Mother, 3 Daughters Found Hanged

May 29, 09:10 PM

Current Headlines: FORT WORTH, Texas _ A 25-year-old mother apparently gathered her four young daughters in a makeshift bedroom closet, tied clothing around their necks and hung them all in row early Tuesday before hanging herself beside them, Parker County authorities said Tuesday.

The mother and three of the girls, ages 5, 3 and 1, were found dead. The fourth girl, 8 months old, was spared death when her aunt came upon the scene and freed her from the sweater that was choking her.

The child, Evelyn Frayre, was in good condition at Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, said Winifred King, a hospital spokeswoman.

"By virtue of the fact that the 8-month-old was alive, I think this all occurred shortly before they were found," Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said.

Law enforcement officials identified the mother as Gilberta Estrada.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has learned that the children who died were Maria Estrada, 5, Yaneth "Janet" Frayre, 3, and Magaly Frayre, 1.

There was no suicide note, Fowler said, but investigators said it appears that Estrada hung the children before taking her own life.

"We may never know (why), but we'll do our best to try to establish her state of mind," Fowler said.

Officials and family members declined to discuss what might have motivated Estrada to kill her children.

She and her husband, Gregario Rodriguez, are separated. A restraining order against Rodriguez, the father of some of the children, has been in place since August 2006. Fowler said investigators talked to him Tuesday.

Estrada's sister found the bodies about 6:25 a.m. at the Oak Hill Mobile Home Park, Fowler said.

An employee at a Wendy's restaurant where the mother worked called the woman's sister and said she did not show up for work Tuesday morning, Fowler said. The sister, who lives at the same mobile home park, went to check on her, Fowler said.

"She heard the baby crying or gurgling, struggling, and that's what caught her attention," Fowler said.

The sound, he said, was coming from a large closet in the mobile home that had a sheet or bedspread covering it.

"She looked in there, saw what happened and took the baby down."

The sister summoned help, Fowler said.

Filly Echeverria, who identified herself as the children's godmother, said their mother was a strong woman who worked hard to support her family.

Echeverria said Estrada's sister had called her early Tuesday morning and she was very distraught over something.

A steady rain covered the area, as grieving friends and family, some weeping, came to the scene and were ushered away from reporters by sheriff's deputies.

Because the 5-year-old's pre-kindergarten classmates at Coder Elementary were so young, school officials did not inform the children of the girl's death but notified parents so that they could tell their children about the tragedy, said Aledo ISD Superintendent Don Daniel.

However, district counselors will be on hand Wednesday to help children in the girl's class as well as other neighborhood children who may have known the girl or her family, he said.

"Most of the parents we notified were aware because they live in a close-knit neighborhood," Daniel said. "We felt it was best that the parents notify the children."

Daniel said Coder Elementary Principal Jason Beaty held a staff meeting Tuesday to prepare the staff to help their children cope with the tragedy.

"They were all in shock this morning," he said. "I don't know whether they're emotionally ready to discuss it yet. Mr. Beaty was quite distraught this morning as was the whole staff."

Beaty said the child's teacher also was grieving.

"My teacher put her heart and soul into helping our students and sharing her triumphs," he said. "All of our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Something like this is hard to fathom."

The scene also attracted other bystanders, including employees of Mary Martin Elementary School in Weatherford.

One first-grade teacher noted that Hudson Oaks suffered a similar tragedy in July 2002 when Dee Etta Perez, 39, fatally shot two sons ages 10 and 9 and a 4-year-old daughter before taking her own life. She also severely wounded her husband, Manuel "Manny" Perez, who is a captain in the Fort Worth Fire Department.

The teacher, who declined to give her name, said she taught the Perez children.

"I hate summer," she said. "There's always so many children that have such family problems. These parents can't cope in the summer."

Brett Ross, 22, said he lives a few doors down from the mother and her daughters, but he didn't really know them.

"I don't really know what to think right now because I don't know exactly what happened," he said. "But, anything like this that happens, when there is a woman and kids involved, it's obviously disturbing. "It's quite upsetting."

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(McClatchy Newspapers correspondents Bill Miller, Martha Deller, Elizabeth Campbell and Gale Bradford contributed to this report.)

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