will schedule a sentencing hearing upon completion of a presentence investigation by Probation Services, according to the Justice Department.

An attorney for Short did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At the time of killing, Short lived in a home at Fort Eisenhower, near Augusta, where Short’s husband Staff Sgt. James Short worked as a drill sergeant, according to base officials.

April Short sent a text message to her husband at about 8:01 a.m. on Nov. 15, 2023, that referenced “the days of darkness are upon us,” court records stated. He rushed home and found her barricaded in the primary bedroom with the couple’s three children. The two elder children were 11 and 6 years old at the time.

James Short called 911 and soon after police arrived April Short exited the room with the two older children and attempted to flee in a vehicle. One police officer attempted to stop her and was partially in the vehicle as the woman began driving away with her children in the backseat. The officer drew his weapon, and she stopped driving.

Police arrested April Short and began to look for the infant. He was found in the bathroom bleeding from his neck and wrapped in a shower curtain. He was taken to Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center and pronounced dead at 9:34 a.m.

The other two children told police that their mother cut the baby’s neck so he could “be with Jesus and God.” She also threatened to cut the 6-year-old if the child didn’t stop crying, according to court documents.

April Short told investigators that she knew what she did, and it was “wrong” and “evil.”

Short initially pleaded not guilty and her attorney filed notice in July of intent to use a defense of insanity at the time of the child’s death. Court records filed this month indicated the woman’s intention to change her plea.

“April Short will now have 20 years to think about her heinous actions,” Paul Brown, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said in a statement. “This plea cannot undo that tragedy and loss but brings another measure of justice to those who knew and loved the child during his short life.”