A former youth pastor killed himself in a jail cell Thursday, three days after he was charged with the murder of his young wife on their anniversary two decades ago.
David Vander Meer, 48, died in custody after he was arrested Monday for the murder of Bernadette Vander Meer, who plummeted to her death on a notorious Utah hiking trail 20 years ago, authorities told KSVN.
Vander Meer’s former church boss tipped off investigators that the tragedy “was not an accident” and that “David had pushed” Bernadette, according to Washington County court documents.
The ex-man of God killed himself after he was thrown behind bars, although authorities have not revealed the specifics, citing only “self-sustained injuries,” according to the local outlet.
Vander Meer and his wife were hiking to the top of Angels Landing in Zion National Park to celebrate their wedding anniversary on August 22, 2006 when she fell to her death.
The alleged homicidal holy man told cops he was busy setting up a camera for sunrise photos when he heard his 29-year-old wife “scream as she was falling.”
Bernadette’s body was found hours later at the base of Angel’s Landing, Fox13 reported.
Angel’s Landing is a notoriously terrifying rock formation with narrow ridges and 1,000+ foot drop-offs.
Due to a lack of evidence, Bernadette’s fall was ruled an accident, and the case was closed, although investigators felt the circumstances around her death were suspicious, court documents said.
While Vander Meer was a youth pastor, he allegedly began having a sexual affair with an underage girl when she was 16, and had told her that they could only be together if his wife were “not alive,” documents added.
Bernadette had reportedly grown suspicious of her husband’s infidelity in the year before her death, while the pastor was paying rent for a place to have sex with the underage girl, the affidavit said.
The girl, who was by then of legal age, ended the four-year affair with Vander Meer the day before the married couple set out on their trip to Zion National Park.
The youth pastor was allegedly axed from his church job within a year or two after Bernadette’s fatal plunge, with prosecutors stating he allegedly threw booze-filled parties for underage members at his house.
Two years after Bernadette died, Vander Meer tied the knot with the girl he allegedly groomed.
The couple divorced in 2014 over allegations of infidelity, the filings detailed.
Vander Meer, however, had not been charged with any crimes for having a sexual relationship with a minor.
The documents also allege that Vander Meer increased his wife’s insurance policy from $150,000 to $600,000 shortly before her untimely death.
In 2007, he received a life insurance payout totaling approximately $567,439, according to court documents.
Berndette’s coworker of six years at the New York New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas also raised alarm bells about her sudden death — telling police she was “concerned” about some circumstances around what happened, Fox13 reported.
The coworker said that Vander Meer was a no-show at work functions and alleged that after the couple sold a condo years earlier, he purchased a $50,000 Cadillac SUV with insurance paying off the loan, the outlet said.
