Iowa Teens Accused of Killing Spanish Teacher with Baseball Bat Will Be Tried as Adults

Two Iowa teenagers accused of murdering their high school Spanish teacher with a baseball bat will be tried as adults after a judge rejected their requests to move their cases to juvenile court.

efferson County court records confirm Jeremy Goodale, 17, and Willard Miller, 16, both had their requests for reverse waivers denied this week by Judge Shawn Showers. Both teens are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit forcible felony.

The pair is accused of using a baseball bat last year to murder Nohema Graber, their Spanish teacher at Fairfield High School.

Prosecutors have alleged the two students stalked the teacher and learned her daily routines, and then ambushed Graber on her daily walk.

The pair allegedly dragged Graber into the woods, and then returned to the scene to hide her body. She was reported missing on Nov. 2; her body was found the next day under a tarp, wheelbarrow and railroad ties.

Investigators set their sights on the pair when a friend turned over social media messages from Goodale that showed he and Miller “were involved in the planning, execution, and disposal of evidence,” a police search warrant noted.

Goodale allegedly described conducting surveillance on their teacher and described how they killed her and disposed of the body.

“The details included … the motive for killing Graber, the planning and execution of the means to kill Graber, as well as deliberate attempts to conceal the crime,” criminal complaints against the suspects said.

A potential motive for the heinous crime hasn’t been made public.

Graber had reportedly been a teacher since 2012 at the school, in a city about two hours southeast of Des Moines.

In rejecting Miller’s request, the judge said there wouldn’t be enough time to rehabilitate Miller in juvenile court “for a crime of such magnitude”.

Both suspects have pleaded not guilty.