A 17-year-old from Iowa has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of his Spanish teacher. Although he is eligible for parole, Willard Miller is expected to stay in prison until he is in his 50s.
Judge Shawn Showers handed down the sentence Thursday, according to the Des Moines Register.
In a Facebook post from November 2021, the city of Fairfield, Iowa, said that human remains found in Chautauqua Park were identified as 66-year-old Nohema Graber, a Spanish teacher at Fairfield High School. Per the Register, Graber was found beaten to death and her body left hidden under a tarp and railroad tie.
Miller then 16, and Jeremy Goodale, also 16 at the time, were charged with homicide, said the city. Goodale and Miller, both students at the high school, have pleaded guilty. Goodale is set for sentencing next month. In addition to their prison terms, Miller and Goodale will also have to pay $150,000 in restitution to Graber’s family, as well as other possible restitution.
“Prosecutors said Miller was upset about his grade in Graber’s class and had been seen arguing with her about it,” said the Des Moines Register. “Goodale told them he met up with Miller at a park where Graber was known to walk, and that both struck her with a baseball bat before hiding her body. Miller maintained he acted as a lookout, and that it was Goodale who carried out the killing.”
Goodale sent Snapchat messages to a friend incriminating himself and Miller, leading to their arrest. Other evidence has also come out during the investigation.
Miller’s sentencing was announced after video excerpts of interviews by state investigators of Miller and Goodale, were played in court, said the Register. Included is a mandatory minimum that is five years longer than the 30 years prosecutors had proposed, though Miller’s attorneys had asked he be sentenced to life with no mandatory minimum to serve.
“Ultimately, while acknowledging your youth and developing brain, I find your intent and actions were sinister and evil,” said the judge.
Iowa does not allow minors to be sentenced to life in prison without parole. However, some states still allow that practice, according to The Sentencing Project. As of the start of 2020, 1,465 people were serving juvenile life without parole sentences, per the organization.
According to the Register, Graber’s death has “upended” her family and deprived “them of a primary breadwinner and source of care for a relative with extensive disabilities,” citing multiple statements.
Graber’s obituary said she was originally from Mexico and worked for 17 years as a flight attendant. She moved to Fairfield with her husband, Paul, in 1992. She went on to earn a degree in English and a teaching certificate from Iowa Wesleyan in her 50s and then began teaching Spanish. Graber is survived by her husband, children, siblings and other relatives.
Related
Related
