A main astatine the schoolhouse wherever accused killer David Vander Meer counseled students acknowledged his apprehension successful a missive connected Thursday.
Somerset Academy Lone Mountain Principal Cesar Tiu told families the schoolhouse was alert of reports astir Vander Meer’s arrest and death successful an email sent conscionable aft 1:50 p.m. He assured parents that “the information and well-being of our students stay our highest priority.”
Court papers allege Vander Meer pushed his wife, Bernadette Vander Meer, disconnected the apical of Angels Landing astatine Zion National Park successful 2006. Her decease was primitively ruled an accident, until the lawsuit was reopened and helium was arrested this week.
“Mr. Vander Meer was precocious arrested successful narration to events that took spot astir 20 years ago, anterior to his employment with Somerset Academy,” Tiu wrote successful the email. “This quality has been profoundly unsettling for galore members of our schoolhouse community, and we admit that families whitethorn person questions and concerns.”
David Vander Meer, a erstwhile younker pastor, besides often cheated connected Bernadette Vander Meer earlier her decease with an underage subordinate of his younker radical who helium had groomed since the property of 14 and aboriginal married, the documents alleged.
David Vander Meer, 49, died Thursday up of his extradition hearing. Authorities said helium had “self-sustained injuries.”
Nevada Department of Education records amusement Vander Meer had held a schoolhouse counsellor licence since 2016 and has been with Somerset Academy since the 2016-17 schoolhouse year.
Tiu said determination are ineligible limitations regarding what the schoolhouse tin disclose astir Vander Meer and the probe but told Somerset families that the schoolhouse follows each applicable Nevada hiring laws, including a mandated transgression inheritance cheque for schoolhouse employees.
“The schoolhouse has nary accusation beyond what has been publically released by instrumentality enforcement and the media concerning the underlying allegations,” Tiu said. He added the schoolhouse had not received immoderate reports of wrong-doing by Vander Meer portion helium was employed astatine Somerset Academy.
Tiu said parents of Somerset students struggling with the quality could interaction the schoolhouse medication to talk with a subordinate of the school’s pupil enactment team.
Parent: School’s effect ‘not enough’
One Somerset genitor who urged the schoolhouse beryllium transparent astir Vander Meer’s enactment past pursuing his apprehension told the Las Vegas Review-Journal helium felt the school’s effect was inadequate.
“I anticipation that a batch much accusation is coming due to the fact that simply saying that we followed the instrumentality and argumentation successful vague presumption is not enough,” said Tom Grover, a genitor of 2 Somerset Academy Lone Mountain students.
Grover, 45, said helium was shocked by the quality that his children’s counsellor was arrested for execution and security fraud and allegedly had an matter with 1 of his younker radical members. “Those are each precise dense accusations against anyone, but particularly idiosyncratic who’s moving with children,” Grover said.
Having met him astatine schoolhouse events, Grover described Vander Meer arsenic a quiescent antheral with a mellow property — “not idiosyncratic that you would peg arsenic a killer,” helium said.
Grover is seeking a transparent relationship of Vander Meer’s past astatine Somerset Academy and the school’s interior effect to his arrest. This includes answers to questions astir whether helium had unsupervised entree to Somerset students and disclosed his religion enactment successful his occupation application.
A spokesperson for Somerset Academy told the Las Vegas Review-Journal connected Wednesday that Vander Meer had been placed connected administrative permission aft his arrest.
Grover emailed these requests to schoolhouse administrators and Somerset Academy committee members Wednesday morning, but said helium had not received a effect arsenic of Thursday night. He added that parents person not received immoderate connection from the schoolhouse astir Vander Meer extracurricular of the Thursday email to parents.
“It mightiness beryllium that determination was nary mode for the schoolhouse to cognize astir immoderate of the problems successful the past, and it mightiness beryllium that determination was a mode oregon that they did know,” Grover said. “What precisely happened? It’s thing that the nationalist deserves to cognize and each genitor deserves to cognize due to the fact that it’s a substance of organization integrity and trust.”
Contact Spencer Levering astatine slevering@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0253.
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