Soldier on Leave Allegedly Slain by Wife’s Lover

An Army National Guardsman home on leave from combat duty in Iraq for the birth of his wife’s daughter was shot to death in a Murrieta parking lot by the father of the child, police said Friday.

Jorge Estrada, 24, was slain Thursday morning as he argued with Fabian Urrea, 19, outside Estrada’s apartment in the Riverside County town, police said. Officers found Diana Estrada kneeling beside her husband, her 3-day-old infant cradled in her arms.

Jorge Estrada was pronounced dead at Inland Valley Regional Medical Center in nearby Wildomar about half an hour later, said Murrieta Police Lt. Mike Baray.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Urrea, who fled after the shooting, according to witnesses. Authorities said Urrea was wanted on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Technical Sgt. Andrew Hughan, a spokesman for the National Guard in Sacramento, said Jorge Estrada, who married his wife about a year ago, was a communications specialist assigned to the 184th Infantry Regiment in Modesto. His wife, who also is in the National Guard, remained in Southern California and became pregnant while Estrada was on assignment at Ft. Bliss, Texas, Hughan said.

In January, Estrada was sent to Iraq, where he was assigned to the Headquarters Company of the regiment’s Task Force 1st Battalion in Baghdad, said Capt. Douglas Williams, his company commander.

“Specialist Estrada was an outstanding soldier,” Williams said. “He performed combat missions on a daily basis.... He was a man we could all rely on when we needed assistance.”

Williams said he would recommend that Estrada be posthumously awarded a combat action badge for duties performed under hostile fire in Iraq.

Before joining the National Guard, Estrada served with the Army’s 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan, where he saw combat, Williams said.

Estrada returned to Murrieta on Sunday, and his wife gave birth the next day.

On Thursday morning, Urrea confronted Diana Estrada outside her apartment on Jackson Avenue, demanding to see their daughter, police said.

She apparently returned to the apartment, and Jorge Estrada emerged.

The two men argued, said Baray, who is heading the investigation.

“The suspect pulled a 9-millimeter handgun. The victim was hit three times in the chest.”

Baray said that after Estrada fell to the pavement, his sobbing wife, clutching her baby, ran to his side.

Baray said neighbors, who called police about 7:45 a.m., reported seeing Urrea drive away in his white 1997 Nissan extended-cab pickup, California license plate 7J26810.