Suspect in Fort Eisenhower baby killing to use insanity defense

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – A mother accused of murdering her 11-month-old baby is planning to use an insanity defense in court.

30-year-old April Evalyn Short, of Fort Eisenhower, was indicted on charges of Premeditated Murder and Felony Murder.

In court documents, the defense plans to call expert Macy Wilson, Psy.D., a Forensic Psychologist for the Department of Justice working through the Federal Bureau of Prisons, according to the Chicago School of Professional Psychology, where she graduated.

Short previously entered a not guilty plea on May 6 in federal court.

According to the Department of Justice, on the morning of November 15, 2023, Short used a knife to cut the neck of her 11-month-old baby.

According to investigators, the 11-month-old was pronounced dead at Eisenhower Army Medical Center later that day.

Authorities state that Short was charged with murder with an aggravated circumstance, and the Department of Justice alleged that she committed the crime during an act of child abuse.

Warning – the details below may be disturbing for some readers.

According to the criminal complaint, Short’s husband received a text message from her just after 8 a.m. The message referenced “God” and that “the days of darkness” were upon them. He left his place of duty and returned to their home, finding his wife barricaded inside the master bedroom with their 3 children.

When Military Police and Civilian Police responded to the scene, they were able to talk Short out of the bedroom. She reportedly attempted to flee the scene in a vehicle with 2 of the children. According to the complaint, her husband went back into the home looking for the missing third child, whom he found bleeding in the master bathroom, wrapped in a shower curtain.

During the interview, one of the children reportedly told investigators that Short had cut the child so he could “be with Jesus and God.” Short reportedly told investigators she knew what she had done was “wrong” and “evil.”