Two teenagers in Iowa charged with beating their high school Spanish teacher to death over a poor grade have pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
On Tuesday, Willard Miller and Jeremy Goodale admitted killing Nohema Graber, 66, at Fairfield high school.
Graber’s body was hidden beneath a tarp, a wheelbarrow and railroad ties when it was found in Fairfield Park on 3 November 2021. She had been bludgeoned with a baseball bat.
The discovery came a day after Miller met Graber to discuss his grade, investigators said. Following the meeting, Graber drove to the park where she took daily walks. According to witnesses, Graber’s van left the park less than an hour later with two males in the front seats.
The van was abandoned at the end of a rural road. After a call from Goodale, a witness picked the two teens up as they walked back to town. Both were 16 at the time.
On Tuesday, Miller and Goodale admitted to the murder but gave different accounts. Miller said that though he went to the park knowing Goodale planned on killing their teacher, he denied hitting her and said he acted as a lookout, USA Today reported.
Goodale, however, said he acted as a lookout as Miller hit Graber on the back of her head. Goodale said he struck the second blow after seeing that the first did not kill her.
Miller, now 17, and Goodale, now 18, were charged as adults. Because they were 16 at the time of the murder, they are not eligible for a life sentence without parole.
Prosecutors will recommend Miller receive between 30 years and life, with the possibility of parole. For Goodale, they will recommend between 25 years and life, with the possibility of parole.
“We’re glad the defendants have taken responsibility for the crime they committed and look forward to making sure justice is done at sentencing,” the Jefferson county attorney, Chauncey Moulding, said.
Graber’s son, Christian Graber, said he had forgiven the teenagers.
“I forgive them and feel sorry that they had that anger in their hearts,” he wrote on Facebook. “There’s no point in being angry at them. We should hope that they can find peace in their lives. My mother was an angel of a woman and was one of the kindest souls.”
