Nohema Graber, 66, taught Spanish at Fairfield High School and was reported missing on Nov. 2. | Facebook/Nohema Graber
Nohema Graber, 66, taught Spanish at Fairfield High School and was reported missing on Nov. 2. | Facebook/Nohema Graber
A pair of Iowa teens plead not guilty to killing their high school Spanish teacher.
The two 16-year-olds are being charged with first-degree murder and the conspiracy to commit murder, NBC News reported.
Nohema Graber, 66, taught Spanish at Fairfield High School and was reported missing Nov. 2. Her remains were discovered at a local park where she was known to take walks later that same day with what authorities described as severe trauma to the head.
The teens have waived their right to a speedy trial, so prosecutors are not required to try them within 90 of their formal charges being filed, according to The (Cedar Rapids) Gazette.
The two defendants are currently being held in juvenile detention centers. The attorney representing the teens argued for releasing them to their parents' custody under home confinement and other monitoring, saying that the two teens have no ability to flee prosecution.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Scott Brown disagreed and said that the “extremely brutal murder of an innocent person” warranted keeping them in custody, The Gazette reported.
District Judge Joel Yates scheduled the trial to begin April 19.
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