Two Teens Murdered A Spanish Teacher Because Of Bad Grades

Receiving a bad grade at school is normal because no one is always on the top. Of course, we must be frustrated and angry. We blame everyone else or other elements that made us have a bad grade. But if we think clearly, we can learn from our mistakes and improve next time. It is not the end of the world. However, these two teenagers didn’t think so. They had bad grades and didn’t accept the results. The monster inside them woke up, and the next thing they did was kill their Spanish teacher. Their names are Willard Miller and Jeremy Goodale.

Source: Jeremy Goodale and Willard Miller/Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office

When they committed this horrific crime, they were only 16 years old. Their Spanish teacher was Nohema Graber, 66 years old. She was a beloved teacher at Fairfield High School in Iowa. Miller and Goodale brutally smashed Ms. Graber with a baseball bat when she took a walk in the park and dumped her body there. They didn’t feel guilty about what they did. They shared their victory on social media. Later on, they were charged with first-degree murder and committed a forcible felony. The motive to murder Ms. Graber was horrible. Just because she gave them bad grades and they were ready to kill her. It sounded like dehumanizing to me. Calling them people made me want to swallow my tongue back again. In July 2023, Miller was sentenced to 35 years to life with a possibility of parole after 35 years. And Goodale was waiting for his trial. They seemed to have planned this notorious crime for a while. They understood they would receive a bad grade in Ms. Graber’s class. They tried to convince her, but she could not do that as a teacher. It is the morality of a teacher.

Not because you have a bad grade and the teacher must be sympathetic to you. It doesn’t work that way. Teachers always want their students to succeed in classes and life. Teachers teach them knowledge so that they can apply it to the real life. Teachers are always there to help students, but students need to be responsible with what they learn. If they don’t stay focused or study hard, they will fail.

When I read the story, I think of one thing only. Did they think about the consequences before they committed that horrific crime? I guessed not. The human side in them no longer existed. It was an evil side that rose up. I feel sorry for Ms. Graber’s family when they lost a beloved family member. I also feel sorry for both teenagers’ families. They could not believe that their sons could have done that thing. They must have expected a lot in them in the future. But now, the future had shut down in front of Miller and Goodale. They will live for the rest of their lives in regret and suffering. At least, they will study in prison without complaints about their grades. Let prison teach them a valuable lesson. I don’t know if they can be a human again after spending time in prison. But they will miss everything in their ways growing up.