{"id":2273,"date":"2026-06-24T15:34:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T15:34:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2273"},"modified":"2026-06-24T15:34:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T15:34:31","slug":"man-charged-in-wifes-deadly-angels-landing-fall-had-affair-with-underage-girl-police-allege","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2273","title":{"rendered":"Man charged in wife’s deadly Angels Landing fall had affair with underage girl, police allege"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ST. GEORGE, Utah \u2014 A man who previously served as a church youth pastor has been charged with the murder of his wife, nearly 20 years after she fell to her death from Angels Landing in Zion National Park.<\/p>\n

Read more COVID-19 vaccine study that was blocked from CDC journal is published elsewhere<\/a><\/p>\n

David Vander Meer, 48, was charged Tuesday with murder and insurance fraud by the Washington County Attorney’s Office. The charges came after the investigation into the death of Bernadette Vander Meer was reopened following a tip sent to the office.<\/p>\n

According to court documents, the tip came from Vander Meer’s former boss at his church, who told investigators that “he believed the death was not an accident and that David had pushed Bernadette.”<\/p>\n

In the early morning on August 22, 2006, the couple had hiked to the top of the popular spot in Zion to allegedly take sunrise photographs when David claimed he turned around and then heard his 28-year-old wife “scream as she was falling.”<\/p>\n

David Vander Meer told detectives that he was moving backpacks when Bernadette allegedly fell, and then ran through the trail to find someone with better cell service to call 911.<\/p>\n

Bernadette’s body was found hours later by detectives at the base of Angels Landing.<\/p>\n

Court documents allege that while serving as a youth pastor, Vander Meer began a sexual affair with an underage girl at his church, and told her that the only way they could be together was if his wife “were not alive.” In 2006, the same girl, who was then of legal age, broke off her 4-year relationship with David the day before the Vander Meers left for Zion National Park.<\/p>\n

Within a year or two following the Zion fall, Vander Meer was fired from his church job after he allegedly was throwing parties for underage members and providing them alcohol at his house.<\/p>\n

Read more Neighbors push back on Tempe student apartment plan<\/a><\/p>\n

Two years after Bernadette’s death, Vander Meer and the former church congregant with whom he was having an affair married in a private arrangement, only to divorce in 2014 over accusations of infidelity. <\/p>\n

Vander Meer has never been charged with any crime related to sexual impropriety or abuse of a minor.<\/p>\n

Documents from the investigation into Bernadette’s death note that the couple, who lived in Las Vegas, had purchased a home together, at which time they each had life insurance policies that totaled approximately $150,000 each. They later increased the policies to insure them for approximately $600,000.<\/p>\n

Following the death, a coworker of Bernadette’s at the New York New York Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas contacted police and “was concerned with some of the circumstances surrounding” what had happened.<\/p>\n

The coworker said that although she had worked with Bernadette for 6 years, she had only met David Vander Meer once, and only for a few minutes. She added that David never attended work functions with his wife or parties with her work friends. <\/p>\n

According to the coworker, after the couple sold a condominium years earlier, David purchased a $50,000 Cadillac SUV, which was stolen months later, with insurance paying off the loan.<\/p>\n

A search of the couple’s hotel room following Bernadette’s fall found no evidence of violence, and no signs of struggle appeared on the items found on her body after it was located.<\/p>\n

Read more Arizona strengthens child welfare system after foster care tragedies<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A man who served as a church youth pastor has been charged with the murder of his wife, nearly 20 years after she fell to her death from Angels Landing in Zion National Park.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime"],"yoast_head":"\nMan charged in wife's deadly Angels Landing fall had affair with underage girl, police allege - Arizona Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arizonamovinginsider.com\/?p=2273\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man charged in wife's deadly Angels Landing fall had affair with underage girl, police allege - 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