Soldier charged in death of 8-month-old boy at Fort Liberty

Sergeant Gabriel Ceville, an Army soldier stationed at Fort Liberty in North Carolina, had a preliminary hearing this week after being charged with murdering his eight-month-old daughter.

Ceville is charged with unpremeditated murder and involuntary manslaughter in the 2023 death of Misty Delatorre, a spokesperson for the Army Office of Special Trial Counsel told JS.

The spokesperson noted that Ceville is also accused of domestic violence, but that this is not related to Misty.

Despite the serious allegations, Ceville has not been arrested or fired, the Army spokesman said, adding that the “allegations are merely accusations and that Sgt. Ceville is presumed innocent until proven guilty.”

Alina Delatorre, Misty’s mother, told ABC’s WTVD that she “cannot grieve properly” when she knows that “her daughter’s murderer is walking free.”

“It is unbelievable that so much violence has been committed against an innocent eight-month-old baby,” she told the newspaper.

Ceville denied harming the child in conversation with local news channel WRAL.

In February 2023, Ceville was living at Fort Liberty, then known as Fort Bragg, with Misty in his care. Ceville allegedly said in text messages that his head hurt and Misty was screaming, and shortly after said Misty had thrown up and was unresponsive.

When Ceville called 911, he reported that the girl was not breathing, according to records quoted by WTVD. The child was airlifted to a hospital but was pronounced dead days later.

An autopsy report showed Misty had injuries around her eyes and authorities suspected foul play, according to WTVD. The autopsy revealed that the child died of blunt force trauma to her head and neck.

Alina Delatorre told WTVD that she came to the hospital from California to see her child.

“I can never forget the cold feeling I felt while holding her hand,” the mother said.

According to court records cited by WRAL, Misty’s parents had been involved in a custody battle in the weeks leading up to her death, with Ceville ultimately winning primary custody.

Under the custody order, Misty was supposed to spend six months out of the year with each parent, but she had only been at Ceville’s residence for three days when she was admitted to the hospital, according to the newspaper.

Since then, Alina Delatorre and her mother, Misty Bray, have worked to get justice for the 8-month-old baby.

“This is sad. I’m just devastated. I can’t believe it,” Bray told WTVD after this week’s hearing. “We don’t know how to feel. It’s just a lot.”

Need help? In the US, call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.