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Prosecutors' love triangle theory. Youth pastor accused of wife's murder. Plus, June Diane Raphael.
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NASA Data Breaks the Alibi Open
At 19:15 · chapter starts 19:02
The forensic breakthrough was quietly devastating. Investigators went through Vander Meer's account minute by minute. He had always insisted he was positioning Bernadette for a sunrise photograph when she fell. But when investigators pulled NASA data on sunrise times at Angels Landing on August 22, 2006, the numbers didn't match. The 911 call came in well before the sun would have been visible from that location. His own alibi — I was taking a sunrise photo — was disproved by the sunrise itself. Combined with S.H.'s testimony and the life insurance motive, investigators concluded this was murder, not an accident.
David Vander Meer was arrested and was supposed to appear in court — but the judge announced he was not coming because he had died. The jail confirmed he died from self-inflicted injuries. His family had waited decades for this moment, only to have the trial disappear with him.
