An Allen County police officer trying to serve court papers had gone to the house on Sand Point Road twice.Both times, James E.A Bluffton man charged in the shooting death of his wife told police she pointed a gun at him first during an argument over visitation with their son.
Tyler White appeared Wednesday in Wells Circuit Court, where a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. White, 27, is formally charged with murder and was being held without bail in the Wells County Jail.
Deputies were called just after 9 a.m. Tuesday to 649 E. County Road 100 S. in Bluffton. Police found Amy White, 28, lying on the floor of the home’s two-car garage, suffering from two gunshot wounds to her chest.
She was taken by ambulance to Bluffton Regional Medical Center, where she died about an hour later.
Amy White had come to her in-law’s home to pick up her toddler son, Max. When Tyler White asked for 30 more minutes to visit with the boy, Amy White refused, Tyler White told detectives in a deputy’s report. His wife pointed a gun at him as the couple argued over who could have their son longer for a visit, according to the report.
Tyler White got down on his knees in the garage and told his wife to put the gun down, he told detectives. He then took a gun from the waistband of his pants and fired it at his wife, he said.
When deputies arrived, they found two handguns on the garage floor and Tyler White kneeling over his wife. Their 16 1/2 -month-old son was nearby, according to the report.
Wells County Coroner Kent Gilbert said an autopsy revealed Amy White had been shot to death. But Gilbert declined to comment Wednesday on a manner of death until he had reviewed the autopsy findings further. Her death has not yet been ruled a homicide.
Wells County Sheriff Robert Frantz said the couple had been going through a divorce.
A 1999 graduate of South Adams High School, Amy White, whose maiden name was Meyer, had been an assistant coach for the girls softball team in 2002 and a junior varsity softball coach in 2003 and 2004, said South Adams Schools Superintendent Cathy Egolf. Most recently, Amy White had been assistant cross country coach at the high school.
She was also an assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of Saint Francis.
After high school, Amy Meyer played basketball at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, followed by Saint Francis.
A trial date for Tyler White has been set for April.
