A former youth pastor accused of shoving his wife off a steep Utah cliff nearly 20 years ago left a disturbing handwritten suicide note and a will before dying by suicide in a Las Vegas jail cell, according to newly disclosed police documents.
David Vander Meer, who had also worked as a school counselor and yoga instructor, was taken into custody last month on charges of murder and insurance fraud tied to the 2006 death of his first wife, Bernadette Vander Meer, after investigators revived the long-stalled case.
However, before he could be sent back to Utah or stand trial, officials said he died from self-inflicted injuries while in custody at the Clark County Detention Center.
A Metropolitan Police Department report made public Wednesday states that Vander Meer was discovered face down and unresponsive in his cell late on June 24.
Jail officers had looked in on him about half an hour earlier, when he was alone, alert and seated upright, the report said.
The records also revealed a grim detail that had not previously been disclosed to the public.
‘Vander Meer left a handwritten suicide letter and a handwritten will in his cell, which has been photographed and impounded,’ investigators wrote.
According to police, an officer carrying out routine visual checks shortly before 11:30pm noticed Vander Meer on the floor of the cell.
David Vander Meer left behind a handwritten suicide note and a handwritten will in his jail cell before his death
Bernadette Vander Meer, seen here on her wedding day, died at age 28 after falling from Angels Landing in Zion National Park on August 22, 2006
Vander Meer said he set up a camera to take photos of Bernadette with the sunrise behind her, but as he moved their backpacks he heard his wife’s screams as she fell around 5,700 feet
According to the report, Officer Shulz immediately began chest compressions after finding Vander Meer unresponsive until medical personnel from the Clark County Detention Center arrived.
Authorities have not disclosed the contents of either the note or his will, and many of the details describing Vander Meer’s injuries remains redacted from the publicly released report.
Las Vegas Police have not explained the specific nature of the self-inflicted injuries, nor has the Clark County Coroner’s Office officially announced the cause and manner of his death.
The former Somerset Academy Lone Mountain counselor was transported to University Medical Center, where he died the following day.
According to the report, Vander Meer had denied having suicidal thoughts during health and mental health screenings after he was booked into the jail.
The arrest had marked a stunning turn in a case that had remained closed for nearly 20 years.
Bernadette Vander Meer was just 28 when she plunged to her death from Angels Landing in Zion National Park on August 22, 2006 – one of the park’s most famous and most hazardous hiking trails.
Vander Meer told investigators that he had been preparing to photograph his wife against the sunrise when he heard her scream and saw her fall.
David Vander Meer killed himself in a Las Vegas jail cell last month just days after he was arrested over the 2006 cliff fall death of his then-wife, Bernadette Vander Meer, in Utah
Vander Meer died while being held at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas awaiting extradition to Utah
Bernadette Vander Meer died while hiking with her husband. Her family had long suspected her then-spouse of pushing her to her death
At the time, her death was ruled an accident despite investigators describing the circumstances as suspicious.
According to charging documents filed this year, investigators later reopened the case after receiving new information.
One tip, received in 2022, alleged that Vander Meer had used his position as a youth pastor to groom children and had engaged in a sexual relationship with one of them.
Another came in 2025 from his former church supervisor, who told investigators he did not believe Bernadette’s death had been accidental.
Those developments prompted detectives to take a fresh look at the evidence surrounding the fatal fall.
Prosecutors ultimately charged Vander Meer with murder and insurance fraud, alleging he fraudulently collected approximately $567,000 in life insurance benefits following his wife’s death.
The charges marked a dramatic reversal in a case that had long appeared closed, but Vander Meer maintained his innocence after his arrest.
The reopening of the investigation was welcomed by Bernadette’s family and longtime friends, many of whom had spent years questioning whether her fatal fall had ever truly been an accident.
Friends recalled Bernadette confiding that her marriage was unraveling and that she had been considering divorce.
Bernadette’s death was ruled an accident at the time, despite investigators describing the circumstances as suspicious
Bernadette’s family and friends doubted her fall was accidental because she was an experienced hiker who had made it to the top of Angel’s Landing several times before. At least 18 people have died on the trail since 2000
Her mother, Laura Gudenkauf, previously told the Daily Mail her daughter had disclosed concerns about Vander Meer’s alleged infidelity shortly before the fatal trip to Zion National Park.
Investigators ultimately arrested Vander Meer in Las Vegas last month, accusing him of murder and insurance fraud.
He was due to appear in court before being extradited to Utah, but instead died while in custody.
With Vander Meer’s death, prosecutors are expected to dismiss the criminal case without it ever reaching trial, leaving many of the allegations against him unresolved in court.
