Second teen accused in killing of Fairfield Spanish teacher wants trial moved

FAIRFIELD — The second teen accused in the killing of a Fairfield High School Spanish teacher has asked the court to move his trial because extensive media coverage will prevent him from having a fair trial in Jefferson County.

Jeremy Everett Goodale, 17, filed a change of venue motion Thursday, after a judge last month granted a similar motion for Willard Noble Chaiden Miller, 16. Miller’s trial has been moved to Council Bluffs, about 200 miles from Fairfield.

Both teens are charged as adults with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit a forcible felony in the slaying of Nohema Graber, 66, with a baseball bat on Nov. 3, 2021.

Goodale’s lawyers, in the motion, argued this crime has received widespread media attention through broadcast and print media that is accessible in Jefferson County. Internet-based news sources also that have reported the crime, “many of which have used inflammatory rhetoric and restated comments from the community that imply guilt.”

The motion provided examples of those sites’ articles and comments.

The defense lawyers also said Graber was a prominent figure in the community, with “hundreds of community members holding and attending vigils in her memory.” Because of that, it “significantly decreases the likelihood of an impartial jury,” the motion stated.

Goodale’s trial is set for Aug. 23 and Miller’s for Nov. 1.

According to a search warrant unsealed in March, Miller told investigators he provided a wheelbarrow used to hide Graber’s body. A witness who lived near the park where Graber’s body was found told police he saw a male pushing a wheelbarrow toward the park about midnight Nov. 4, 2021.

The teens schemed over social media to kill Graber, who had taught at Fairfield High since 2012, according court documents. They monitored her routine before ambushing her on her daily walk in the park, killing her with a baseball bat and later hiding her body, according to court documents.

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