Lemer convicted in student's murder

by Caroline Basile, editor-in-chief

 

The case of murdered South Plains College student Bradford McIver drew to a close recently with the conviction of the man who killed him.

On Sept. 11, Nathan Lemer, 21, plead guilty to the charge of murder  and was sentenced to 50 years in prison, with the possibility of parole. The arrest warrant indicated that robbery was Lemer’s motive for the crime.

McIver’s mother, Jackie, said that she was stunned by how fast the case went to court.

"It came about so quickly, it was kind of a shock,” Jackie McIver, the victim’s mother, told the Plainsman Press from her home in Albany. “Since he was charged, my husband and I knew that it might have taken awhile to get to court and that we had to be patient about it.”

Bradford McIver, a native of Albany, was found stabbed to death inside his Lubbock apartment on March 18, 2008. Friends discovered his body around 6:30 p.m. that evening. There were signs that a struggle had taken place inside the Indiana Village apartment where McIver was living while attending college.

Authorities in Salem, Mo., arrested Lemer, whose last known address was in Wolfforth, on April 1, several hours after he was named an official suspect in Bradford McIver’s murder. Lemer’s criminal record is littered with run-ins with the law, including three counts of felony forgery and a charge of possession of marijuana.

Authorities involved with the case came to McIver’s parents with the idea of a plea agreement. After reviewing the idea, the McIvers agreed. Lemer was originally charged with capital murder because authorities believed the crime occurred while Lemer was attempting to rob Bradford McIver.

“The district attorney approached us with a plea,” Jackie McIver said. “The good thing about this is that we avoided a trial, and now he can't go back and appeal. If there were a trial, it could've gone the either way.”

Bradford McIver was the only child of Glen and Jackie McIver, also of Albany.

“I am very thankful that it had gone over this way,” Jackie McIver said. “Nathan knew he was guilty and he knew that he faced the death penalty or life in prison."

At the time of his death, Bradford McIver, a 2006 graduate of Albany High School, was a freshman enrolled at SPC, majoring in public relations. During the Fall 2006 semester, he was a staff member of the Plainsman Press.

Present at the court hearing were Bradford’s parents, several friends and detectives who worked on the case.

 “I just want people to realize how good of a person Brad was,” said Jackie McIver. “He was a great and loyal friend. He loved everybody, and everybody loved him.”

To be eligible for parole, Lemer must serve half, or 25 years of his 50-year sentence.

“We agreed on this because it is essentially a life sentence,” McIver said. “We do not want him to be able to do this to anyone else.”