SPRINGDALE, UTAH, June 25 (Vegas News Online) — Washington County prosecutors in Utah have charged former Las Vegas youth pastor David Vander Meer with first-degree murder and insurance fraud in the 2006 death of his wife, Bernadette Vander Meer, at Zion National Park.
Bernadette Vander Meer died after a fall from Angels Landing on Aug. 22, 2006. Court records cited in reporting say the death was first treated as accidental, and prosecutors later alleged that David Vander Meer intentionally pushed her from the trail.
According to court records cited in reporting, Vander Meer later filed a life-insurance claim and received about $567,000 in July 2007. The probable cause affidavit also says he increased the insurance coverage before his wife’s death, though reports differ on the amount.
U.S. Marshals arrested Vander Meer on June 22 and booked him into the Clark County Detention Center, according to reports. Later reports said he died in custody before the case could move forward.
