A former youth pastor has been charged with murder and insurance fraud in connection with his wife's death nearly two decades ago, when she fell from a perilous hiking trail in Utah's Zion National Park. David Vander Meer, 48, was arrested Monday by U.S. Marshals, according to NBC News.
The case was reopened after Vander Meer's former church supervisor informed investigators that "the death was not an accident" and that "David had pushed Bernadette," court documents state.
In August 2006, David and Bernadette Vander Meer were hiking to the summit of Angels Landing to celebrate their wedding anniversary. David Vander Meer told authorities that he was preparing to take sunrise photos when he turned and heard his then-29-year-old wife scream as she fell. Bernadette's body was discovered hours later at the base of the 1,500-foot rock formation. At the time, the fall was ruled an accident due to a lack of evidence, though investigators found the circumstances suspicious.
Court documents reveal that Vander Meer allegedly began a sexual affair with a 16-year-old girl while he was a youth pastor. He reportedly told the minor that they could only be together if his wife were deceased. Bernadette Vander Meer had grown suspicious of her husband's infidelity in the year leading up to her death, as he was allegedly paying for a place to meet the underage girl. The girl, by then of legal age, ended the four-year affair the day before the couple embarked on their Zion National Park trip.
Vander Meer was reportedly dismissed from his church position within one to two years of his wife's death, with prosecutors alleging he hosted parties with alcohol for underage congregants. He married the former congregant with whom he had the affair two years after Bernadette's death, but they divorced in 2014 over allegations of infidelity. Vander Meer has not been charged in relation to the sexual relationship with a minor.
Investigators also allege that Vander Meer significantly increased his wife's life insurance policy from $150,000 to $600,000 shortly before her death. He received a life insurance payout of approximately $567,439 in 2007.
A coworker of Bernadette Vander Meer's expressed concerns to police about the circumstances surrounding her death. The coworker noted that Vander Meer had been absent from work functions and alleged that he purchased a $50,000 Cadillac SUV with insurance money after the couple sold a condo years prior.
Initial investigations found no signs of struggle or violence in the couple's hotel room. It remains unclear what specific evidence prompted the arrest.
Vander Meer is currently listed as an inmate in the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas. It is not yet known if he will be extradited to Utah to face the charges. Bernadette's father told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he never believed her death was an accident, stating, "She was a mountain goat. For her to fall off a cliff? No."