Iowa teen sentenced to life for killing Spanish teacher over bad grade.

Teenager Sentenced to Life in Prison for Murdering High School Teacher

One of two Iowa teenagers who brutally murdered their high school Spanish teacher over a bad grade has been sentenced to life in prison. Willard Miller, 17, was sentenced on Thursday and could be eligible for parole after 35 years. His accomplice, Jeremy Goodale, 18, has yet to be sentenced. The two pleaded guilty in April to killing 66-year-old Nohema Graber in November 2021.

“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. There is no excuse. There is not a systemic, societal problem that explains or justifies your actions,” said District Judge Shawn Showers during sentencing.

Prior to the sentencing, Miller apologized to Graber’s family, along with his own family and that of Goodale.

“I would like to apologize for my actions, first and foremost to the family,” he said. “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. I still did what I did, and I accept responsibility for that,” he added.

At the time of the murder, both teens were 16.

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Details of the Murder

Goodale reportedly testified that Miller had initiated the plan to kill Graber, and they both attacked her with a baseball bat.

“On Nov. 2 of 2021, I met Willard Miller at Chautauqua Park, and I understood that he had intent to kill Mrs. Graber,” Goodale said when pleading guilty.

He added that Miller “brought a bat among other supplies to go through with the murder.”

“After he had struck Nohema Graber, he then moved her off of the trail where I then struck her and she died as a result,” Goodale added. “Afterwards, we removed any evidence that we could.”

Prosecutors alleged that Miller and Goodale followed Graber to a park where she was known to take daily walks after school and killed her. Earlier that same day, Miller had met with Graber to discuss the low grade she had given him. The poor grade is believed to be the motive behind the murder, according to court documents.

The next day, Graber’s body was found hidden in the park where she had been walking. Witnesses reported seeing two males driving Graber’s van away from the park, and the vehicle was later found abandoned on a rural road. Miller denied killing Graber but claimed that a “roving group of masked kids” killed his teacher and forced him to hide the body.

Meanwhile, Goodale was allegedly bragging about the murder over Snapchat, providing evidence of their involvement.

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