LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The former Las Vegas youth pastor accused of his wife’s murder in a 2006 fall at a Utah national park died while in custody.
Judge Eric Goodman informed the courtroom of David Vander Meer’s death ahead of an extradition hearing planned for Thursday morning in Las Vegas Justice Court.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department later said a 49-year-old inmate at Clark County Detention Center was taken to UMC on Wednesday for “self-sustained injuries.” The medical team pronounced the inmate dead on Thursday.
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LVMPD did not identify the inmate by name, but said they were in custody since Monday, June 22, on an out-of-state warrant.
Vander Meer’s then-wife, 28-year-old Bernadette, fell to her death in 2006 at Angels Landing in Zion National Park. The Washington County District Attorney’s Office issued a warrant for Vander Meer’s arrest this week for Bernadette’s murder, saying they had received new information implicating him.
An affidavit alleged that Vander Meer began having a close relationship with a young girl when she was 14 and he was her youth pastor.
A fugitive task force took Vander Meer into custody in Summerlin, according to an arrest report, and he was booked into Clark County Detention Center on June 22.
Bernadette’s parents, Richard and Laura Gudenkauf, told News 3 they long suspected Vander Meer played a role in her death.
“Because of the girlfriend,” said Laura. “I found insurance policies months later that he had, lots of them.”
