Court Papers Say Ex-Pastor Spent $567,439 Insurance Payout After Wife's 2006 Death
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Jun 27
Court Papers Say Ex-Pastor Spent $567,439 Insurance Payout After Wife's 2006 Death
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Jun 27
Summary
$567,439 from Bernadette Vander Meer's life insurance allegedly funded a lavish lifestyle for former Las Vegas youth pastor David Vander Meer after her 2006 death, according to court documents.
Those filings also accuse him of hosting booze-fueled parties for church youth in the years after prosecutors say he pushed his wife from a peak at Zion National Park.
Vander Meer was arrested this week on suspicion of murder and insurance fraud in the long-cold case, nearly 20 years after the death.
Investigators previously said he had raised Bernadette's coverage to $550,000 before her death and allegedly killed her to collect the money and conceal an affair.