Steven Sueppel

Steven Sueppel was a former executive of Hills Bank and Trust Company and resident of Iowa City, Iowa, United States. He was charged with stealing $559,040 from the bank over a period of several years, but pleaded not guilty to embezzlement and money laundering on February 20, 2008. [cite web|url=http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080324/NEWS/273493273/1006/news|title=Ex-bank official pleads not guilty|work= Gazette|date=2008-03-24]

As of March 24, 2008, he is a suspect in a multiple fatality in Iowa City after his wife and four children were found dead. He was eventually proven to be the killer. His home in Iowa City was wrapped in crime tape with an ambulance in the home's driveway. [cite web|url=http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2008/03/24/news/top_story/doc47e7be01e9e10841115778.txt|title=Authorities report multiple fatalities in Iowa City|work= WCF Courier
date=2008-03-24] The family's van crashed and caught fire on Interstate 80 about nine miles from the home. A body, suspected to be Steven Sueppel, was found in the van. [cite web|url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hUSHKMDe-bOU2STvsbOMXahsCLKgD8VK1UIG2|title=Indicted Iowa Bank Exec's Family Killed|work=AP|date=2008-03-24]

Details of murder

On the night of March 23 or the morning of March 24, 2008, he committed a multiple murder in Iowa City, Iowa. Evidence collected suggests that he bludgeoned his wife and four children, who were adoptees from South Korea, to death. He then committed suicide by driving the family's minivan at a high rate of speed into a concrete pillar on Interstate 80 about nine miles from the home.

According to police, after beating his wife, Sheryl, to death, he took the four children to the garage and attempted to kill them (and himself) by carbon monoxide poisoning. When this failed, he then killed the children with a baseball bat before driving to nearby City Park, where he attempted to drown himself. When this, in turn, failed, he than called 911, requested that rescue personnel be sent to his home, and drove his van into a concrete abuttment on Interstate 80. He died of the combination of injuries suffered in the car accident along with the resultant fire; his body was burned beyond recognition and identified using dental records.

Aftermath

In August 2008, Hills Bank and Trust filed court documents demanding payment from Sueppel's estate for the allegedly embezzled funds and for $32,673 in outstanding loans. [cite news
first = Lee
last = Hermiston
authorlink =
author =
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title = Hills Bank seeking $556K from Steven Sueppel estate
url = http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080829/NEWS01/808290328/1079
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work = Iowa City Press-Citizen
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date = August 29, 2008
accessdate = 2008-09-05
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References