Gilberta Estrada

Case record: Gilberta Estrada

Overview

Gilberta Estrada was identified as the 25-year-old woman who hanged three of her small daughters and herself in a closet of the family's mobile home in Hudson Oaks, Texas. Authorities suspected a murder-suicide because the mobile home's doors were locked from the inside and a relative said Estrada had been depressed. An 8-month-old daughter, Evelyn Frayre, was found dangling in the closet of the family's mobile home, was rescued by the woman's sister, and was reported to be in good condition at a hospital.

Timeline

• Monday evening — Estrada and her girls were last seen alive, when she was seen playing with the infant outside the trailer.
• After Monday evening and before Tuesday 6:30 a.m. — Authorities suspected the deaths occurred shortly before the aunt discovered the children.
• Around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday — Estrada’s sister forced her way into the locked residence after an employee at a Wendy’s fast food restaurant called to report that Estrada had not shown up; she found the bodies and rescued the baby.
• Tuesday — Park County Sheriff Larry Fowler said autopsies were to be performed and the deaths were being considered a murder-suicide due to locked doors and reported depression; authorities said there were no signs of struggling inside and no evidence of drugs or alcohol at the mobile home.
• Tuesday afternoon — In steady rain, residents saw the area around the brown and white trailer with a pile of plastic toys visible.
• Wednesday — The infant was released from a hospital to the custody of Child Protective Services, with plans for temporary placement with a foster family.

The offence

Authorities said Estrada used pieces of clothing and sashes to hang the victims. They reported that she appeared to have hanged herself by tying cloth around her neck and a wood clothes bar, leaning into the noose and buckling her knees. Investigators said the children were arrayed next to her and were hanged with items such as strips of clothing and sashes. Fowler said there were no stools or chairs under the bodies hanging in a 10-foot-wide closet in the middle of the trailer.

Investigators said they were eager to learn whether the children were drugged or otherwise sedated. Fowler said there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol at the mobile home. The sheriff said the hangings appeared to be a murder-suicide because the mobile home's doors were locked from the inside and a relative said the woman had been depressed. He also said there were no marks on the victims other than those made by the clothing or cloth strips used to hang them and there were no signs of struggling inside the mobile home.

Victims

Estrada was found dead along with three daughters. The dead children were identified as Maria Teresa Estrada, Janet Frayre, and Magaly Frayre. Authorities reported the children were apparently ages 5, 3, and 2, and another account described Magaly Frayre as 21 months and Maria Teresa Estrada as 5.

An 8-month-old daughter, Evelyn Frayre, was rescued from the closet. Fowler said Evelyn Frayre was in good condition at a hospital.

Investigation

Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler led the investigation and described the scene and circumstances. He said the sister discovered that the baby was alive when the child made a noise, and the sister then called 911. Investigators talked to Estrada's estranged common-law husband, Gregorio Rodriguez, who was brought to the scene.

Fowler said the deaths were considered a murder-suicide because the trailer’s doors were locked from the inside and because a relative said Estrada had been depressed. Investigators said they had found no evidence of drugs or alcohol at the mobile home and no evidence of drugs in relation to the children’s deaths. Fowler said they did not immediately identify the other children but later identified them through Filly Echeverria, who said she was the children’s godmother.

Fowler described the closet and hanging arrangement. He said there were no stools or chairs under the bodies hanging in a 10-foot-wide closet in the middle of the trailer. He also said there were no marks other than those made by the clothing or cloth strips used to hang them.

Fowler said they were considering autopsies and that authorities were considering the deaths murder-suicide. He also stated that authorities suspected the deaths occurred shortly before the aunt discovered the children because the baby was still alive and had a sweater sleeve wrapped around her neck.

Autopsies were to be performed that day. The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office ruled Estrada’s death a suicide and ruled the deaths of Maria Teresa Estrada, Yaneth “Janet” Frayre, and Magaly Frayre as homicides.

The medical examiner’s office said there was no suicide note and that although there were indications of depression, there was no documented history of suicide attempts and no evidence of antidepressants in the home.

Arrest

No arrest was described.

Trial

No trial was described.

Sentencing

No sentencing was described.

Appeals

No appeals were described.

Outcome

Gilberta Estrada was found dead after hanging herself in a closet in Hudson Oaks, Texas. The medical examiner’s office ruled her death a suicide. The deaths of her daughters Maria Teresa Estrada (5), Yaneth “Janet” Frayre (3), and Magaly Frayre (21 months) were ruled homicides by the Tarrant County medical examiner’s office. An 8-month-old daughter, Evelyn Frayre, survived and was treated at a hospital and later released to the custody of Child Protective Services for temporary placement with a foster family.

Aftermath

Medical care and condition of the survivor

Officials said Evelyn Frayre was in good condition at a Fort Worth hospital. Dr. Kimberly Aaron, medical director of emergency services at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, called the infant a “miracle.” She attributed the baby’s survival to the fact that she weighed only 20 pounds and that her neck was protected by fatty tissue that kept it from breaking while she was suspended in the closet. The doctor said the baby had no brain damage and that no long-term problems were expected. The doctor also said the infant had a “very happy, playful disposition.”

