Ex-youth pastor dies in custody as murder case over wife’s 2006 Zion Park death ends
David Vander Meer, the former Las Vegas youth pastor charged with murdering his wife in 2006 at Zion National Park and related insurance fraud, died in custody ahead of a planned extradition hearing; authorities indicated a 49-year-old inmate died after self-inflicted injuries, and a church figure suggested Vander Meer hanged himself, effectively ending the case that had been reopened amid suspicions about Bernadette Vander Meer’s death.