On April 15, 2017, Agnes Mae Yarlee, a 34-year-old Black/African American woman, was tragically killed in her Johnston, Iowa, apartment. Her life was cut short in a violent act that stemmed from a domestic dispute with her live-in boyfriend, Abraham Roberts, who was 39 years old at the time. The argument, which reportedly began over the cleanliness of the apartment, escalated with deadly consequences, leaving a family shattered and a community in shock.
The events of that day unfolded in
the presence of Yarlee’s own family. An argument between Roberts and Yarlee became so heated that her three children, who were outside, could hear their raised voices. During the dispute, Roberts shoved Yarlee's 79-year-old mother to the ground before retrieving his handgun from the bedroom. Yarlee’s eleven-year-old daughter witnessed the horrific moment as Roberts stood before her mother, who was seated on the couch with their five-month-old baby in a bouncy chair at her feet. The young girl later testified that her mother had no time to react before Roberts shot her multiple times. Agnes Yarlee was struck in the knee, chest, and head, with the head wound proving to be fatal. Following the shooting, her daughter ushered her grandmother out of the apartment and called 911.
In the immediate aftermath, Abraham Roberts fled the scene before police arrived. Law enforcement officers discovered Yarlee’s body on the couch. The following day, the handgun used in the shooting was found hidden under dirty clothes in a laundry hamper in the apartment. Roberts' attempt to escape justice was short-lived. He was apprehended the day after the shooting at the Canadian border in International Falls, Minnesota.
Roberts was extradited back to Iowa to face charges. In January 2018, a Polk County jury found him guilty of first-degree murder. During the trial, prosecutors stated that Yarlee had been shot five times. Roberts’ defense attorneys did not dispute that he killed Yarlee but argued that he had “lost it” during the argument and had no memory of the shooting. Eyewitness testimony from Yarlee’s mother and daughter painted a chilling picture of his state of mind, with her mother recalling that Roberts had threatened, “I will kill you,” just before he opened fire. In March 2018, Abraham Roberts was sentenced to the mandatory term of life in prison without the possibility of parole. He was also ordered to pay $150,000 in restitution. Agnes Yarlee is survived by her four children, her mother, and many siblings.
