The first of two Iowa teens accused of murdering their Spanish teacher was sentenced to life in prison Thursday. Willard Miller, now 17, and Jeremy Goodale, now 18, were both just 16 years old when they were charged with mercilessly beating their teacher, 66-year-old Nohema Graber, to death because they were displeased with the grades she gave them.
The horrific crime rocked the small town of Fairfield and left Graber's family heartbroken. The teens were charged as adults, and although prosecutors wanted Miller in jail forever, his life sentence was handed down with the provision of parole in 35 years when he will be 52. His fellow killer faces sentencing in August. In April, the pair pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
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The killing took place in 2021.
According to court documents, Miller and Goodale killed Graber after a meeting regarding a Spanish grade. Miller was reportedly concerned the grade would affect his grade point average and wanted to protect it. But instead of working to improve their Spanish skills, the pair devised a plan far more sinister.
The teens killed their teacher in a park.
Graber reportedly liked to take walks at a Fairfield park after school. Miller and Goodale used the off-school location as the scene of the murder on November 3. The pair bludgeoned the petite teacher with a baseball bat and buried her body under a tarp, wheelbarrow, and railroad ties.
Miller addressed the court.
USA Today reported that Miller made a statement regarding his involvement in the murder.
"I would like to apologize for my actions. First and foremost to the family, I am sincerely sorry for the distress that I caused you and the devastation that I caused your family," he said.
The judge reportedly wanted a harsher sentence.
Judge Shawn Showers presided over the case and didn't think that the possibility of parole was necessary, USA Today reported, but the state does not allow the sentence of life in prison for a juvenile.
"Your horrific actions led to the death of Nohema Graber, and her family will never be able to fill that void," he said.
Attorneys admonished Miller and Goodale for such a senseless act. "This was a cruel, heinous act by two defendants," Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown said, per USA Today. "I cannot imagine anything really worse than to be attacked in the manner that she was, for what? A grade."
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Some say Fairfield will never be the same.
The vicious killing terrified the small town of less than 10,000, and some people are still trying to recover.
"We had students that were scared to death to attend class, we had teachers that didn't want to teach for concerns of their own safety," Julie Kinsella, a Fairfield police officer testified Tuesday, according to USA Today. "I don't think that our community will ever be the same again. I think it's devastated us."
Goodale faces sentencing in August, but his lawyers reportedly hope to delay proceedings. They are asking for 25 years to life in prison as part of a plea deal.
"To the two teenagers that so cruelly took her life, it is clear that they need more love and light in their hearts. But I agree with my oldest brother Christian, all we can do is forgive," Graber's daughter wrote on Facebook. "I am filled with so much gratitude to have had such a strong and beautiful woman as my mother. And from the outpouring of messages, it's incredibly touching to know that her presence impacted so many. What a blessing she is, we know that her soul lives on in heaven."
