In Fairfield, Iowa, two high school students have confessed to the brutal murder of their 66-year-old Spanish teacher, Nohema Graber, and entered guilty pleas.
The students, Willard Miller, 17, and Jeremy Goodale, 18, faced charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony. Prosecutors revealed that Miller’s motive for the crime was anger over receiving a poor grade from the teacher.
Graber was tragically targeted by the teenagers during her regular afternoon walk at Chautauqua Park. Authorities discovered her body the following day within the park. concealed beneath a wheelbarrow, a tarp, and railroad ties. She had sustained significant head injuries.
According to prosecutors, the teens dragged Graber’s body to its hiding place. Goodale admitted to authorities that he served as a lookout while Miller struck the teacher with a bat. After the initial blow failed to kill Graber, Goodale then hit her with the bat.
Graber, a loving mother of three, was remembered by her daughter as “an absolute angel” in a heartfelt Facebook tribute.
The teenagers had studied Graber’s daily routine, ambushed her at the park, and subsequently fled in her van, later abandoning it on a desolate road.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors recommended a sentence of 30 years to life in prison for Miller and 25 years to life for Goodale, both with the possibility of parole.
Prior to accepting his plea agreement, Goodale had agreed to testify against Miller in the upcoming trial in exchange for a more lenient sentence. Initially, Miller denied any involvement in Graber’s murder but later changed his story, claiming that he knew about the crime but did not participate. He alleged that a group of masked kids committed the murder and forced him and Goodale to move the teacher’s body using his wheelbarrow.
The boys might have gotten away with the brutal murder, but they bragged about it on the social media platform “Snapchat,” and someone alerted police.
Goodale’s sentencing is set for August 23, and Miller’s for July 5.
