Two Iowa teens accused of killing their high school teacher will be tried as adults when their case heads to trial.
NBC News reports Jeremy Goodale, 17, and Willard Miller, 16, have been charged as adults with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the killing of Nohema Graber, a 66-year-old Spanish teacher at Fairfield High School who was found dead last November.
District Judge Shawn Showers denied their requests to move their cases to juvenile court, declaring that the juvenile system would not have enough time to rehabilitate the two suspects, as the longest Goodale could be held there is six months past his 19th birthday.
“The juvenile court’s dwindling time to rehabilitate the defendant is simply insufficient for a crime of such magnitude based on the nature of the offenses described in the minutes of testimony,” Judge Showers said.
As previously reported, prosecutors believe the two teens stalked Graber before ambushing her during a daily walk, then dragged her to the woods, where they allegedly killed her with a baseball bat. Investigators later determined she had “suffered inflicted trauma to the head.” Graber’s body was found Nov. 2, hidden with a tarp, wheelbarrow, and railroad ties at the Chautauqua Park in Fairfield.
Both teens pleaded not guilty to the charges and remain behind bars on $1 million cash bond. Goodale’s trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 23, with Miller’s trial set for November.
Beloved in her community, Graber taught Spanish at Fairfield High since 2012. “She was an exceptional person, a lovely person,” longtime friend Edith Cabrera told the Des Moines Register last year. “Especially with her family, even with her students. … She was a great friend, a great community leader and an even better person.”
Shortly after Graber’s murder, her son took to social media to forgive the two teens charged in his mother’s death. “I forgive them and feel sorry that they had that anger in their hearts,” he wrote. “There’s no point in being angry at them. We should hope they find peace in their lives.”