The infant was released from a hospital Wednesday to the custody of Child Protective Services, which would temporarily place her with a foster family.

Statements

Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said:

“My mind can’t get around how this could have happened,” Fowler said. “It’s horrendous is all I can say.”

Fowler also said:

“It’s horrendous. That’s all I can say,” Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said.

Neighbor Joyce Harris said:

“I just got a big kick out of watching the kids play over there on her porch, and today it’s sad, very sad,” she said.

Neighbor Joyce Harris also recalled:

Relationships and protective order

Authorities said Estrada had won a temporary restraining order in August against Gregorio Frayre Rodriguez, who was believed to be the father of the infant and some of the other children, after he reportedly attacked Estrada. The sheriff said the couple had stopped living together in February. The sheriff said the protective order involved a judge making a finding that Estrada had been a victim of domestic violence.

The infant’s father, Gregorio Frayre Rodriguez, went to the hospital but was not allowed to see the baby because of the protective court order.

Estrada had been described as depressed by a relative. Authorities reported there was no evidence that Frayre had abused the girls. A SafeHaven case worker and an attorney for Estrada later provided additional context about Estrada’s circumstances and history.

Estrada’s earlier life context and shelter involvement

An Associated Press account described Estrada as leaving a common-law husband she described as abusive and seeking a better life for herself and her young daughters after arriving from Tamaulipas, Mexico. The account said she moved into a women’s shelter while pregnant with her fourth daughter, learned to ride the bus to her doctor appointments, got a work permit, and began a job at a fast-food restaurant. It also said that a few weeks after Evelyn was born, she moved into her own mobile home.

SafeHaven of Tarrant County case worker Evelyn Haro described Estrada’s planning and determination. Haro said:

“I remember her telling me, 'I am worth something. I am doing this for me, and I am doing this for my girls,'” said Evelyn Haro, a case worker at SafeHaven of Tarrant County. “She said, 'I'm going to be OK.' Her self-esteem was building up.”

Haro also described Estrada’s expectations after leaving the shelter and said:

“Obviously, every client that comes into the shelter is going to have a difficult time, and at times she was sad, but she was so eager to do better for her daughters,” Haro said. “There was nothing to raise a red flag to me. She would always have a smile, and she loved, loved, loved those little girls.”

Haro said Estrada had been planning the baby’s baptism and seemed to have turned her life around, adding:

“I'm in shock because that was the last person I would expect something like that to happen to,” Haro said. “She was my success story. I told her, 'I'm so proud of you.'”

Allegations of abuse described in court documents

Gilberta Estrada claimed Frayre had been abusive since they began living together in 2003. The account said court documents described him at times pulling her hair, slapping her, trying to strangle her, and once forcing her to have sex. It also described an incident in June in which he raised his hand to the oldest child, 5-year-old Maria, when the girls were fighting over a toy, and then kicked Estrada and pulled the phone out of her hand when Estrada tried calling 911.

The account said Estrada told investigators in court documents that Frayre was the father of 3-year-old Yaneth “Janet” Frayre and 21-month-old Magaly Frayre. It further said that Estrada left Frayre and took her children to a shelter in Weatherford about a week after the June incident.

It also said Estrada described staying in the abusive relationship because she was too afraid to call police, fearing she might be deported due to entering the country illegally.

Custody case details and payments

A SafeHaven attorney, Donna Guion, represented Estrada in the child custody case and said Frayre had not paid the $300 monthly child support since December. Guion said Estrada was not depressed by those things.

The account said Estrada left the shelter a few weeks after giving birth to Evelyn in September, planning to live in a trailer across the street from her sister in Hudson Oaks.

The account also said that just two weeks before the deaths, Estrada called Haro to ask whether she had received some pictures of the children. Haro said Estrada asked about the baptism and was told she would be invited.

Descriptions from neighbors

Olga Martinez, 20, said Estrada struggled to get by and sometimes went without electricity. Martinez said neighbors knew she was depressed, but she did not show it Monday afternoon when the women exchanged hellos as Estrada played with her children. Martinez said:

“One day a family is here and the next day they're gone,” Martinez said. “It's hard to say how bad I feel.”

Other details

Location and property setting

The incident occurred in Hudson Oaks, Texas, in the Oak Hills mobile home park, about 25 miles west of Fort Worth. The park was described as a collection of rusty, weathered trailers arrayed along a rutted road on the edge of busy Interstate 20. The sheriff described the trailer as dilapidated, with paint peeling off the sides. Cactuses and a rose bush decorated the front, and toys and a bicycle littered the backyard.

Prior similar cases in Texas

The account included mention of other child killings by mothers in Texas: Dee Etta Perez, 39, shot her three children ages 4, 9, and 10 before killing herself; Andrea Yates drowned her five children in 2001; Deanna Laney beat her two young sons with stones in East Texas; Lisa Ann Diaz drowned her daughters in a Plano bathtub; and Dena Schlosser fatally severed her 10-month-old daughter’s arms with a kitchen knife in 2004. The four women were found innocent by reason of insanity. It also said Yates initially was convicted of capital murder but the verdict was overturned on appeal.