Iowa City family attended Easter service day before tragedy
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By The Associated Press | Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
Jean Falk, 60, of Iowa City, kneels down next to roses she placed in front of where police found the bodies of a woman and her four children Monday. A woman and her four children were found dead in their home Monday morning, and police later found a sixth body in a burning, wrecked van owned by the woman's husband -- a former bank executive who had been charged with embezzlement. (AP Photo)
UPDATED: IOWA CITY — A woman and her four children were found dead in their home Monday morning, and police later found a sixth body in a burning, wrecked van owned by her husband — a former bank executive who had been charged with embezzlement.
Iowa City police said they were all but certain that the body in the van was that of the husband, Steven Sueppel. A lockdown for city schools and an alert for the University of Iowa were lifted after the body was found.
Police Sgt. Troy Kelsay wouldn’t release the names of the victims, but he confirmed they were Sueppel’s wife and children, ages 3, 5, 7 and 10. Legal documents show Sueppel was married to Sheryl Sueppel, whose age was not immediately available.
Police said the victims were found in the unlocked house Monday morning after someone called dispatchers at 6:31 a.m., saying officers needed to respond to the home immediately and hung up.
Initial alerts said there had been a shooting at the home, but Kelsay said further investigation shows the deaths could have been the result of some other trauma. Autopsies for the six bodies were scheduled for Tuesday.
“I’m not certain that a firearm was ever involved. Nobody reported hearing any shots fired,” Kelsay said.
The family’s van crashed and caught fire on Interstate 80 about nine miles from the home. No other vehicles were involved.
The accident happened when the van was westbound and entered the median at an overpass “for an unknown reason” and struck a concrete support and sign pole and caught on fire, according to a crash report from the Iowa State Patrol.
The report lists the time of the accident at 6:37 a.m. — six minutes after the 911 call was made to dispatchers about checking the Sueppel’s home.
The patrol’s report lists the vehicle as a 1998 Toyota van. The driver is “unidentified.”
“It’s not possible to do an ID short of an autopsy. The fire was that intense,” Kelsay said.
He added, however, that “if I was a betting man I would comfortable betting a fair chunk of money” that the body was Steven Sueppel’s.
The slayings do not appear to be random, Kelsay said.
“It’s certainly a tragedy, whoever is responsible for it,” he said. “... This does not appear to be a random crime. It appears that possibly it is the work of Steven Sueppel.”
Court records show that Steven Sueppel 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.
Steven Sueppel, 42, 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.
Steven Sueppel’s attorney in that case, Leon Spies, said he had heard of the deaths.
“I had great affection for Steve and his family. This is an unimaginable professional and personal tragedy for a lot of people,” he said.
The bank issued a statement expressing “our heartfelt sadness for the events that occurred earlier today,” and said officials’ thoughts and prayers were with the family.
Ken Kuntz, a priest at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Iowa City, said the Sueppels spent Sunday morning attending an Easter service at his church. Kuntz said he could not have imagined one day later he would be consoling the family’s relatives, who he described as “perplexed and deeply saddened.”
Kuntz said Steven Sueppel grew up attending the parish, got married there and had his four children baptized there. He also had been attending adult classes as his son prepared to take his first communion.
Kuntz said he did not notice any signs of distress, and neither did relatives.
“That’s why it’s such a major devastating blow to his family and to the community,” Kuntz said.
“I know that Steve loved his family, loved his wife, loved his children,” he said. “But personally I would be convinced that he did not do this out of malice.”
Three young girls who live in the suburban development and knew the family wrote chalk messages on the sidewalk in the area that said, “We are going to miss you guys,” and “I wish that this day never came.”
EARLIER STORY: IOWA CITY — A woman and her four children were found dead in their home Monday morning, and police later found a sixth body in a burning, wrecked van owned by her husband — a former bank executive who had been charged with embezzlement.
Iowa City police said they were all but certain that the body in the van was that of the husband, Steven Sueppel. A lockdown for city schools and an alert for the University of Iowa were lifted after the body was found.
Police Sgt. Troy Kelsay wouldn't release the names of the victims, but he confirmed they were Sueppel's wife and children, ages 3, 5, 7 and 10. Legal documents show Sueppel was married to Sheryl Sueppel, whose age was not immediately available.
Police said the victims were found in the unlocked house Monday morning after someone called dispatchers, saying officers needed to respond to the home immediately and hung up.
Initial alerts said there had been a shooting at the home, but Kelsay said further investigation shows the deaths could have been the result of some other trauma. Autopsies for the six bodies were scheduled for Thursday.
``I'm not certain that a firearm was ever involved. Nobody reported hearing any shots fired,'' Kelsay said.
The family's van crashed and caught fire on Interstate 80 about nine miles from the home. No other vehicles were involved.
``It's not possible to do an ID short of an autopsy. The fire was that intense,'' Kelsay said.
He added, however, that ``if I was a betting man I would comfortable betting a fair chunk of money'' that the body was Steven Sueppel's.
The slayings do not appear to be random, Kelsay said.
``It's certainly a tragedy, whoever is responsible for it,'' he said. ``... This does not appear to be a random crime. It appears that possibly it is the work of Steven Sueppel.''
Court records show that Steven Sueppel 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.
Steven Sueppel, 42, 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.
