Coroner’s office releases autopsy report for David Vander Meer

An autopsy report released Monday revealed details about how a Las Vegas charter school counselor died by suicide in the Clark County Detention Center.

David Vander Meer, who recently had been accused of killing his wife, 28-year-old Bernadette Vander Meer, decades ago at Zion National Park, used two strips of bedding to hang himself, according to the report.

The 49-year-old inmate was last seen alive by Metropolitan Police Department corrections officers in his cell at about 9 p.m. on June 24, according to the Clark County coroner’s office autopsy report.

About 30 minutes later, he was found “in a prone position,” leaning forward while bound to an immovable metal stool, the report said.

Corrections officers alerted medical personnel, entered the cell and cut the ligature with a seat belt cutter, according to the report. Shortly after 10 p.m., David Vander Meer was taken to University Medical Center’s trauma unit and was pronounced dead shortly after 2:30 a.m. on June 25.

David Vander Meer had no known suicide attempts or verbalizations, according to the report. His domestic partner last spoke with him on June 23, “in which he appeared to be his usual self ‘under the circumstances,’” the report said.

Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill said previously that David Vander Meer had “strangulated himself in a unique and novel way.” The inmate left a suicide note and will, which proclaimed his innocence in the suspected murder of his wife.

“I didn’t kill her,” David Vander Meer wrote. “I never thought it would lead to an arrest. The additional allegations I have heard about are largely false, but not entirely.

“They paint a picture that can’t be escaped,” the note said. “They spell conviction.”

David Vander Meer was accused of intentionally pushing his wife off a cliff at Angels Landing when the Las Vegas couple went hiking there in 2006.

Authorities said David Vander Meer, a former youth pastor, was motivated by an affair he was having with a girl in the youth group he led. Authorities reported that the girl was 16 when the two began having sex.

David Vander Meer was arrested June 22 outside a yoga studio in Summerlin where he worked. He was also a counselor at Somerset Academy Lone Mountain.

Utah authorities considered Bernadette Vander Meer’s death suspicious at the time. Authorities reopened an investigation into David Vander Meer in 2022 after they received a tip from a former youth group member who said David Vander Meer had been using his position to groom children.

If you’re thinking about suicide, or are worried about a friend or loved one, help is available 24/7 by calling or texting the Lifeline network at 988. Live chat is available at 988lifeline.org. Additionally, the Crisis Text Line is a free, national service available 24/7. Text HOME to 741741.