The first of two Iowa teenagers is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for the brutal 2021 murder of their high school Spanish teacher, Nohema Graber. Willard Miller and Jeremy Goodale, both 16 at the time, pleaded guilty in April to the shocking attack, which involved beating Graber to death with a baseball bat in a park she frequented after school.

Prosecutors revealed that the teenagers' motive stemmed from resentment over a poor grade Miller had received from the 66-year-old educator. As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors have recommended a sentence for Miller ranging from 30 years to life imprisonment, with the possibility of parole.

Goodale, whose sentencing is slated for August (though his legal team has requested a postponement), faces a similar recommended sentence of 25 years to life, also with the possibility of parole. He testified that the murder was premeditated over a two-week period, admitting that both he and Miller struck Graber before concealing her body. While Goodale claimed Miller initiated the plan, Miller admitted to assisting but denied delivering any blows.

The crime occurred on November 2, 2021, in Chautauqua Park, located in Fairfield, Iowa, a town of approximately 9,400 residents situated about 100 miles southeast of Des Moines. Although charged as adults, the teens, now 17 (Miller) and 18 (Goodale), avoided mandatory life sentences without parole for first-degree murder due to their age at the time of the offense.