Second Fairfield teen asks to change venue
Jul. 15—FAIRFIELD — Citing extensive pre-trial publicity, a teenager charged in the death of a high school Spanish teacher is requesting for his trial to be moved.
Attorneys for Jeremy Everett Goodale, 17, filed the motion Thursday in court. Goodale's co-defendant, Willard Noble Chaiden Miller, 16, had already been granted a venue change for his trial.
The court has not yet ruled on Goodale's motion, but is expected to grant it based on a prior decision to move Miller's trial and a previous ruling that acknowledged the understanding the case would not be tried in Fairfield.
Goodale and Miller were charged last November with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder after the body of 66-year-old Nohema Graber was found beaten and hidden at a Fairfield city park. Graber was a Spanish teacher at Fairfield High School, where the teens were students. Per Iowa law, because they were 16 at the time, the teens were charged as adults. Both lost a bid to send the case down to juvenile court. They face life in prison, though because of their age would have possibility for parole, if convicted.
The teens are being tried separately. Miller's trial is currently scheduled to begin Nov. 1 in Council Bluffs. Goodale's trial has been set for Aug. 23 but its location has not yet been set.
Prosecutors say the teens stalked Graber and then beat her to death with a baseball bat before hiding her body under a tarp, wheelbarrow and railroad ties.
Miller's lawyers are preparing to challenge evidence prosecutors plan to use on various constitutional grounds at an upcoming hearing set for Sept. 1. The next hearing scheduled for Goodale is a pre-trial conference on Aug. 1.
Kyle Ocker is the editor of the Ottumwa Courier and the Oskaloosa Herald. He can be reached at kocker@ottumwacourier.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kyle_Ocker.
