High school students abducted and killed their teacher over grades then tried to conceal the body covering it with a tarp

Beside the parents, teachers have the most important role in the educational process of the children and their development especially in their teenage years. And just like the parents, teachers face difficulties in that process and end up having arguments with the children over their behavior, grades and many other stuff.

Following one such confrontation incident between a teacher and her students few days ago, the teacher was found dead and two of her students were arrested on charges of her murder. Victim’s body was found underneath a tarp at a local park several hours after she was reported missing.

The 16-year-old W. Miller and the 16-year-old J. Goodale were arrested in connection to the murder of the 66-year-old teacher, N. Graber and both of them were charged as adults with first-degree murder and first-degree conspiracy to commit murder.

Authorities initially suspected the murder was racially motivated, but later said they had learned the students had allegedly killed their teacher over grade disagreements and that they don’t believe the teacher was killed because of her Mexican origin.

The cause of Graber’s death was determined as head trauma, according to investigators. Graber’s body was found under a tarp, wheelbarrow and railroad ties in a public park in Iowa with apparent head trauma.

Authorities received a tip from an acquaintance of Goodale and Miller during their investigation, providing them with social media messages in which the accused teenagers detailed the disappearance and the murder of Graber, as well as possible motives and their method for covering up the crime.

According to court documents, a witness also told authorities that they saw the teenagers in the park where Graber’s body was found. After those allegations, authorities served search warrants at the students’ homes and discovered clothes with blood on them.

According to investigators, Miller admitted to them that he was in the park at the time of the murder, provided materials used in the killing and then helped to conceal it. Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds expressed her condolences to Graber’s family, colleagues, and students via a statement.

“My heart goes out to the family, friends, colleagues, and students that are dealing with this tragic murder of N. Graber. Ms. Graber touched countless children’s lives through her work as an educator across our state by sharing her passion of foreign language. I am confident through the work of our dedicated law enforcement that justice will prevail,” Gov. Kim Reynolds said.

The students were taken into custody and charged for their roles in the death of their teacher.

Both Goodale and Miller are being held in jail on a $1 million bond. They are awaiting trial.