FAIRFIELD, Iowa — Just under 10,000 people call Fairfield home. But the sort of small-town bond that brings was shattered when Spanish teacher Nohema Graber's body was found under a tarp in Chautauqua Park in November 2021.
And while the search for justice continues, coming to terms with the tragedy might take even longer.
While Jeremy Goodale and Willard Miller, the two teenage suspects in Graber's death, were quickly apprehended, the town hasn't totally settled into a new normal.
Even on Wednesday, an unusually warm and sunny November day, there was something in the air.
"The last year, ever since that happened, has been a little bit under the weather. It's like a little cloud storm's been hanging over that town for a long time. The year hasn't felt like a year, it felt like longer," said Viman Singh, a Fairfield resident.
Locals say the once-peaceful town has become less welcoming in the wake of Graber's killing. Neighbors keep their distance or close themselves off altogether.
"[We're] not as open, not as friendly because we're a little bit scared. How could this happen here, of all places? We thought it was safe, I could keep my doors unlocked and not worry about anything, but ever since that happened, people have been a little bit on edge," Singh said.
Even during day-to-day life, some residents still have worries.
Lisa Wood Pforr, owner of Bubbles Pet Spa, said she's found herself more cautious when she's at work.
"I'm more aware. If I'm in the store by myself, if the doors are locked while I'm working, if someone else is in the business with me," she said.
But above all else, some residents struggle with the uncertainty that such a tragedy brings.
"If it can happen in this small town of Fairfield, Iowa, it can happen anywhere," Woodpforr said.
Goodale and Miller are both 17 but are being tried as adults. If convicted of frist-degree murder, the mandatory sentence in Iowa is life in prison.