ST. GEORGE, Utah — A man who previously served as a church youth pastor has been charged with the murder of his wife, nearly 20 years after she fell to her death from Angels Landing in Zion National Park.
David Vander Meer was charged Tuesday with murder and insurance fraud by the Washington County Attorney's Office. The charges came after the investigation into the death of Bernadette Vander Meer was reopened following a tip sent to the office.
In the early morning on August 22, 2006, the couple had hiked to the top of the popular spot in Zion to allegedly take sunrise photographs when David claimed he turned around and then heard his wife "scream as she was falling."
David Vander Meer told detectives that he was moving backpacks when Bernadette allegedly fell, and then ran through the trail to find someone with better cell service to call 911.
Bernadette's body was found hours later by detectives at the base of Angels Landing.
Documents from the investigation into Bernadette's death note that the couple, who lived in Las Vegas, had purchased a home together, at which time they each had life insurance policies that totaled approximately $150,000 each. They later increased the policies to insure them for approximately $600,000.
Following the death, a coworker of Bernadette's at the New York New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas contacted police and "was concerned with some of the circumstances surrounding" what had happened.
The coworker said that although she had worked with Bernadette for 6 years, she had only met David Vander Meer once, and only for a few minutes. She added that David never attended work functions with his wife or parties with her work friends.
According to the coworker, after the couple sold a condominium years earlier, David purchased a $50,000 Cadillac SUV, which was stolen months later, with insurance paying off the loan.
A search of the couple's hotel room following Bernadette's fall found no evidence of violence, and no signs of struggle appeared on the items found on her body after it was located.
In a release announcing the charges filed against David Vander Meer, the Washington County Attorney's Office did not share additional details on what led them to pursue an arrest nearly two decades later, but asked anyone with information "relevant to this case" to reach out.
