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[Milwaukiedave]

This just hitting the news here in Korea on KBS1. I found a Yahoo article about it, but it mentions nothing about the kids being adoptees. The whole thing is sad.

Police piece together Iowa City slayings By NAFEESA SYEED, Associated Press Writer
Tue Mar 25, 7:37 PM ET

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.

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

About six minutes after Sueppel's 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.

Sueppel 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.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080325/ap_on_re_us/iowa_city_slayings;_ylt=AiMnOIW5_lJkIAnDBG00bLFvzwcF

[Milwaukiedave]

From the Chicago Tribune:

Dad apologized before killings
Cops say distraught Iowa banker left string of messages before he killed family, himself
By Ted Gregory | Tribune Correspondent
March 26, 2008

IOWA CITY � A former bank vice president distraught over being indicted for embezzling went on a grisly rampage in which he killed his wife and then may have botched his first attempt to kill himself and his four children in the family garage by carbon monoxide poisoning, police revealed Tuesday.

Police said Steven Sueppel then took his children back inside their home, where they were found dead. Police said they were unsure how the children died but speculate it was with "blunt force trauma"�possibly from baseball bats.

Sueppel succeeded in killing himself early Monday in a fiery crash, police said, but only after leaving a note and voice mails at his home and at the offices of relatives and co-workers, explaining his actions.

Authorities disclosed details Tuesday of the hours before Sueppel, accused of stealing $560,000 from his bank, rammed the family van into the concrete base of a highway sign about 9 miles east of Iowa City. Sueppel died when the van erupted in flames, police said.

Starting about 11:30 p.m. Sunday, Sueppel, 42, began leaving voice mails at the offices of relatives and ex-colleagues apologizing profusely, saying the shame he brought on his family was too much to bear, Iowa City police said.

"The statements went toward the children and wife being in a better place," Sgt. Troy Kelsay said. "But it's pretty personal, and I'm not comfortable commenting more on that."

In a note left in the home's kitchen and in voice mails, Sueppel said he had killed his wife and children, then driven to a city park and attempted to drown himself by jumping in the Iowa River. But he kept floating, Kelsay said. Finally, Sueppel took the family's 1998 Toyota Sienna and headed for Interstate Highway 80.

But first, he called 911 at 6:31 a.m. Monday and told police they needed to come to his home on Barrington Road in the Windsor Ridge subdivision.

When police arrived, they found three of the children's bodies in bedrooms, one in a basement toy room and Sheryl Sueppel's body in the master bedroom, Kelsay said.

By 6:36 a.m., police had received a 911 call from a woman who had seen a van veer onto the I-80 median, navigate around cables guarding the concrete base of a sign and ram it at a high speed, Kelsay said. The van exploded in flames, the witness told police.

Shock surrounding the deaths of the couple and their four children resonated throughout Iowa City on Tuesday. The Sueppels supported numerous civic endeavors and were well-liked. The extended family is prominent in Iowa City and known for its generosity.

For Sister Agnes Giblin, a nun who was Steven Sueppel's 3rd grade teacher, one of the curiosities amid the agony is that Sueppel seemed to be rallying. Last fall, when authorities started questioning him about thousands of dollars apparently missing from the bank where he worked, Sueppel's upbeat demeanor turned dark.

"He looked haggard and down, as anybody would be," said Sister Agnes, a longtime nun who prepared the couple for marriage in 1990. "But I just found him coming back to his old self. In fact, we were commenting that he was looking really good lately."

Sueppel was an "intelligent, bright, inquisitive" 3rd grader who had "lots of energy," she recalled. He was the sixth of eight children born to local lawyer William Sueppel and his wife Pat Sueppel.

After graduating from the University of Northern Iowa, Steve Sueppel went to work at the Hills Bank and Trust Co.

He met Sheryl Kesterson, and the two were married at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Iowa City in June 1990. Sheryl began teaching elementary school in 1989 and continued until 2000, when she became a full-time homemaker.

They adopted four children from South Korea, Sister Agnes and others recalled. The children were identified as Ethan, 10; Seth, 8; Mira, 5; and Eleanor, 3.

The family attended church at St. Mary's every week, Sister Agnes said, and the Sueppels were known for their warmth. Sheryl Sueppel was in a mothers' group there. The couple were attending monthly classes in preparation for Seth's first Communion in May.

In a statement released Monday, the parents of Steve and Sheryl Sueppel said the families "are devastated. They have all tried to remain alert for signs of particular stress, and observed none. Various family members were with Steven, Sheryl and the children during Easter weekend, and saw nothing unusual."

When Sueppel was confronted with the financial discrepancies in October, he admitted virtually everything, resigning the same day and then taking a job at a concrete plant. Sheryl Sueppel went to work in February at a non-profit agency.

Contrary to his statements that he bought cocaine with some of the stolen money, authorities said they have no evidence that was true.

Search warrants suggested Sueppel used some of the funds to pay bills and the mortgage. The federal agent coordinating the search warrant stated "it is reasonable to believe Sueppel has other bank accounts he has not admitted to."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-iowa-slayingsmar26,0,7618384.story