Accused Cheating Pastor Dies by Suicide in Jail, Depriving Zion Victim Family of a Verdict

A former Las Vegas youth pastor accused of shoving his wife off a cliff for insurance money has died by suicide in a Nevada jail, ending a 20-year-old murder case before a jury could ever weigh the evidence against him.

David Vander Meer, 49, was found with self-inflicted injuries at the Clark County Detention Center on 24 June, two days after his arrest, and died in hospital the following day, according to the Clark County Medical Examiner. The examiner later ruled the death a suicide. He had been due in court on 25 June to face extradition to Utah.

A Death First Ruled an Accident

Vander Meer was charged in June with the murder of his first wife, Bernadette, and with insurance fraud. Bernadette, 28, fell about 1,000 feet (304 metres) from Angels Landing at Zion National Park on 22 August 2006 during an anniversary hike. He told investigators he had turned to move their backpacks for a sunrise photo, heard her scream, and found her gone.

Investigators at the time found no evidence of foul play, and her death was ruled accidental. The Washington County Attorney's Office later reopened the case after Barry Diamond, a senior pastor who once employed Vander Meer, told investigators he believed David had pushed her.

The Money Behind the Fall

Court records allege a financial motive. The affidavit says Vander Meer raised the couple's life insurance policies from $150,000 (£112,222) to about $550,000 (£411,480) to $600,000 (£448,887) shortly before Bernadette died. After her death was ruled an accident, he collected a payout of $567,439 (£427,650) in July 2007 and, prosecutors allege, spent it on cars and trips with romantic partners.

Investigators also allege he had been in a sexual relationship with a girl he met through his church youth group, a relationship the affidavit says began when she was 16. She told investigators he once said the only way they could be together was if Bernadette were not alive.

A Pattern US Juries Have Seen

The allegations echo a grim American template. In 2015, Colorado businessman Harold Henthorn was convicted of first-degree murder after his wife, Toni, fell about 130 feet (39.6 metres) in Rocky Mountain National Park during their wedding anniversary hike. Prosecutors proved he wanted $4.7 million (£3.5 million) in policies she did not know existed, and he is serving life without parole.

Both cases involved anniversary falls in national parks and life insurance taken out before the death. Henthorn's account was tested by a jury. Vander Meer's never will be.

A Verdict That Will Never Come

Because criminal charges end at death, the allegations against Vander Meer will not be argued before a jury. The insurance-fraud charge dies with him too, leaving the payout he collected uncontested in court. A handwritten note found in his cell insisted he 'didn't kill her', records released by Las Vegas police show.

For Bernadette's parents, who spent nearly two decades doubting the accident ruling, his death closes the criminal case without the public reckoning they sought. 'There are no winners here,' Diamond told NBC News. 'This is a tragedy for Bernadette's family; this is a tragedy for Dave's family. They're good people and they're hurting, too.'

The reopened file will now be closed again, this time with no one left to answer for it.