(Photo: Caption – Died of Stab Wounds)

File Murder Charge in Death of 18-Year-Old

Fire In Farm Home Brought to Light Death by Stabbing

A fire in a farm home eight miles northwest of Blair Monday morning brought to light what authorities believe is the murder of an 18-year-old Blair High School girl.

18-year-old Hannah Jaeger, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Jaeger, was the victim of an apparent stabbing. Her body was found on the floor of her bedroom when firemen probed through the smoke-filled house while fighting a fire.

The fire was noted about 9 A.M. by Clarkson Husk who saw smoke coming from the building as he drove past. He called the Blair Fire Department.

Firemen attacked the blaze which seemed to be concentrated in the kitchen of the house. While this was going on, other firemen sought to determine whether anyone was in the house. They broke a window of a bedroom and sighted Miss Jaeger’s body lying on the floor. They entered and removed the body through the window while fire fighting efforts continued in the next room.

At first it was thought the girl suffered from smoke inhalation and artificial respiration was given. When there was no response, she was rushed to Memorial Community Hospital in Blair by the Blair Rescue Squad. She was dead on arrival at the hospital.

It was not until she had been taken to the hospital that a small stab wound was found in her chest. Sheriff John Sutherland was immediately called as well as County Attorney Roy I. Anderson and County Coroner Dr. L. I. Grace. It was determined that death had been caused by something other than the fire and smoke.

Mrs. Jaeger was not at home at the time of the fire. It was later learned that she was in Blair visiting her daughter, Mrs. John Daniels. Mrs. Jaeger had ridden into Blair earlier in the morning with her husband when he went to his work in Omaha. Mr. Jaeger, a carpenter, is employed by a construction firm.

Following the discovery of the stab wound, Sheriff Sutherland and Attorney Anderson drove to the Summers rural school a short distance from the Jaeger home. There they sought 15-year-old William Jaeger who is an 8th grader at the school.

Under questioning William admitted that he and his sister had argued over the pressing of the boy’s jeans. The argument apparently reached a climax with the stabbing. The youth told authorities that the knife was in the pocket of some trousers hanging in his bedroom.

William was taken into custody and to the Courthouse in Blair for further questioning. Later Monday he was taken to the Dodge County jail in Fremont where there are better jail facilities for detention of a minor.

An early conclusion regarding the fire was that it was set in an effort to hide the stabbing incident, but that fact has not been determined. Cause of the fire is attributed to an electric iron which had burned through the ironing board and into the floor below. The fire had spread to the attic by the time the firemen arrived and would have enveloped the entire house in a short time. Damage was confined principally to the kitchen and areas leading immediately from the kitchen. The walls and ceiling of the kitchen were charred and there was damage in the attic, but the house, otherwise, suffered principally from smoke damage.

In the afternoon, the girl’s body was taken to Omaha for a detailed autopsy which would determine the cause of death. This examination attributed death to the wound, rather than suffocation in the fire and the wound was determined to have been a stabbing.

County Attorney Roy Anderson promptly filed charges of First Degree Murder against William who remains in jail at Fremont. No dates have been set for preliminary hearing and no attorney has been named to represent him.

Funeral services for the girl were held Wednesday afternoon at the Campbell Mortuary.

The survivors are the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Victor Jaeger, a sister (Ruth) Mrs. John Daniels, of Blair, a sister Lucretia Jaeger, in the armed forces and brother, William.

Pallbearers were Willie Lucht, Howard Andersen, Eugene Wilkins, Darrell Webster, George Olson and Don Ward.

#2 Enterprise 12 May 1966

(Photo of house: Caption – The Jaeger farm home. Smoke pouring from building triggered discovery of the tragedy.)

(Photo: Caption – The fire scarred kitchen of the Jaeger home. An electric iron appeared to have started the blaze.)

(Photo: Caption – Authorities question 15-year-old William Jaeger (with back to camera). At the left is County Attorney Roy Anderson; at the right Sheriff John Sutherland.)

#3 Services For Hannah Jaeger Held Wednesday

Hannah Suzanna Jaeger, the daughter of Victor and Mildred Borland Jaeger, was born April 11, 1948 at Coffeyville, Kansas and passed away at the farm home near Blair on May 9, 1966 at the age of 18 years and 21 days.

Hannah attended grade school at the College View school in Lincoln and the McCarthy and Cuming City rural schools of Washington County, Nebraska. She graduated from the 8th grade with the class of 1963 from the Summer School in Washington County. Hannah was a Junior in the Blair High School. She was active in 4-H work and enjoyed studying History and particularly enjoyed art.

Preceding her in death were a sister, Shirley Ann, 5, and a brother, Victory LeRoy, 4, both dying in a fire on April 9, 1945.

Survivors include her mother and father, two sisters: Mrs. Johnnie Daniels (Ruth) and Lucretia, who is stationed at Fort Mead, Maryland with the Women’s Corps of the United States Army; a brother William; grandparents, Mrs. F. H. Jaeger of Waco, Nebraska and Mrs. Efie Borland of Beatrice, and a number of uncles, aunts and many other relatives and friends.

Services were conducted Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 at the Campbell Mortuary by the Rev. Gail B. Dunning of the First Christian Church. Burial was in the Blair cemetery.

~~~ Obituaries courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~

FindaGrave # 9356222