The teacher, Nohema Graber, was found dead in a park on November 3, 2021. Her body was hidden under a tarp, a wheelbarrow and train tires. She was beaten to death by Jermy Goodale and Willard Miller, both 16 years old.
Police knew that Nohema Graber had a heated argument with the two teens the day before. They were not satisfied with the grade Graber had given them. After the discussion, she drove to the park where she took her daily walk. The two teenagers followed her and killed her. In a police interrogation, Miller described frustrations with Graber’s way of teaching Spanish and how the grade in her class lowered his average grade. “The bad grade was the motive for Graber’s murder,” the attorney’s court documents said.
Miller initially denied any involvement in Graber’s disappearance, but later stated that he was aware of everything but did not participate. He told police that the real killers – a “roaming group of masked children” – forced him to provide his wheelbarrow to help move her body and drive her van out of the park.
Miller’s trial is set for March 20 at Council Bluffs. Goodale’s trial is December 5 in Davenport. Both teens, now 17, are being tried as adults. In Iowa, a conviction for first degree murder carries a life sentence.