Woman, Girls Found Hanged in Closet: Baby of Struggling Single Parent Lives

May 30, 02:14 AM

Current Headlines: By Jeff Mosier, Stella M. Chavez and Debra Dennis, The Dallas Morning News

May 30--HUDSON OAKS -- Gilberta Estrada struggled as a single mother, confiding to friends about child custody concerns and money troubles as she tried to raise her four young daughters on wages from Wendy's.

Family and friends said the 25-year-old immigrant from Tamaulipas, Mexico, received no child support, had no medical insurance and had been denied Medicaid benefits more than once. And court records say she may have been a victim of domestic violence.

But family and investigators are still at a loss to explain what led Ms. Estrada to loop strips of clothing and scarves around her daughters' necks and then around the clothes rod of a cramped closet near dawn Tuesday in the Parker County town of Hudson Oaks. The single mother was found hanged next to the girls, ages 5, 3, 2 and 8 months.

Only the baby survived.

Ms. Estrada confided in a friend about her problems. Three weeks ago, they discussed Ms. Estrada's depression.

"I would study the Bible with her as a way to console her," said Maria Argelia Martinez, who cleaned houses with Ms. Estrada before she took a job at the fast-food restaurant. "I would tell her there is always hope."

But Ms. Martinez also said: "I don't know how much pressure she was under."

Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler said he couldn't speculate on the motive for the probable triple murder-suicide. Ms. Estrada left no note. The sheriff said there were no signs of a struggle and no trauma other than the hangings. The autopsies are scheduled for today.

"My mind cannot get around how something like this could happen," Sheriff Fowler said.

The dead girls were identified as Maria Estrada, 5, Yaneth Frayre, 3, and Magaly Frayre, 2.

Early Tuesday, Alejandra Estrada became alarmed when she got a call that her sister didn't show up for work. She crossed the potholed road to her sister's home in the Oak Hill Mobile Home Park just off Interstate 20. Ms. Estrada banged on the door and peered through a window. The trailer had no lock but was secured from the inside with a piece of cloth tied to the doorknob.

Ms. Estrada's sister worked the improvised lock loose and went to the middle bedroom. There, she saw her sister's feet below a sheet that served as a door for the makeshift closet and heard gurgling sounds from the baby, who was still alive.

Clothes placed on bed

Ms. Estrada and her four daughters were all hanging in a row from lumber that was used as a clothes rod. Eight-month-old Evelyn Frayre was hanging by the neck with a sweater sleeve, Sheriff Fowler said.

He said the some of the clothes from the closet had been removed and placed on the bed.

"I would assume that was in preparation for this act," Sheriff Fowler said.

Alejandra Estrada pulled Evelyn down and called 911. She can be heard on the 911 recordings wailing, at times unintelligible, in Spanish. Her daughter then took the phone to speak with emergency officials.

"Tell her to hurry because the baby girl is dying from being hanged ... tell her to hurry," Ms. Estrada can be heard saying in the background.

The girl tells the dispatcher: "My mom, her sister, she wants you to come because the children are sick really bad."

Ms. Estrada called back two more times asking for the ambulance.

"I need help," she moaned. "C'mon please ... the baby."

Evelyn was hospitalized in good condition, and hospital officials said she would be held overnight for observation. Child Protective Services will decide where the baby should be placed.

Ms. Estrada wants custody of her niece. But the courts will also have to consider Evelyn's father, Gregorio Rodriguez. He could not be reached for comment.

Gilberta Estrada filed a custody and child support case against Mr. Rodriguez in Tarrant County court in September. Ms. Estrada was awarded custody of the three younger children she had with him.

Mr. Rodriguez received supervised visitation because of "credible evidence" that he has a history of neglecting the children.

Ms. Estrada was also awarded $300 monthly child support. According to court records, Ms. Estrada was earning $900 a month.

At the time, Ms. Estrada listed her address at the Women's Haven shelter in Fort Worth, which allowed her to file the case in a Tarrant County court.

Last August, she received a protective order against Mr. Rodriguez, also referred to in court records as Gregorio Frayre.

Ms. Estrada said in court records that since 2004, Mr. Rodriguez threatened to kill her with a knife, slapped her, attempted to strangle her and forced her to have sex with him. The court records also said Ms. Estrada intervened in June 2006 when Mr. Rodriguez raised his hand "as if to strike" the oldest girl, who was fighting over a toy.

