An Iowa teenager who murdered his Spanish teacher over a bad grade has been sentenced to life in prison, The AP reports. Willard Noble Chaiden Miller was only 16 years old when he and classmate Jeremy Goodale killed Nohema Graber in 2021. Both boys have pleaded guilty to first-degree murder.
Graber, a teacher at Fairfield High School, was dumped in Chautauqua Park in Fairfield. Her remains were discovered there, hidden beneath a tarp, wheelbarrow, and railroad ties, on the same day she was reported missing. It was believed her cause of death was severe head trauma.
Willard Noble Chaiden Miller and Jeremy Goodale attacked 66-year-old Graber as she walked in the park and killed her because she reportedly gave Miller a bad grade on an assignment.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
Miller’s sentence came after only a seven-hour hearing, Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding revealed. He said that it was only right that Miller be imprisoned for life given the horrific nature of his crime. However, he will be eligible for parole after 35 years.
“I feel that the sentence was fair and appropriate under the gruesome and horrific circumstances of this case, and feel that justice was done,” Moulding told CNN in an email. “I believe this sentiment is generally shared by the Graber family and the community of Fairfield.”
During the sentencing on Thursday, July 6, District Court Judge Shawn Showers told Miller that he “cut Nohema Graber’s precious life short” and called his actions “sinister and evil. Those acts resulted in the intentional loss of human life in a brutal fashion.”
Miller apologized for the “distress” and “devastation” he’d caused the victim’s loved ones, saying, “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.”
Jeremy Goodale will be sentenced in August.
