Former youth pastor dies in custody after murder charge

A former Las Vegas youth pastor died in police custody on Thursday, just days after being arrested and charged with murdering his wife nearly 20 years ago during an anniversary hike in Utah's Zion National Park. David Vander Meer, 49, was pronounced deceased at a hospital after being transported from the Clark County Detention Center for treatment of what police described as self-sustained injuries.

Vander Meer had been in custody since his arrest by U.S. Marshals on Monday, June 22. He was charged earlier this week with murder and insurance fraud in connection with the death of his wife, Bernadette Vander Meer, on August 22, 2006. A court hearing had been scheduled for Thursday.

The case, originally closed as an accidental fall, was reopened last year after new information emerged. According to a probable cause affidavit, the investigation was relaunched in October 2025 after Barry Diamond, a senior pastor at a church where Vander Meer had worked, contacted authorities to say he did not believe the death was an accident.

The affidavit outlines a series of allegations that led prosecutors to file charges. It states Vander Meer was having a sexual relationship with an underage...