Willard Miller and Jeremy Goodale murdered Nohema Graber, their Spanish teacher, in 2021, because one of them got a bad grade. This Thursday the two teenagers pleaded guilty to aggravated homicide in a US court.
The event occurred on November 2, 2021 in Chautauqua Park, Iowa, when teenagers ambushed Graber, 66, and beat her to death using a baseball bat.
Miller and Goodale, who were 16 years old at the time of the crime, were seen driving Graber’s truck out of a park. The woman’s battered body was found hidden under a tarpaulin and a wheelbarrow.
The young people, apparently they had not left any trace, nobody suspected them. Nevertheless, one of them bragged about the crime on Snapchat. A friend, alarmed by what happened, informed the police and provided evidence with the captures of the conversation on the social network.
According to the evidence shown during the trial, the teenagers ambushed the teacher when she had left the school and was walking.
Investigators in the case noted that Miller met with the teacher at the high school on the afternoon of November 2, 2021 to try to convince her to change her bad grade in Spanish class.
Miller knew what Graber did after finishing his work at school, he knew the routine of the teacher, who every afternoon went with her truck to a park where she walked to exercise and clear her mind. Witnesses saw her truck leave the park with two men in the front seat.
The killers abandoned the vehicle at the end of a rural road. The youths then called an acquaintance, who picked them up as they were both walking down the road.
When questioned by the police, Miller said he was frustrated with Graber’s way of teaching Spanish, adding that the grade he had given him in his class was affecting his GPA..
On the other hand, during the trial, the testimonies of the teenagers contradicted each other: Goodale testified that Miller initiated the plan to kill the teacher and each one of them hit her; Miller admitted to helping plan and carry out the murder, but denied hitting Graber.
“The poor rating is believed to be the motive behind Graber’s murder which directly connects to Miller”, reported the authorities.
This Thursday it was learned that prosecutors will recommend a sentence of between 30 years and life in prison, with the possibility of parole, for Miller. For their part, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of between 25 years and life in prison, with the possibility of parole, for Goodale.
During the trial, Goodale stated that Miller had asked him for help and he agreed: for about two weeks they planned the murder. Goodale will testify against his friend during her trial, which begins next week.
“On November 2, 2021, I met Willard Miller at Chautauqua Park and understood that he intended to kill Ms. Graber,” Goodale said in pleading guilty.
Goodale noted that Miller “brought a bat among other supplies to go” and commit the murder.
“After he hit Nohema Graber, he pushed her out of the way where I hit her and she died as a result.Goodale said.
“Afterwards, we eliminate any evidence that could incriminate us,” he added.
Miller, now 17, and Goodale, 18, were tried as adults due to the seriousness of the offence. However, they are not subject to life without parole because they were 16 when the teacher was murdered.
Keep reading:
