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20 years after his wife fell to her death in Utah, a youth pastor’s story unravels
- Washington County Attorney's Office charged former youth pastor David Vander Meer with murder and insurance fraud in his wife Bernadette's 2006 death, but he died by suicide in his Las Vegas jail cell before his extradition hearing.
- Lieutenant Investigator Jessica Bate found Vander Meer's account of watching the sunrise at Zion National Park contradicted by NASA data, which showed the sun rose around 6:54 a.m., more than a half hour after his 911 call.
- Pastor Barry Diamond contacted authorities in October after reports that Vander Meer used his position to "groom" underage members, including a girl he was sexually involved with at the time of Bernadette's death.
- Following the 2006 incident, Vander Meer received about $567,439 in life insurance payouts and lived lavishly after he and Bernadette had recently increased their death benefits to $600,000 each.
- Bernadette's parents hope sharing her story brings awareness to patterns of authority abuse, seeking to ensure their daughter is remembered for her faith and vocal talent rather than the circumstances of her death.
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12 Articles
12 Articles
Richard Gudenkauf accompanied his daughter to the altar in September 1996 with a frown.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources12
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center11Last UpdatedBias Distribution92% Center
Bias Distribution
- 92% of the sources are Center
92% Center
C 92%
Factuality
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