‘They paint a picture that can’t be escaped’: Police release suicide note from suspect in 2006 Angel’s Landing homicide

A photo of the note that David Vander Meer wrote shortly before he died by suicide in a Las Vegas jail. Vander Meer had been arrested days before and charged with the 2006 murder of his then-wife, Bernadette Vander Meer. | Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (ABC4) — The note left by the man who died by suicide days after being charged with murdering his wife at Angel’s Landing in 2006 has been obtained through a records request.

David Vander Meer, 49, died of self-inflicted injuries at the Clark County Detention Center in Las Vegas on June 24. Just two days before, he had been arrested and charged with the murder for the 2006 death of his wife, Bernadette Vander Meer.

Bernadette, who was 29 at the time, fell to her death under suspicious circumstances during a hike on Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park. Investigators recently reopened the investigation and suspected it was murder.

On Friday, ABC4.com obtained copies of the note that David Vander Meer wrote shortly before his death, as well as a case report from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on the circumstances surrounding it.

An image of the note that was left behind in Vander Meer’s cell was provided as part of the records request. Large portions of it have been redacted for privacy laws. The first page, addressed to an individual whose name is redacted, reads as follows:

“When I came here on Monday, I thought our life was going to be inconvenienced for a month or two. I’ve always been very selective with what I share to people about how Bernadette died, solely because I know how bad it looks. I was never afraid of legal action though, because I didn’t kill her, and 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. They spell conviction.”

The message continues, but the rest is redacted. The bottom is signed “David”.

A second page, this one addressed to a redacted name “and family,” reads as follows:

“I was naive to think that, just because I didn’t kill Bernadette, that there would be no problem with the charges. This is just calculated risk at this point. Reports of the affidavit contain small amounts of truth, but paint a picture I will probably not be able to overcome.”

A large amount of the page is blocked out, but it continues:

“I don’t deserve the financial sacrifices of [redacted] to try to fight this. [Redacted] doesn’t deserve to be a part of my past failures, and this current mess. None of my family does. I hope see this last effort of one of love by removal of the issue. I love you all! David”

There is a third page that is completely redacted, which is presumably the handwritten “will” described in the case report.

Details from the case report

A case report, obtained from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department by ABC4.com, provides details about the discovery of Vander Meer’s death.

On June 24, an officer was conducting checks around 9:30 p.m. when he observed Vander Meer lying “face down on the ground and unresponsive.” The officer entered and found that he had self-inflicted injuries, the details of which are redacted.

Another officer was called for assistance and began chest compressions until Clark County Detention Center medical personnel arrived. He was transported to the University Medical Center and pronounced deceased around 2:36 a.m. on June 25.

The report notes that Vander Meer had no known medical conditions, and “never mentioned being suicidal during his health/mental health screenings.” He was in a single-occupant cell, and left behind a “hand written suicide letter and a hand written will.”

The allegations

David Vander Meer was charged with murder with the domestic violence enhancement and insurance fraud.

According to the affidavit in this case, David and Bernadette went to Zion National Park to celebrate their anniversary the day before the incident. David was a youth pastor at a church, and Bernadette worked at a hotel in Las Vegas. They hiked Angel’s Landing before sunrise, and David said they were wearing headlamps but took them off near the top as it started to light up.

David said he set up a camera while it was still dark out to take photos of the scenery with Bernadette against the sunrise, and that she was standing near the edge. He said that he went to move their backpacks out of the shot, and when he turned back, Bernadette was gone. He stated that he heard her scream but did not hear her trip before she fell.

Bernadette died from the fall. Later, David told investigators that he and Bernadette had recently increased their life insurance policies from $150,000 each to $600,000 each. He also told investigators that they had never been unfaithful to each other in their marriage, as far as he knew.

Because the evidence and investigation at the time were limited, Bernadette’s fall was ruled an accident, and the case was closed. However, investigators felt like the circumstances were suspicious.

The case remained closed until 2022, when local law enforcement received a tip from a former member of David’s youth group. That individual said that David was using his position of trust to groom children, and that he was actively in a sexual relationship with one of the members in his youth group at the time of Bernadette’s death.

That individual told investigators that she had been in a relationship with David from age 16 until approximately 19-20, and that she ended the relationship the night before David and Bernadette left for their anniversary trip. She told investigators that at the time of Bernadette’s death, what David told the youth group happened contradicted what he initially told investigators: He said that he turned to get something out of his bag, rather than moving his bags.

The Washington County Sheriff’s Office filed this as a supplement to the original 2026 report, indicating that further follow-up and investigation were needed. However, the case was closed and wasn’t followed up on.

Then, in Oct. 2025, the Washington County Attorney’s Office received another tip, this time from David’s former boss, the church’s senior pastor. He said that he believed David pushed Bernadette and that her death was not an accident.

Jessica Bate was assigned to the case as the investigator, and she began interviewing other former members of David’s youth group. Several people reportedly remembered inappropriate relationships with David, one of which was sexual in nature. That was the same person who was interviewed in 2022, and she told Bate that David sexually abused her when she was 16 years old at David’s father’s cabin in Brian Head. She recounted a series of other events that involved David sexually abusing her while she was a minor.

David allegedly paid for a separate phone for this person, and when she turned 18, he allegedly paid rent for her to live in an apartment with another girl from church. She recalled David telling her that the only way they could be together was if Bernadette were not alive.

She broke the relationship off with David before Bernadette’s death, but two to three months after her death, they resumed a relationship and later married. She said that she believes he cheated on her throughout the relationship, and they divorced in 2014.

David lost his job at the church in 2008 after he was fired for providing alcohol to teenagers and having them gamble at parties at his house. His second marriage was initially a private legal agreement to obtain health insurance, and they did not publicly marry until 2010.

Bernadette’s mother gave investigators two handwritten letters from Bernadette, in which she expresses sadness about her marriage, that David does not publicly show her love, and that David gives others more attention.

Analysis of sunrise times reportedly showed that it still would have been dark at 6:20 a.m., when Bernadette fell. Additionally, a topographic analysis compared to recorded incidents at Angels Landing found that the spot where Bernadette fell is uncommon for accidents, and all incidents that happened at that spot were either suspicious in nature or suicide.

Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.