Iowa City father suspected in family slaying
Posted March 25th, 2008 by minortopics | via www.foxnews.comA van found crashed and on fire contained a fatality, who is believed to be Steven Sueppel, as the van was registered to him. Sueppel is the prime suspect in the murder of his wife and four children, found dead in their home Monday morning.
The matter began when dispatchers received a call at 6:31 a.m. saying officers needed to respond to the Barrington Road home immediately. The caller then hung up.
Officers arrived to the unlocked house, then entered and found the five bodies inside, according to a news release from the Iowa City Police Department.
Authorities said they were not able to locate Sueppel, and that the family’s van was missing.
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.
“Given the nature of the call, and the fact that Steven Sueppel was recently charged with embezzlement … there was some concern for the safety of the occupants,” Kelsay told The Associated Press, when asked why they entered the house.
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.