CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A Fort Campbell soldier has been charged with murder in the death of his 7-week-old son, according to court records.

After being indicted by a grand jury in May, Spc. Gabriel Estrellado, 30, was arrested on May 13 and charged with first-degree murder in perpetration of a crime and aggravated child abuse.

On Aug. 9, 2024, the child (referred to as K.E. in the indictment) went into cardiac arrest while in the care of his father, according to an autopsy report obtained by Clarksville Now. “The father (Estrellado) reported that he accidentally hit the child’s head on a door while walking through the house,” the autopsy report states, “but the child did not lose consciousness and acted normally following the event.”

Later, during a bottle feeding, the child became fussy and began “choking,” according to the report. Estrellado laid K.E. on a changing table and began performing back blows. The baby was reportedly gasping, and Estrellado called 911. EMS transported K.E. to Tennova, before eventually taking him to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville for higher care. Despite medical treatment, the infant’s condition worsened, and on Aug. 15, 2024, six days after entering the hospital, K.E. died.

According to the findings of Dr. Erin Carney, a forensic pathologist with the Office of the Medical Examiner, K.E. had “abrasions” on the right side of his face below his ear, as well as hemorrhaging around his brain. Specifically, Carney found bleeding on the lower left and back sides of the brain as well as swelling in his brain.

Carney also found that K.E. had a few “dot-blot and small flame-shaped retinal hemorrhages.” According to the Cleveland Clinic website, this type of injury is commonly associated with shaken baby syndrome. The autopsy report also details other injuries that aren’t consistent with the injuries K.E. received during medical intervention, which included bruising in various stages of healing to both his arms, right foot and left thigh.

“The reported trauma of hitting the head on the door is not consistent with the injuries of bleeding and swelling of brain,” Carney stated in her report. “These injuries are the result of inflicted head injury rather than an accidental bump against an object. The cause of death is inflicted head injury, and the manner of death is homicide.”

Estrellado is scheduled to appear in court in Montgomery County on Aug. 7 at 9 a.m.

| MORE LOCAL NEWS: Sign up for the free daily Clarksville Now email newsletter