Iowa teen Jeremy Goodale charged over Spanish teacher’s death to testify against classmate

One of the two Iowa teenagers charged in the 2021 murder of their Spanish teacher is set to turn on his fellow classmate, prosecutors revealed Wednesday.

Jeremy Goodale has agreed to testify against former pal Willard Miller during the latter’s upcoming trial, according to the Des Moines Register.

The classmates, who are now 17 and being tried as adults, were arrested and charged with the murder of 66-year-old teacher Nohema Graber on Nov. 2, 2021.

In a shocking twist in the case, Goodale will divulge details about Miller’s alleged role in the brutal killing, Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding said Wednesday.

It is unclear at this time whether Goodale has reached a plea deal in exchange for the testimony.

During Wednesday’s court hearing, Moulding said that “Goodale has turned state’s evidence and is listed as a witness against Miller.”

In 2021, Miller had met with Graber at Fairfield High School to discuss his poor grade in her class on the afternoon of her murder, investigators found.

Authorities said the teacher later drove her van to a park where she was known to take daily walks after school.

The following day, Graber’s badly beaten body was found hidden under a tarp, wheelbarrow, and railroad ties in the park.

Investigators believe Miller and Goodale, who were both 16 years old at the time, beat her to death with a baseball bat — and later bragged about it on social media.

Miller previously told police that Graber’s style of teaching frustrated him, and his low grade in the class had a knock-on effect on his overall GPA.

Miller, however, denied any involvement in the teacher’s death but “later stated he had knowledge of everything but did not participate.”

He later claimed that a “roving group of masked kids” killed Graber and forced him to get rid of the body, according to court documents.

Graber had taught at the school in Fairfield, a city with a population of about 9,400 people that is nearly 100 miles southeast of Des Moines, since 2012.

Her son, Christian, insisted in a Facebook message 2 days after her death that he had forgiven the teens accused of murdering “an angel of a woman” who was “one of the kindest souls.”

“I forgive them and feel sorry that they had that anger in their hearts. There’s no point in being angry at them. We should hope that they can find peace in their lives,” he wrote.

Miller is scheduled for trial in April and Goodale in May.

With Post wires