U.S. NAVAL FORCES MARIANAS, Guam — A 27-year-old sailor has been charged with murder in the death of his one-month-old child on Guam.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Anthony D. Shepherd, of U.S. Naval Forces Marianas, was charged Monday under Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 118.

An Article 32 hearing — the equivalent of a civilian pretrial hearing — has yet to be scheduled, Naval Forces Marianas spokeswoman Lt. Thurraya Kent said Tuesday.

If convicted, Shepherd could face life imprisonment or the death penalty.

Shepherd remains in custody at U.S. Naval Forces Support Activity Detention Center on Guam, Kent said.

Naval Criminal Investigative Service officers arrested Shepherd on Sept. 22, a day after his baby died in the intensive care unit of the naval hospital.

The baby was pronounced dead at 9:55 p.m. Sept. 21, officials said previously.

The cause of the infant’s death was not immediately available, Kent said, adding the baby’s name is not being released.

Kent declined to release other information.

“This is an ongoing investigation,” she said.

This isn’t the first time a military servicemember has been charged in the death of an infant.

In 2001, Pfc. Louis M. Johnson, 22, pleaded guilty to killing his son, Marquise Brown, while in Hanau, Germany.

Johnson was on leave from his post in South Korea when he shook the baby to death, Stars and Stripes archives show.

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