Jeremy Goodale, Willard Miller, Nohema Graber.
Two Iowa teens have pleaded guilty tokilling their high school Spanish teacherwith a bat because one of them was upset about a bad grade, say prosecutors.
On Tuesday, Willard Miller, 17, and Jeremy Goodale, 18, of Fairfield, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death ofNohema Graber, 66, a mother of three.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 30 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole for Miller,KCRA reports.
Prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole for Goodale, KCRA reports.
They were initially charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit forcible felony, online court records show.
They were both going to be tried as adults.
The victim was a mother of three. In a touchingFacebookpost, her daughter, Nohema Marie Graber, described her as “an absolute angel in our family.”
Before entering into his plea agreement with prosecutors, Goodale was going to testify against Miller at his trial, which was expected to begin later this week, KCRA reports.
Miller was upset about a bad grade that Graber had given him, court documents said, theDes Moines Registerreported.
“The poor grade is believed to be the motive behind the murder of Graber which directly connects Miller,” Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding and Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown said previously in court documents, theRegisterreported.
Prosecutors have alleged the two students stalked her and learned her daily routines, and then ambushed her at the park, theAssociated Press reports.
Less than an hour later, witnesses saw the van leaving the park — with two males in the front seat, theRegisterreports.
On Nov. 3, 2021, Graber’s body was found in the park under a tarp, a wheelbarrow and railroad ties, where authorities say the teens had dragged her body and hidden it.
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Her van was abandoned on a desolate road the teens used to walk back to town, authorities said.
Miller initially said he had nothing to do with his teacher’s disappearance, saying later that he knew about it “but did not participate,” according to court documents, theRegisterreports.
He said a “roving group of masked kids” was responsible for her slaying and “forced them” to use his wheelbarrow to move her body, court documents said, theRegisterreports.
Goodale told authorities Miller first struck Graber with the bat and that he was the lookout, prosecutors said, KCRA reports.
Goodale said he struck her with the bat after the first hit failed to kill her, prosecutors said.
Graber’s family was in the courtroom when the teens entered their pleas.
Goodale is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 23. Miller is scheduled to be sentenced on July 5.
source: people.com
