One of the Two juveniles are accused An Iowa high school teacher will testify against his co-defendant in the beating death, a prosecutor announced Wednesday.
Agreed to testify against Jeremy Goodell Willard Miller During Miller’s upcoming trial, Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Molding said during a court hearing.
Goodell and Miller are each charged with the first-degree murder in November 2021 of Nohema Graber, 66, their Spanish teacher at Fairfield High School. Her body was found in a Fairfield park in November 2021.
Investigators said Graber was beaten to death. In November, prosecutors said the teenager killed Graber out of a fit of frustration bad conditionAccording to court documents.
“Poor grades are believed to be the motive behind Graber’s killing, which directly links Miller,” said court documents filed by Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Molding and Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown.
Court records do not indicate that Goodall reached a plea deal, and it was unclear what he might receive in exchange for his testimony, The Des Moines Register reported. Goodall’s attorney declined to comment.
Nick Rohlman/AP
Miller is scheduled for trial in April and Goodell in May.
The revelation came during a hearing on a motion by Miller to suppress evidence from interviews given to two juvenile investigators. The case also accused the police of lying about the search warrant application. Miller has a pending appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court over the denial of a previous motion to suppress similar matters.
Fairfield High School
Miller initially denied any involvement in Graber’s disappearance but “later said he knew everything but did not participate,” according to court documents. He told police that the real killers — “a rotating gang of masked kids” — forced him to provide his wheelbarrow to help move his body and drive the van out of the park.
Graber has been a Spanish teacher at Fairfield High School since 2012, according to the school’s website.
Graber’s family said in a statement after her death, “Noahema was loved to know her – she was the kind of person every community wanted to be in and we were blessed to have her in our lives.” “She lived for her children, her family and her faith. Her next priority was her work as an educator and the children she taught, her local parish and the Spanish-speaking community in Fairfield.”
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