By Theodore Davil-
The first of two Iowa teenagers who pleaded guilty to beating their high school Spanish teacher to death with a baseball bat has been sentenced today to life with a possibility of parole after 35 years in prison.
A judge sentenced Willard Miller(pictured( after a sentencing hearing that lasted more than seven hours.
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Miller and another teen, Jeremy Goodale, had pleaded guilty in April to the 2021 attack on Nohema Graber. The 66-year-old teacher was fatally beaten while taking her regular afternoon walk in a park in Fairfield.
The callous attack horrified Spanish residents, who were shocked at news of the killing.
The teens, according to court documents filed by the prosecution, grabbed Graber when she was on her daily afternoon walk in Chautauqua Park.
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The two then dragged her into the woods and beat her to death with a baseball bat after she gave a bad grade to Miller.
Graber’s body was eventually found in a city park, hidden under a tarp, wheelbarrow and railroad ties.
Witnesses saw Graber’s van leaving the park on the day of the murder with two males in the front seat. The vehicle was left at the end of a rural road.
Miller had originally denied ever striking Graber, despite admitting he helped plan and carry out the killing, which occurred after a meeting between them over a grade.
The two teenagers then both decided to plead guilty to the crimes, with a plea agreement being struck.
Evidence presented to the court showed both teens struck Graber with the bat but the pair had different accounts of the attack.
As part of the agreement, prosecutors had recommended Miller receive a term of between 30 years and life in prison, with the possibility of parole.
During the hearing earlier today, Miller said that he accepted responsibility for the killing and apologized to Graber’s family.
The killer said: ‘I would like to apologize for my actions, first and foremost to the family.
‘I am sincerely sorry for the distress I have caused you and the devastation I have caused your family.
‘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
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.
“I find that your intent and actions were sinister and evil. Those acts resulted in the intentional loss of human life in a brutal fashion,” Showers said. “There is no excuse.”
Victim impact statements were read by several relatives of the ,murdered woman, who describing her as a kind, caring and devoted woman to her family, students and church. 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.
“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 directly at Miller.
Under Goodale’s agreement to plead guilty, prosecutors had recommended a sentence of between 25 years and life with the possibility of parole. Goodale’s sentencing is scheduled for August, but his lawyers have sought a delay in the hearing.
Today’s sentencing hearing at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Fairfield initially focused on investigators who described how officers found Graber’s body. They also talked about social media postings that led them to question and then arrest Miller and Goodale. Prosecutors also played recordings of police interviews with both teens and displayed photographs of the crime scene, including graphic images of Graber’s body.
Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agent Trent Vileta recalled police finding Graber’s body under a tarp in Chautauqua 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
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