Former youth pastor and Las Vegas-based yoga instructor David Vander Meer died while in custody just days after he was arrested by U.S. Marshals for allegedly murdering his wife, officials said.
Fox News Digital confirmed that Vander Meer died while in custody ahead of his scheduled hearing on Thursday. According to records from the Clark County Office of the Coroner, he died Thursday and his death is "pending investigation."
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said a 49-year-old male inmate at the Clark County Detention Center was taken to University Medical Center "to be treated for self-sustained injuries" on Wednesday, but did not name the inmate. The man died on Thursday, police said.
The inmate had been in custody at CCDC since June 22 and was a fugitive from another state, police said. Police said the inmate's name and cause and manner of death would be released by the coroner.
Vander Meer was accused of killing his wife Bernadette Vander Meer.
Investigators say she was killed when she "fell" while on a hike with her husband in Zion National Park in Utah, back in 2006.
The case was closed then reopened nearly 20 years later in 2025.
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Vander Meer was due in court on Thursday. Justice of the Peace Eric Goodman announced in court Thursday morning that Vander Meer was dead, local news outlet awaiting extradition from Nevada to Utah, according to the outlet.