For nearly 20 years, Bernadette Vander Meer's death at Utah's Zion National Park was treated as an accident. In June 2026, her husband, pastor David Vander Meer, was indicted over her alleged murder after investigators revisited evidence from the 2006 cliff fall, his affair with a teenager and a life insurance payout of $567,439 (£427,650).
Vander Meer died before the case reached court. He was arrested in Nevada on 22 June, then found with self-inflicted injuries at the Clark County Detention Center two days later. He died in hospital on 25 June, according to the Clark County Medical Examiner. A suicide note found in his cell reportedly maintained that he 'didn't kill her'.
