Usa news: Nearly 18 months after a pair of Fairfield, Iowa teens bludgeoned a Spanish teacher to death with a baseball bat after a dispute over a bad grade ― a brutal tragedy that shook the southeast Iowa city and people across the state ― they pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Tuesday.

Willard Miller and Jeremy Goodale were both 16 when they were charged with the Nov. 3, 2021 slaying of Fairfield High School teacher Nohema Graber, whose body was discovered in a city park, hidden under a tarp, wheelbarrow and railroad ties.

The town of Fairfield is home to some 9,400 people and is about 100 miles southeast of Des Moines.

Willard Miller pleads guilty in the 2021 murder of Fairfield Spanish teacher Nohema Graber at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Fairfield, Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
As details of the ambush and killing emerged, it left the community of 9,600 in deep shock and mourning over the loss of the well-regarded educator and leader in the town’s small but growing Latino community.

“We’re glad the defendants have taken responsibility for the crime they committed and look forward to making sure justice is done at sentencing,” Jefferson County Attorney Chauncey Moulding said following the hearings.

Prosecutors will recommend that Miller, now 17, receive life in prison with eligibility for parole after 30 years, and that Goodale, now 18, be eligible for parole after 25 years.