Sentencing of Fairfield teen reveals more about killing

One of the teens convicted of killing a Spanish teacher at Fairfield High School with a baseball bat in 2021 told his sister during a phone call after his arrest that he didn’t regret the deadly assault.

The recorded conversation, a state investigator testified Tuesday, happened shortly after Jeremy Goodale — along with Willard “Chaiden” Miller, both 16 at the time and students at the school — were taken into custody for striking teacher Nohema Graber, 66, multiple times with the bat on Nov. 2, 2021 in Chatauqua Park in Fairfield.

Goodale, now 18, in his April plea admitted to hitting her only once after Miller had hit her more often with the bat. But in a portion of a video played Tuesday during the first part of Goodale’s sentencing hearing, he told Special Agent Ryan Kedley of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation he struck Graber five times to make sure she was dead. That was after Miller sneaked up behind her and struck her about three times. Goodale, during the interview, said that as he was dragging her body off the park trail, he heard her breathing and then struck her five times.

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Goodale’s sentencing will continue Wednesday. Judge Shawn Showers will decide if a minimum sentence of 25 years, as prosecutors recommended, should be ordered. The minimum would have to be served before Goodale would be eligible for parole.

Miller, convicted of first-degree murder, was sentenced in July to life in prison with a minimum of 35 years to serve before being eligible for parole.

During Tuesday’s sentencing, DCI Special Agent Trent Vileta testified not only about the Nov. 4, 2021, recorded phone call but about how messages sent through Snapchat incriminated both teens in the killing.

Vileta said John Burnett, a friend of the teens, helped break the case and led police to the suspects. Burnett had screenshots of Snapchat messages from Goodale, describing the fatal attack of Graber. There were also messages explaining that Graber was killed because Miller received bad grades from her in Spanish class.

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Investigators also had information from Miller’s phone, after obtaining a search warrant, that implicated him in the killing.

Vileta said Goodale had Graber as a teacher the previous year, but didn’t have any grading issues in her class.

Kedley testified about conducting a proffer interview with Goodale, who agreed to cooperate in the prosecution of Miller. Goodale revealed how many times he hit Graber during this interview. He also admitted that he and Miller stalked Graber the day before to find out her daily routine of leaving school and walking at nearby Chautauqua Park.

Goodale planned to be the lookout while Miller walked up behind her and hit with the bat. The teens “bumped” into Graber on the trail and said “hi” a few minutes before they attacked her, he said.

Miller came up behind her as she was looking at Goodale, who was wearing a mask, walk toward her, Goodale told Kedley. After killing her, they dragged her body into a wooded area. Then, they met back at the park at midnight to hide the body.

Goodale brought a wheelbarrow and shovel, and Miller was already at the park scrubbing blood off the trail. They used the wheelbarrow to move the body near some railroad tracks, Goodale said. Then they placed the body in a tarp and put the wheelbarrow and railroad ties over the body to look like “trash” to conceal the crime.

The teens then went to Goodale’s house and got drunk. Miller went home and Goodale said he passed out in his bed.

Fairfield police Lt. Julie Kinsella testified Goodale said he agreed to help Miller because he didn’t want Miller to think he was chicken.

Jeremy’s father, Dean Goodale, and his sister, Jacqueline “Jackie” Goodale, testified Tuesday for the defense about Jeremy’s behavior and home environment. A psychologist also testified about brain development in teens and how Goodale’s home environment and family life impacted his maturity level and decision-making.

Dean Goodale testified his divorce from Jeremy’s mother affected the teen and his other four siblings, saying she abandoned them by moving to Colorado with a controlling boyfriend.

Dean Goodale said his son was also “devastated” by the pandemic and the lack of social interaction. He moved him from the Maharishi School in Fairfield to Fairfield High but Jeremy didn’t do well with online classes. He would instead play video games.

His father, tearing up during his testimony, said his son was also smoking marijuana, leading up to 2021, and would have emotional outbursts of crying and screaming derogatory things about himself. He was worried that Jeremy would kill himself.

Jacqueline Goodale said she had become the mother figure for her brother because their mother was detached and then left. She shared something Jeremy Goodale wrote about her when he was 9, describing her as creative and intelligent, and bragging about her as a “great” cook, caretaker and nursing student.

Mark Cunningham, a clinical and forensic psychologist in Seattle, Wash., testified about brain development during adolescence. The development of the brain goes from the back to the front, so physical coordination develops early but maturity and weighing risks and rewards comes much later, along with impulse control. Those aren’t fully developed at 16, when Goodale committed the crime, he noted.

Teens are less capable to resist social and emotional impulses, Cunningham said. The way Goodale and Miller carried out the killing is an example of that: They quickly planned how to carry it out, but then they started improvising.

Cunningham also said the Goodale’s home life — his “family dysfunction” — also impacted his maturity level, personal ethics, empathy and understanding the magnitude of consequences.

Cunningham will continue his testimony Wednesday.

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