Man accused of pushing wife at Angels Landing found dead before court date

This story contains discussion of suicide.

UPDATE, 6/25/2026: David Vander Meer, a former youth pastor accused of pushing his wife off Zion National Park’s Angels Landing during sunrise in 2006, died in an apparent suicide before his first court date, Nevada authorities said.

in a video from Las Vegas news station Fox 13Justice of the Peace Eric Goodman informs the court that Vander Meer is dead, and he has no further information.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said an unidentified inmate, later identified as Vander Meer, was found at the Clark County Detention Center with self-inflicted injuries, and was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital.

Vander Meer was charged with murder and insurance fraud, and could have faced life in prison if convicted.

Original post: Nearly 20 years after Bernadette Vander Meer fell 1,200 feet from Zion National Park’s Angels Landing, U.S. Marshals arrested her husband, Las Vegas resident and former youth pastor David Vander Meer, on charges of murder and insurance fraud.

For decades, Angels Landing has been recognized as an exciting and dangerous hike that involves extreme risk on a narrow spine. The 5.4-mile hike climbs approximately 1,500 feet through Zion Canyon past its notoriously narrow sandstone wing, which is lined with chains to assist hikers as they traverse steep cliffs that drop more than 1,000 feet to the canyon floor.

At the time of Bernadette’s death in 2006, she was fifth known person Fall from the top since 1983.

On the morning of August 22, 2006, Vander Meyers set out before dawn to watch the sunrise from the summit of Angels Landing. David Vander Meer’s original description to investigators as he was carrying a backpack around He heard Bernadette scream. When he turned, he said, she was gone.

By 6:30 a.m., they located another passenger with enough cell service to contact authorities. At the time, authorities considered Bernadette’s death a tragic accident.

but the incident Bernadette never had a good relationship with her parents.Laura and Richard Gudenkopf, who reported that she was an avid, skilled hiker who would not have put herself in a position to fall from Angels Landing. Over the past two decades, the couple become increasingly suspicious of David, especially as they learn of some of the events that led to Bernadette’s death.

Two decades later, prosecutors are claiming that David Vander Meer pushed his wife off the edge of a cliff after law enforcement received a new tip from Vander Meer’s former boss. In addition to claiming that the fall was not accidental, prosecutors allege that Vander Meer was involved underage sex With a woman from her church’s youth group, identified as “sh“In court documents.

The day before Vander Meer’s trip to Zion National Park, SH reportedly met with David to end their relationship. SH told the detectives that David Vander Meer told him That they can only “live together if Bernadette is not alive.” The story Vander Meer told investigators was slightly different from the one he told his youth group, in which he said he was taking a photo of Bernadette when he turned to get something out of his bag, at which time she fell.

Prosecutors allege that the incident was premeditated, pointing to the fact that Vander Meer had increased the couple’s life insurance from $150,000 to approximately $550,000 about a year before the incident. After his wife’s death was ruled accidental, Vander Meer filed an insurance claim and collected more than $567,000.

Charges against Vander Meer are pending in court.