Steven Sueppel's attorney in that case, Leon Spies, said he had heard of the deaths.
``I had great affection for Steve and his family. This is an unimaginable professional and personal tragedy for a lot of people,'' he said.
The bank issued a statement expressing ``our heartfelt sadness for the events that occurred earlier today,'' and said officials' thoughts and prayers were with the family.
Ken Kuntz, a priest at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Iowa City, said the Sueppels spent Sunday morning attending an Easter service at his church. Kuntz said he could not have imagined one day later he would be consoling the family's relatives, who he described as ``perplexed and deeply saddened.''
Kuntz said Steven Sueppel grew up attending the parish, got married there and had his four children baptized there. He also had been attending adult classes as his son prepared to take his first communion.
Kuntz said he did not notice any signs of distress, and neither did relatives.
``That's why it's such a major devastating blow to his family and to the community,'' Kuntz said.
``I know that Steve loved his family, loved his wife, loved his children,'' he said. ``But personally I would be convinced that he did not do this out of malice.''
Three young girls who live in the suburban development and knew the family wrote chalk messages on the sidewalk in the area that said, ``We are going to miss you guys,'' and ``I wish that this day never came.''
Woman, 4 children, found dead in Iowa City home
EARLIER STORY: IOWA CITY — Neighbors and friends on Monday were mourning the deaths of a mother and her four children as police tried to figure out what happened to the father, who was recently indicted on federal embezzlement charges.
Authorities were scrambling to identify the remains of a body found in the family's van, which was destroyed in a fiery, single vehicle crash on Interstate 80 around the time police discovered the five bodies in their home.
Sgt. Troy Kelsay said police wouldn't know until after an autopsy if it was Steven Sueppel's body in the van, although he added, ``If I was a betting man I would be comfortable betting a fair chunk of money on that.''
``It fits the time of the accident,'' he said. ``He is the only person unaccounted for.''
Court records show that Sueppel was indicted by a grand jury last month on charges of stealing about $560,000 from the bank where he worked.
Kelsay wouldn't release the names of the victims found at the family's home, but he confirmed they were Sueppel's wife and children, ages 3, 5, 7 and 10.
Legal documents show Sueppel was married to Sheryl Sueppel, though her age was not immediately available.
Kelsay said autopsies on all the bodies, including the one from the van, were scheduled for Tuesday.
The matter began when dispatchers received a call at 6:31 a.m. on Monday saying officers needed to respond immediately to a home at 629 Barrington Road on Iowa City's east side. The caller then hung up.
Officers arrived to the unlocked house, then entered and found the five bodies inside. Police didn't specify how the family was killed. Initial alerts said there had been a shooting at the home, but Kelsay said further investigation shows the deaths could be the result of some other trauma.
The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the FBI were assisting in the investigation.
Neighbors in the affluent suburban neighborhood reacted with disbelief.
Nearby resident Roberta Caris said her two daughters were friends with the family's children. She said ``they were great people and they were involved with their kids.''
Caris said she knew that Steven Sueppel was distraught over the federal indictment, ``but there was no indication that this would happen.''
Another neighbor, 63-year-old Linda Berryhill, said she hadn't met the family but had seen the children playing outside.
``It's unbelievable. It's the day after Easter,'' she said. ``This is a nice neighborhood, nice people helping each other.''
Three young girls who live in the development and knew the family wrote chalk messages on the sidewalk in the area that said, ``We are going to miss you guys,'' and, ``I wish that this day never came.''
Ken Kuntz, a priest at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Iowa City, said the Sueppels spent Sunday morning attending an Easter service at his church. Kuntz said he could not have imagined one day later he would be consoling the family's relatives, who he described as ``perplexed and deeply saddened.''
Kuntz said Steven Sueppel grew up attending the parish, got married there and had his four children baptized there. He also had been attending adult classes as his son prepared to take his first communion.
Kuntz said he did not notice any signs of distress, and neither did relatives.
``That's why it's such a major devastating blow to his family and to the community,'' Kuntz said.
``I know that Steve loved his family, loved his wife, loved his children,'' he said. ``But personally I would be convinced that he did not do this out of malice.''
Jean Falk, 60, of Iowa City dropped off roses and other flowers near the police tape strung along the family's front yard.
``I didn't even know the family, I just know in our community we have a strong resolve,'' she said. ``This is such a heinous, tragic and senseless act.''
Telephone calls and requests for comment from the Sueppels' extended family went unanswered.
According to court records, Steven Sueppel was charged with one count of embezzlement of bank funds and six counts of money laundering while serving as the vice president and controller of Hills Bank and Trust in Johnson County.
Authorities said the alleged thefts occurred between July 2000 and September 2007.
Steven Sueppel, 42, pleaded not guilty to the charges 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.
Steven Sueppel's attorney in that case, Leon Spies, said he had heard of the deaths.
``I had great affection for Steve and his family. This is an unimaginable professional and personal tragedy for a lot of people,'' he said.
The bank where Steven Sueppel had worked released a statement late Monday afternoon.
``On behalf of the bank we want to express our heartfelt sadness for the events that occurred earlier today,'' the statement said. ``Our thoughts and prayers are with the family as they grieve the loss of their family members.''
Associated Press Writer Amy Lorentzen in Des Moines contributed this report.
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