The Murder of Nohema Graber: a video summary of the case

On November 2, 2021, Fairfield High School Spanish teacher Nohema Graber, 66, was murdered in Chautauqua Park in Fairfield, Iowa. Her body was found the next day wrapped in a tarp with a wheelbarrow and railroad ties over it.

Investigators discovered that Graber was murdered by two of her students: 16-year-old Willard Noble “Chaiden” Miller and 16-year-old Jeremy Everett Goodale. Miller was failing Graber’s class and recruited Goodale to help kill her. Both teens stalked their teacher and beat her to death with a baseball bat.

On April 18, 2023 both teens pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Both were charged as adults. Miller said he acted as lookout and did not strike Graber. Goodale said Miller struck her first, but admitted to striking her after they had moved her off of the trail.

In July 2023, Miller was sentenced to life with parole and a minimum of 35 years. In November 2023, Goodale was sentenced to life with parole and a minimum of 25 years.

Nohema Graber was a beloved teacher and active member of her church. Graber’s sister-in-law Marilyn Fuest said in her victim impact statement that every person Graber met became her friend.

“People called her an angel,” Fuest said. “She loved people and prayed for them earnestly.”

Comments: bailey.cichon@thegazette.com