Two teenagers from Iowa have pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of their high school Spanish teacher, 66-year-old Nohema Graber. 

Willard Miller, 17, and Jeremy Goodale, 18, both Fairfield High School students, were charged with murder in the first degree and conspiring to commit a forcible felony. Prosecutors allege that Miller was upset about a bad grade that Graber had given him, which led to the murder. 

The teens reportedly stalked and ambushed Graber at Chautauqua Park, where she took her daily afternoon walks. The next day, police found Graber’s body hidden under a wheelbarrow, a tarp, and railroad ties. She had suffered severe head trauma. 

According to prosecutors, the teens had dragged her body and hidden it in the park. Goodale told authorities that Miller had struck Graber with a bat, and he was the lookout. Goodale then hit her with the bat after the first strike failed to kill her.

The victim was a mother of three, and her daughter described her as “an absolute angel” in a touching Facebook post.

The teens learned Graber’s daily routine and ambushed her at the park before leaving in her van and abandoning it on a lonely road.

Miller’s sentence recommendations from prosecutors are 30 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole, and 25 years to life in prison with the possibility of parole for Goodale as part of the plea agreement. 

Before entering his plea agreement, Goodale had agreed to testify against Miller at the trial, which was expected to begin later that week, in exchange for a lighter sentence. 

Miller initially denied involvement in his teacher’s disappearance, but he later amended his story, saying that even though he knew about it, he did not participate in her murder. He claimed that a group of kids in masks was responsible for the murder and that they forced him and Goodale to use his wheelbarrow to move the teacher’s body.

Goodale will be sentenced on August 23 and Miller on July 5.