(Fairfield, Iowa/KCCI) – One of the Fairfield teens charged in the Nov., 2021 murder of a Fairfield High School Teacher, has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, thereby eliminating the need for his trial Friday, in Council Bluffs.  KCCI reports 17-year-old Willard Miller entered a guilty plea Tuesday (today) in Jefferson County Court in Fairfield.Miller and Jeremy Goodale both stand accused in the death of 66-year-old Spanish Teacher Nohema Graber, whose body was found under a tarp, wheelbarrow and railroad ties on Nov. 3, 2021, in a Fairfield Park. Prosecutors say she had been beaten to death with a baseball bat. Graber was 66.

Both Miller and Jeremy Goodale were charged with first-degree murder. Each was 16 at the time. Both are 17 now. Prosecutors say both of the teens struck Graber with a baseball bat and destroyed evidence in the case. Miller’s lawyer states he denies hitting Graber with a bat.

In Iowa, the penalty for a first-degree murder conviction is life in prison. The judge said Miller will not receive mandatory life without the possibility of parole because he is a minor. He will be responsible for restitution and other costs.