The teenager who helped his classmate beat their Spanish teacher to death over a failing grade was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years in prison.
In the hearing out of Jefferson County, Iowa, prosecutors laid out that Jeremy Goodale, 18, confessed that he murdered Nohema Graber, 66, and admitted at the time to having no remorse. There was a two-week period from the time Willard Noble Chaiden Miller, 18, suggested the plot to him, and the time that they ambushed Graber on her routine walk at Chautauqua Park in the city of Fairfield. Miller had wanted to get back at Graber for failing him in Spanish at Fairfield High School. Goodale, who authorities said did pretty well in the class, agreed to help.
Investigators found the murder weapon, a baseball bat with flames on it, in Miller’s room. But even after pleading guilty to the murder, the defendants contradicted each other on who did the actual killing. Goodale told the court that he struck Graber after Miller hit her in the back of the head. Miller, however, insisted he simply acted as a lookout while Goodale beat her.
As the prosecution pointed out on Wednesday, Goodale had no motive to kill Graber and simply acted to help Miller. In his own words, Goodale had confessed that he went along with it because he did not “want to seem like a p—y.”
The lack of motive “increases the threat” to the community, the prosecution argued.
They argued for life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years.
Jeremy Goodale in court on Nov. 14, 2023, for the first day of his sentencing hearing. His murder victim, Nohema Graber, is pictured at right. (Screenshot of Goodale: Law&Crime Network; image of Graber: City of Fairfield, Iowa)
When Miller was sentenced in July to life in prison, Judge Shawn Showers voiced hope that the defendant, who was 16 when carrying out the crime, would reflect on what he did and grow as a person. Even so, he called out the now-17-year-old’s “arrogance” for claiming to have a higher IQ than most of the jail staff. Showers, who presided over both sentencing hearings, suggested this attitude could be because of his age or it could be a matter of Miller’s set personality.
As for Goodale, his defense attempted to paint a sympathetic, if troubled, picture. One of his sisters testified about an unstable home life, culminating with his mother divorcing their father and bringing a controlling boyfriend into their lives. The mother took the boyfriend’s side, and she kicked her and another sister out of the home, according to the sister’s testimony.
A forensic psychologist for the defense testified that Goodale, who was 16 during the murder, was mentally immature. He highlighted statistics showing that events ranging from homicides to car crashes can correlate with age; the more mature someone’s brain is, the less likely they are to engage in dangerous behavior. Goodale was even more immature than the average 16-year-old, said the defense expert, Mark Douglas Cunningham.
Cunningham downplayed the two-week period from Miller’s recruitment of Goodale and the time of the actual murder. He construed it as 15 minutes of planning that recurred multiple times over the two weeks and noted that the defendants lacked an eye toward getting away with the crime.
In addition to the other family issues, the psychologist also brought up how Goodale’s father was constantly displeased with the defendant’s schooling or the school administrators, was opposed to vaccines, was “anti-woke,” and “anti-all kinds of things.” Such a stance is, in part, identifying that the “larger community” is not something one identifies with, Cunningham said.
“[The community is] alien, and even malevolent,” Cunningham, said. “Now that’s an unintentional effect in terms of its impact on Jeremy’s social identification, development of kind of community morality, but it has impact nonetheless.”
When he had a chance to speak, Goodale apologized to Graber’s family, and added, “I know my words will never be enough.” He said he didn’t know how killing Graber would affect her relatives, and he was sorry for not stopping this crime in the first place. Goodale said he had never stopped to consider the community or the effect on the school. He apologized to his friends for facing the “stigma” of having known him. The prosecution acknowledged his statement as heartfelt.
In victim impact statements, the family said that Graber’s murder likely hastened the passing of her ailing husband, Paul Graber, who died of cancer that would have been caught way sooner if his wife had been there. Paul Graber’s brother Tom Graber cast doubt on Goodale’s expression of remorse and voiced shock at Goodale’s demeanor at the time of the crime.
“One of the most shocking aspects of your role in this murder is the casualness with which you agreed to take a life,” he said.
Prosecutors brought up investigators to go over the details of the crime on Nov. 2, 2021, and the evidence against the defendants.
Another student told investigators about Goodale sending him incriminating images on Snapchat.
“Time to hide a body,” said the caption on one, which depicted a hand grabbing a bottle of Clorox.
An investigator testified about this image coming from Jeremy Goodale’s Snapchat account. It depicted someone grabbing a Clorox bottle. “Time to hide a body,” the caption stated. (Screenshot: Law&Crime Network)
“POV you’re my Spanish teacher and this is the last thing you see,” the caption said on another. It depicted a person wearing a hood and mask.
An investigator testified about this image coming from Jeremy Goodale’s Snapchat account. It depicted a person with a hood and mask. “POV you’re my Spanish teacher and this is the last thing you see,” the caption said. (Screenshot: Law&Crime Network)
“No I’m actually ready here we go,” another caption stated. The image depicted someone holding a shovel.
An investigator testified about this image coming from Jeremy Goodale’s Snapchat account. It depicted someone holding a shovel. “No I’m actually ready here we go,” it stated. (Screenshot: Law&Crime Network)
“New wheelbarrow who dis,” said the caption on a fourth image.
It depicted the red wheelbarrow that was discovered on Graber.
An investigator testified about this image coming from Jeremy Goodale’s Snapchat account. It depicted the red wheelbarrow discovered on murder victim Nohema Graber. “New wheelbarrow who dis,’ the caption stated. (Screenshot: Law&Crime Network)
Goodale and Miller had planned on burying Graber, but the ground was frozen, so they left her under a tarp and the wheelbarrow.
Prosecutors also elicited testimony that the bloody attack had on the “pacifist” community of Fairfield. People became scared to go out, refused to walk in parks, and were afraid to send their children to school. Even teachers became afraid to teach, in light of the motive behind Graber’s murder.
The judge on Wednesday voiced belief in Goodale’s regret, acknowledged that this defendant lacked a prior criminal history, and accepted that as a younger person, the defendant’s brain needed more development. But though he described him as a candidate for rehabilitation — better than Miller — he pointed out that the murder would not have happened without Goodale’s help.
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