Former Youth Pastor Charged With Wife’s Murder 20 Years After Deadly Hike
The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever
iHeartPodcasts
4.3 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 25 June 2026
⏱️ 17 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Authorities have arrested and charged former Vegas youth pastor David Vander Meer with first degree murder for the 2006 death of his wife Bernadette. According to police, David and Bernadette were on a sunrise anniversary hike in Zion National Park when Bernadette fell 1200 feet to her death. It was initially ruled an accident, but now prosecutors say they have evidence that Vander Meer pushed his wife off that cliff to be with one of his youth group members and collect nearly $600,000 from a newly purchased life insurance policy.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:06.0 | Hey there, folks. It is Thursday, June 25th. |
| 0:09.9 | Stop me when you heard this one before. |
| 0:12.2 | Man goes on a hike with his wife. |
| 0:15.2 | She falls to her death. |
| 0:17.3 | He claims it was an accident. |
| 0:19.9 | He gets arrested for murder later. |
| 0:23.1 | However, there are a bunch of twists and turns in this story that make it like one you have never heard before. |
| 0:31.3 | And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and T.J. |
| 0:34.0 | Let's start with the fact that this was 20 years ago and this is the damn youth pastor we're talking about, Robs. |
| 0:38.1 | Yeah, you just, you laid that out perfectly because, yes, it is unfortunately a stereotypical murder, |
| 0:44.3 | but this is not like the others. |
| 0:47.3 | That is true. |
| 0:48.6 | David Vandermere, yes, he was a former youth pastor out of Las Vegas. |
| 1:00.6 | In 2006, he and his 29-year-old wife are celebrating a wedding anniversary. |
| 1:13.1 | What better way to celebrate your wedding anniversary than to go on a sunset hike on one of the most dangerous hiking trails in the United States of America. That was the choice. |
| 1:14.8 | And again, they live out in that area, |
| 1:16.3 | so to take up this, they're from the Vegas area, |
| 1:19.7 | so this was in Utah. |
| 1:20.9 | Don't that's right? |
| 1:21.6 | Where was this? |
... |
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