Judge denies motion to delay Willard Miller trial

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Iowa (KCRG) - On Friday, a judge denied Willard Miller’s motion to push his jury trial back.

Both Miller and his classmate Jeremy Goodale are accused of killing their Spanish teacher Nohema Graber. Prosecutors say Graber was beaten with a baseball bat after giving Miller a poor grade in class. Her body was found in a park by the high school where she worked in Fairfield.

Miller was set to go on trial on March 20th, 2023, but his lawyer has cited a busy schedule and the need for more time in order to consult expert witnesses and review various transcripts and documents.

The court had previously discouraged a continuance of the trial without a “good and compelling cause.”

On January 27th, a judge made the following ruling:

“It would be an astoundingly mythical legal stretch to classify starting this jury trial in approximately two months, which has been scheduled for five months, as an “injustice”. On the record presented, the defendant has failed to show good and compelling cause and the Motion to Continue March 20, 2023. Jury Trial is hereby DENIED.”

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