David Vander Meer, a Las Vegas man and former youth pastor, died this week just days after being arrested and charged with the murder of his wife, whose body was found at the base of a hiking trail in Utah's Zion National Park in 2006.
A judge announced Vander Meer's death Thursday at a scheduled extradition hearing, according to KSNV. He had been arrested Monday on a murder charge stemming from the 2006 death of his wife, Bernadette, who fell thousands of feet from Angels Landing during what was meant to be an anniversary hike.
The case had been closed as an accident for years until 2022, when investigators reopened the investigation after receiving new information. A woman now in adulthood came forward to say that Vander Meer had sexually abused her when she was a minor in his youth group at that time. According to court documents, she told investigators that Vander Meer said they could only be together if his wife were dead.
Vander Meer claimed he had moved the couple's backpacks to prepare for a photograph when he heard Bernadette scream. He said he turned to find her gone. But prosecutors built their case on more than his account. In the months before Bernadette's death, Vander Meer had secured life insurance policies for both of them and then doubled the coverage from $150,000 each to $550,000 each. After her death, he collected $567,439 and lived lavishly afterward, according to investigators. He also faced an insurance fraud charge.
Bernadette's family expressed relief at his arrest. Her mother told 8 News Now that her daughter had been vindicated. Her father, Richard Gudenkauf, told the station: "We've been waiting on the Lord for this day."
Author James Rodriguez: "A closed case suddenly reopened by a witness's courage, a man arrested, and then just as suddenly, another death closes the matter entirely. Justice, if that's what this is, arrived in fragments across nearly two decades."
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