Cardinal Crimes
At Cardinal Crimes, we want "true crime" to have a purpose.
Here, we aim to raise awareness of cases, deepen understanding of various types of crime and the psychology driving them, and explore ways to prevent future crime—whether through individual actions, community efforts, societal change, or policy reform.
We do this by speaking with survivors, victims, experts, policymakers, offenders, and more to learn all that we can about crime and how to stop it.
Cardinal Crimes
MURDERED: Nohema Graber, November, 2021, Fairfield, Iowa
On November 2nd, 2021, two 16-year-old boys beat their 66-year-old Spanish teacher, Nohema Graber, to death. The reasoning? They were getting bad grades in her class. The murder of Nohema Graber stunned the community of Fairfield, Iowa, and the nation. In this episode we discuss the timeline of events, how the two teens stalked and meticulously planned their crimes, and discuss what transpired at their sentencing hearings. How could two teenage boys do something so depraved?
This is the last episode looking at young men who turn to violence, a quick series I wanted to do after watching the Netflix series “Adolescence”. There are so many conversations that need to be had on this topic, and I hope to hear more people having them.
SOURCES
- https://www.kcci.com/article/iowa-court-documents-reveal-timeline-of-killing-of-fairfield-spanish-teacher-willard-miller-jeremy-goodale/39517350
- https://www.kcci.com/article/nohema-graber-memorial-service-spanish-teacher-fairfield/38205043
- https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/fairfield-teens-accused-of-murder-in-court-tuesday-asking-for-lowered-bonds
- https://abc3340.com/news/nation-world/iowa-teenagers-willard-miller-jeremy-goodale-kill-spanish-teacher-nohema-graber-over-bad-grade-prosecutor-fairfield-high-school-murder-charges-court-documents-phone-computer-snapchat-body-chatauqua-park
- https://www.iowacourts.gov/courtcases/21483/embed/SupremeCourtOpinion
- https://www.behnerfh.com/obituaries/nohemacastilloycastillo-graber
- https://www.kcrg.com/2025/01/28/court-upholds-sentence-fairfield-teen-convicted-murdering-spanish-teacher-2021/
- https://www.iowacourts.gov/courtcases/22353/embed/CourtAppealsOpinion
- https://www.kktv.com/2022/05/11/teen-accused-killing-spanish-high-school-teacher-be-tried-adult-judge-ruling/
- https://lawandcrime.com/crime/teenager-who-helped-beat-spanish-teacher-to-death-over-co-defendants-failing-grade-is-sentence
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Theme Song: Shrouded Lament by james.lfo, William Claeson