In the interview, Miller initially said he knew nothing about Graber's disappearance but later said he saw other people carrying her body in the park. A wheelbarrow and railroad tie had been placed over the tarp, making it hard to see the body, with only a shoe and a hand visible.Īfter pulling back part of the tarp, Vileta said the only significant injury to Graber appeared to be a severe head wound. Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Trent Vileta recalled police finding Graber's body under a tarp in Chautauqua Park. Prosecutors also played recordings of police interviews with both teens and displayed photographs of the crime scene, including graphic images of Graber's body. They also talked about social media postings that led them to question and then arrest Miller and Goodale. Thursday's sentencing hearing at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Fairfield initially focused on investigators who described how officers found Graber's body. Goodale's sentencing is scheduled for August, but his lawyers have sought a delay in the hearing. Under Goodale's agreement to plead guilty, prosecutors had recommended a sentence of between 25 years and life with the possibility of parole. Prosecutors said the teens, who were 16 at the time, were angry at Graber because of a bad grade she had given Miller. 2, 2021, in a park where the teacher routinely walked after school. "I hope you open your soul to the lord and maybe ask for forgiveness there first because you're on a spiral straight to hell," Graber's brother-in-law, Jim Graber said while staring at Miller. Several also blamed Miller and Goodale for the recent death of Graber's husband, who suffered from cancer but delayed treatment amid his depression over the murder. Ten of Graber's relatives either read or submitted victim impact statements that described the woman as kind, caring and devoted to her family, students and church. "I still did what I did, and I accept responsibility for that." "I'm realizing just the magnitude of my actions, and I know it's wrong and I knew it was wrong and yet I still carried through," he said. Goodale is to be sentenced later.Ī family friend, center, holds the hand of Nohema Marie Graber, the daughter of murdered Fairfield High School Spanish teacher Nohema Graber, as they listen to testimony during the sentencing of Willard Miller at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Fairfield, Iowa, on Thursday, July 6, 2023. "There is no excuse."Īs part of the plea agreement, prosecutors had recommended Miller receive a term of between 30 years and life in prison, with the possibility of parole. Those acts resulted in the intentional loss of human life in a brutal fashion," Showers said. "I find that your intent and actions were sinister and evil. In sentencing Miller, District Court Judge Shawn Showers acknowledged Miller's young age but also noted he had "cut Nohema Graber's precious life short," devastating her family and the community. The 66-year-old teacher was fatally beaten while taking her regular afternoon walk in a park in Fairfield. Miller and another teen, Jeremy Goodale, had pleaded guilty in April to the 2021 attack on Nohema Graber. Miller, the first of two Iowa teenagers who pleaded guilty to beating their high school Spanish teacher to death with a baseball bat, was sentenced Thursday to life with a possibility of parole after 35 years in prison.ĭES MOINES, Iowa - The first of two Iowa teenagers who pleaded guilty to beating their high school Spanish teacher to death with a baseball bat was sentenced Thursday to life with a possibility of parole after 35 years in prison.Ī judge sentenced Willard Miller after a sentencing hearing that lasted more than seven hours. Willard Miller makes a statement during his sentence hearing at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Fairfield, Iowa, Thursday, July 6, 2023.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |