In his statement, Judge Showers condemned the teenager's intentions and actions, describing them as sinister and evil. He emphasised that there was no excuse or societal problem that could justify the intentional loss of human life in such a brutal manner.
Before the sentencing, the convicted teenager, accompanied by his friend Jeremy Goodale, took responsibility for their actions, which resulted in the tragic death of Graber during her regular afternoon walk in a park. The teenager expressed remorse and extended his apologies to Graber's family, as well as his own and Goodale's loved ones, acknowledging the distress and devastation caused by his actions.
Acknowledging the magnitude of his actions, the teenager accepted full responsibility for his role in the crime and expressed remorse for carrying out the plan despite knowing it was wrong. He pleaded guilty to the crime in April, accepting a plea deal that included a potential prison term ranging from 30 years to life.
After hearing 10 victim impact statements from Graber's family, Judge Showers recommended a life sentence for the teenager, with the possibility of parole after 35 years. The tragic event also led to the recent death of Graber's husband, who had delayed cancer treatment due to his depression over the loss of his wife. Some family members directed strong words towards the convicted teenager, urging him to seek forgiveness from a higher power.
According to investigators, the teenager had met with Graber on the day of the murder to discuss a poor grade she had given him in her Spanish class. Prior to the meeting, the teenager and Goodale had conspired for two weeks to ambush Graber and attack her with a baseball bat.
Following their arrest, the two teenagers turned against each other. While the convicted teenager admitted to assisting in carrying out the plan, he maintained that he never struck Graber. Goodale, who is now 18, testified against the teenager, claiming that he initiated the plan, supplied the bat, and had a clear intent to kill.
Graber's body, which exhibited severe head trauma, was discovered concealed under a tarp, wheelbarrow, and railroad ties in a park in Fairfield, located 100 miles southeast of Des Moines. Investigators revealed that the teenagers had later boasted about the killing on social media.
Prosecutors had recommended a sentence ranging from 25 years to life with the possibility of parole as part of a plea deal that required Goodale to admit to the murder and testify against the convicted teenager.