In that case, Ms. Estrada said Mr. Rodriguez grabbed her by the arm and kicked her in the back, according to county records. She said she tried to call 911, but Mr. Rodriguez pulled the telephone cord out of the wall.

Ms. Estrada said in the court document that Mr. Rodriguez left before police arrived and that shortly afterward, she applied for the protective order. She is also referred to in court documents as Gilberta Estrada Vega.

Investigators interviewed Mr. Rodriguez on Tuesday, but Sheriff Fowler didn't release any details.

In January, the state attorney general's office filed a petition to determine paternity. The petition, which named Mr. Rodriguez, was dismissed April 20, court officials said.

Mr. Rodriguez, 38, of Weatherford is scheduled to appear in court next month on an assault with bodily injury charge and interfering with an emergency call that took place June 5, according to court records.

He was arrested in October on suspicion of driving with an invalid license. He has a driving under the influence conviction from 2003.

Oak Hill Drive, Hudson Oaks

Despite her rocky relationship with Mr. Rodriguez, Gilberta Estrada was trying to pull her life together. Living across the street from her older sister in the mobile home park seemed to help. They both worked at the nearby Wendy's -- Gilberta Estrada had the day shift, Alejandra Estrada worked nights.

Learning to drive

The sisters baby-sat for each other and shared everything from neighborhood gossip to food, friends said. Alejandra Estrada was even teaching her younger sister how to drive.

"She was a very good person," Alejandra Estrada said. "I don't know what could have happened."

Filly Echeverria, the children's godmother, said her longtime friend wasn't a monster. She said she always considered Ms. Estrada an optimist. The family had recently purchased dresses for a baptism for all four girls.

"We are very sad about what happened today," Ms. Echeverria said during a news conference. "We lost a wonderful mother, three wonderful children, three beautiful girls."

Don Daniel, superintendent for the Aledo Independent School District, said one of the girls was a pre-kindergarten student at Coder Elementary School.

"Everyone is just in shock and very distraught," Mr. Daniel said.

Aledo schools are in session, and the district is arranging for counselors to meet with the students who are also enrolled in pre-kindergarten as well as those who rode the bus with the girl, he said.

Becky Villa, a neighbor in the Oak Hill Mobile Home Park, said Ms. Estrada appeared to be a good mother. Her only worry was that the family often didn't have electricity.

"We used to say that maybe we should call someone to help," Ms. Villa said. "She wasn't from here, so she probably didn't know there were resources available."

Richard Lamb said his neighbor seemed no different than any of the other mothers in the mobile homes. Many of them could be found pushing strollers around the park in the evenings.

"Sometimes they would do as many as 10 laps," Mr. Lamb said.

No one thought Ms. Estrada seemed capable of this kind of violence, he said.

"This is just a slap in the face," Mr. Lamb said.

Staff writer Laurie Fox contributed to this report. MOTHERS WHO HAVE SLAIN THEIR CHILDREN

Gilberta Estrada is believed to be the latest mother to kill her children. Here are some recent Texas cases:

Lisa Ann Diaz of Plano was found not guilty by reason of insanity after drowning her two daughters, Briana, 5, and Kamryn, 3, in a bathtub in September 2003.

Kira Dodson of Dallas was sentenced to life in prison for suffocating her 18-month-old daughter, Kay Lynn, with a pillow in April 2005.

Deanna Laney was found not guilty by reason of insanity after stoning two of her sons, Joshua, 8, and Luke, 6, to death and maiming a third, 2-year-old Aaron, at their home near Tyler in May 2003.

Valeria Maxon of Mansfield was found incompetent to stand trial in the drowning death of her 1-year-old son, Alexander, in their backyard hot tub in June 2006.

Dee Etta Perez of Hudson Oaks drugged and then shot and killed her three children, Sergio, 10, Diego, 9, and Bianca, 4, before turning the gun on herself in July 2002.

Norma Jean Roberts of Keller was sentenced to 80 years in prison for suffocating her 11-year-old daughter, Kelsey, in August 2005.

Dena Schlosser of Plano was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of her 10-month-old daughter, Maggie, whose arms were severed in November 2004.

Andrea Yates of Houston was found not guilty by reason of insanity in a 2006 retrial after drowning her five children -- 6-month- old Mary, 2-year-old Luke, 3-year-old Paul, 5-year-old John and 7-year-old Noah -- in June 2001.

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