Beloved Trivium Prep Academy teacher killed; husband accused of her murder

GOODYEAR, Ariz. - A Buckeye man is accused of shooting and killing his wife. 49-year-old Kenneth Eckert was charged with second-degree murder. Police say Jennifer Eckert was found shot in their home's master bedroom and died at the scene. They also say Kenneth would not provide any information about what happened.

Jennifer was the kind of teacher students treasure all their lives. Grief counselors were available to help students, faculty and all the members of the Trivium Prepatory Academy community. They are planning for a possible memorial on Friday, May 12.

At Trivium Prep, one of the Great Hearts academies in Goodyear, there is a touching tribute to a beloved teacher: Jennifer Eckert. It's overflowing with flowers, letters, cards and peanut butter cups because she liked them.

Eckert taught Latin in an era where not many teachers do and she made it fun, says Mary Jenkins, one of her students.

"Ms. Eckert was an amazing woman and she was always so happy and had the funniest stories about everyone.. loved to make jokes and show them to her Latin kids and she would say look what I am going to show them today. She was always so happy and always had good things to say about everyone."

Last Sunday night, Buckeye Police received a call from Kenneth. He told them someone had been shot in his house and that's all he would say.

Kenneth is now behind bars, looking at second-degree murder charges and Jennifer is gone -- just 49-years-old.

Trivium Prep headmaster Heidi Vasiloff says a lot of people are grieving.

"What is lost now on this campus. A spark a light, the heart, the humor she brought to our faculty and our students."