Husband charged with killing SA grad in Texas

Published 8:50 am Wednesday, September 17, 2008

A former Franklin resident and Southampton Academy graduate was shot to death, allegedly by her husband, in her Amarillo, Texas, home.

Funeral services for Amy Elizabeth Partner Yager, 26, will be at 1 p.m. Thursday at Wright Funeral Home in Franklin.

Police found the woman’s body around 4 a.m. Friday in a bedroom of the couple’s home, the Amarillo Globe-News reported Monday. Preliminary autopsy results show Yager received two gunshot wounds — one to the back and one to the head — and was also beaten.

Her husband, Jeff Yager, 26, was arrested and charged with murder Friday morning. He remained in the Randall County Jail Monday on $250,000 bond. Randall County Criminal District Attorney James Farren told Amarillo.com the case against Jeff Yager will be presented to the grand jury for possible indictment within 60 to 90 days.

The couple met while both served in the Navy and later married.

Amy Yager was born in Price, Utah, on July 13, 1982, to Karl Taylor Partner and the late Deborah Anne Partner. She graduated from Southampton Academy in 2000 and attended Brigham Young University Hawaii. During her time in Hawaii, she developed a love of the ocean and took up surfing.

She joined the Navy and served for three years as a petty officer pursuing a career as an EOD diver and underwater welder, until a hip injury resulted in her honorable medical discharge. She moved from Hampton to Texas in 2006, attending Amarillo College and transferring to West Texas A&M, majoring in interior design and minoring in business.

Visitation will be from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. today at the funeral home.

See full obituary information on Page A3.