Former youth pastor in Las Vegas arrested in wife’s 20 year old murder case

“Nearly 20 years after a woman died in a fall at Zion National Park that was initially believed to be accidental, authorities have arrested her husband, a Las Vegas man and former youth pastor, on murder and fraud charges. David Vander Meer has been charged in connection with the death of his wife, Bernadette Vander Meer, whose 2006 death became a cold case. Bernadette Vander Meer died on the notoriously dangerous Angel’s Landing trail after she was believed to have fallen off a cliff. The arrest stems from the 2006 incident at Zion National Park. Official documents lay out a timeline of Vander Meer’s life leading up to his wife’s death, including alleged sexual involvement with an underage churchgoer while he was a youth pastor. The underage churchgoer was 14 when she and Vander Meer began an affair, according to the documents. The relationship lasted four years and ended Aug. 20, 2006. A day later, Vander Meer and his wife traveled to Utah and Zion National Park. A day after that, Bernadette Vander Meer was dead. MORE: https://news3lv.com/news/local/former-youth-pastor-in-las-vegas-arrested-in-wifes-20-year-old-murder-case _______________ Never miss an upload from News 3 Las Vegas! Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/News3LasVegas/?sub_confirmation=1  Follow News 3 on social media: News 3 Las Vegas on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/News3LasVegas/ News 3 Las Vegas on X: https://twitter.com/news3lv News 3 Las Vegas on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/news3lv/ For all of the day’s top local and national news, visit http://www.news3lv.com Watch our live newscasts and other live video at https://news3lv.com/watch Have a news tip? Send it directly to us:  Email us: news@news3lv.com  Call the Newsroom: 702-657-3150 #ksnv #News3LasVegas #localnews #lasvegas #nevada #video #news #youthpastor #husband #murdercharges #insuranacefraud #coldcase #zionnationalpark KSNV NBC News 3 Las Vegas covers news, sports, weather and traffic for the Las Vegas, Nevada area including Paradise, Spring Valley, Henderson, North Las Vegas, Indian Springs, Sloan, Searchlight, Laughlin and Nellis.”