crimejunkies

SteveHuff · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 4

http://www.truecrimeweblog.com/2008/03/shooter-on-loose-in-iowa-city.html

Steven F. Sueppel, age 42, has disappeared from his Iowa City home and left carnage behind him. Sueppel was facing a possible 30 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines after he was accused of embezzling funds while working as VP of a Bank & Trust. Follow the link above to see what the True Crime Weblog has turned up so far.

Steve

Cindy · Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 27

Police launched a search for Steven Sueppel, a former vice president at Hills Bank, who was recently indicted for embezzling more than half a million dollars from the bank.

In the meantime, the University of Iowa, the Iowa City School District and all Hills Bank locations were placed on lockdown. The school district has since lifted its lockdown.

Meanwhile, Iowa City Police are on the scene of a single-vehicle fatality east of Iowa City in the median of Interstate 80 near the 250 mile marker. A Toyota minivan was westbound on the interstate between 6:30 and 7 a.m. when it crashed into the concrete support for an electronic road sign. The minivan burst into flame, and an Iowa State Trooper at the scene said there was one body found inside but that it was burned beyond identification.

In a news release, police say the vehicle on I-80 is possibly the missing van, but as yet haven't been able to confirm that. Iowa City Police Chief Sam Hargadine, in an e-mail about 10 a.m., said police do believe the vehicle is Sueppel's.

The Johnson County Medical Examiner, the Iowa City Police, the West Branch Fire Department and the Iowa State Patrol are all on scene.

~snipped for length~

http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080324/NEWS01/80324002/1079

SteveHuff · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 4

I'll be really surprised if that's not him in the minivan. There's a photo of the wreck, and the angle of impact made it look intentional, like someone pointed the vehicle at the pole and took off.

Cindy · Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 27

Hi Steve,

ITA. I keep waiting for it to come on the news that he has been identified. I feel certain that it's him also.

bigbuck · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 5

Hi all, nice forum.

I can't understand why he felt he had to take his innocent family with him. I truly hope his kids were asleep and never knew what hit them.

Crying or Very sad

Cindy · Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 27

Hi buck,
I, too, always wonder why they feel the need to harm the children. If they are so unhappy, fine...But don't take the kids with you.
My prayers are for the children and the family left missing them. Sad

Cindy · Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 27

IOWA CITY, Iowa — An embattled former bank executive committed suicide by crashing his van after killing his wife and making failed attempts to asphyxiate their four children in a garage, then slaying them individually, authorities said Tuesday.

Steven Sueppel, who had been charged with embezzlement, was missing after his family's bodies were discovered Monday morning. His van was found wrecked and ablaze on Interstate 80 about nine miles away, and police said they used dental records to identify the burned body inside as Sueppel's.

In a news conference Tuesday, investigators said they believe he killed his wife, then tried to kill himself and his children by asphyxiating them with carbon monoxide in the garage. When that failed, he killed the children one by one in the house.

Investigators think the children died by "blunt force trauma," though autopsies are not complete, Lt. Jim Steffen said. Two baseball bats might have been used and were being examined, he said.

"Steven is probably the only one who knew why he did what he did, and I don't know that we're ever going to be able to determine the real reason why this happened," Steffen said.

After the children died, Sueppel tried to drown himself in the Iowa River without success. He then made a 911 call directing officers to his home and a few minutes later crashed into a freeway abutment.

Sueppel left a long note in the family's kitchen addressed to no one in particular. He also left voice mail messages at the family's home, at the bank where he once worked and at the law office of his father and brother.

One of the messages indicated Sueppel believed his family was in heaven, Steffen said.

"He did indicate in his note that ever since his problems came to light that he was having trouble dealing with this issue, but again no specific incident or cause was identified as to why it happened now," Steffen said. "He apologized ... numerous times."

Police identified the children as Ethan, 10; Seth, 8; Mira, 5; and Eleanor, 3.

Their bodies were found throughout the home. Two were in upstairs bedrooms, one in a basement bedroom and another in a basement toy room. Sheryl Sueppel's body was found in the master bedroom.

Steffen said a family friend was the last to see Steven Sueppel and at least one of the children at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Sueppel home. The friend didn't sense any questionable behavior.

The 911 call made early Monday alerting police to the family's home at the edge of Iowa City was made from Steven Sueppel's cell phone, police said.

A recording of the call was released Tuesday:

"This is 911. What's the location of your emergency?" the female dispatcher said.

"Hello, am I talking to Iowa City?" the caller responded.

The dispatcher again asks the location.

"Iowa City, Iowa," the man said.

The dispatcher asked for an address.

"629 Barrington Road," the man said. "Please go there immediately."

The dispatcher asked what's going on there and the caller hung up.

About six minutes after the call, more 911 calls poured in to dispatchers, reporting that a minivan had crashed into a concrete abutment in the median of Interstate 80 east of town.

One caller sobbed as she described seeing the burning minivan, which had crashed head-on into the abutment.

"Oh, my God, the car's on fire," the woman sobs. "I was going to stop and help but the car's on fire."

Court records show that Steven Sueppel, 42, was indicted last month on charges of stealing about $560,000 from Hills Bank and Trust in Johnson County, where he was vice president and controller.

He pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and money laundering in U.S. District Court and was released on a $250,000 personal bond. The government was also seeking the forfeiture of the money he was accused of stealing.

His trial was scheduled for April 21.

A funeral for all six family members will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Iowa City, according to Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service. Burial will be at St. Joseph's Cemetery.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,341530,00.html

bigbuck · Joined: 24 Mar 2008 Posts: 5

OMG! My heart breaks for those poor kids.

Sad

Cindy · Joined: 21 Mar 2008 Posts: 27

IOWA CITY - A black bat, a blue bat and a piece of skull bone and biological tissue found in the main level hallway were among the items taken by Iowa City police officers from the home of Steven and Sheryl Sueppel in Iowa City Monday.

The details emerged today when Johnson County officials released the search warrants related to the Sueppel case. The warrants covered items found at the Sueppel home at 629 Barrington Rd., in the family van, which Steven Sueppel crashed on Interstate 80 just east of Iowa City, and information left in phone messages by Steven Sueppel to family members and former co-workers. They also showed that police received records from a September 2005 dental exam of Steven Sueppel at Moreland & Bender dental clinic in Iowa City to identify his remains.

Officers also found in the home several items that appeared to have blood on them, including a pair of white socks in the garage, tissues and a T-shirt found in one of the bedrooms, the documents police filed after the searches showed. A door knob from the hall bathroom upstairs also had apparent blood on it. Officers reported finding blood on all but two of the five victims found in the home.

Police say they believe Steven Sueppel killed his wife and four children, ages 10, 8, 5 and 3, late Sunday or early Monday morning before committing suicide shortly after 6:30 a.m. Monday.

A portfolio of assorted papers was found in the family minivan at the crash site. The papers included social security cards that were partly burned and a permanent resident card and passport from Korea for Jinhee Choi, according to the search warrant. A plain gold band also was found in the minivan.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080328/NEWS/148192227/1006/news

morgan5055 · Joined: 10 Apr 2008 Posts: 8 Location: Pennsylvania, USA

My Goodness........how horrific this story is. Thanks to all of you that kept posting info.....so that as I read along....I could keep up with the facts. What a darn mess. Dad breaks the law....and now the entire family has paid for it. Dad became....Judge, Jury and Executioner of them all. And I too agree, never makes sense why they have to kill the innocent children.
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