Iowa teen sentenced to life in prison for killing teacher over bad grade

globalnews.ca:

Iowa teen has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years for beating his high school Spanish teacher to death with the help of a fellow classmate.Jeremy Goodale, 18, was sentenced Wednesday for his part in killing Nohema Graber, a 66-year-old teacher at Fairfield High School. He carried out the murder with his friend Willard Miller when both students were just 16 years old.

Both were charged as adults and pleaded guilty to first-degree murder earlier this year.Prosecutors showed evidence at trial that Goodale and Miller sought to kill their high school teacher because of a bad grade she had given Miller. Goodale testified that they planned the killing for about two weeks after Miller recruited him to help.In July, Miller was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 35 years in prison.Before being sentenced, Goodale apologized to the teacher’s family, the community and his own family.“I’m sorry, truly sorry.

What I’ve taken can never be replaced,” Goodale said, at times through sobs. “Every day I wish I could go back and stop myself, prevent this loss and this pain that I’ve caused everyone.”Graber’s body was found in November 2021 in a park in the small town of Fairfield, located about 80 miles south of Cedar Rapids.

She was discovered hidden under a tarp, a wheelbarrow and railroad ties. She had been beaten to death with a baseball bat.Investigators found that Miller had met with Graber the day before at Fairfield High School to discuss his poor grade in her class.