Sueppel's Burials Are Today

This story of the Sueppel's burials and the aftermath, is by Brian Morelli of the Iowa City Press-Citizen, and he writes:
Today's funeral and burial might serve as an ecumenical bookend for the lives of the six members of the Sheryl and Steven Sueppel family, but for many friends, family and others in the Iowa City community, their story and their tragic end will not fade anytime soon.

Steven, 42, Sheryl, 42, Ethan, 10, Seth, 8, Mira, 5, and Eleanor, 3, will be memorialized together in a 10 a.m. ceremony at St. Mary's Catholic Church, 302 E. Jefferson St., and then brought to St. Joseph's Cemetery, 1122 N. Dodge St., to be buried as a family.

Funeral directors say friends and family believe being buried together is how the family would have wanted it, despite the grisly moments right before their violent deaths.

Police say Steven Sueppel murdered his family, possibly using baseball bats that were recovered from the scene, in their 629 Barrington Road home on Easter night or Monday morning. Officials determined they died of blunt force trauma to the torsos and heads.

Early Monday, police think Sueppel committed suicide on his third attempt by driving into a concrete post in the median of Interstate 80.

Sueppel, a former Hills Bank & Trust executive, had been indicted in February for embezzling more than $500,000 over seven years from his employer and money laundering. The former vice president and controller left his job in October. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and was set to appear in court in April. The federal case is being thrown out, although there remains the possibility of civil lawsuits.

Nobody will ever understand why Sueppel, a widely perceived loving father and husband from a prominent local family, did what he did. Police say a four-page handwritten note left at the crime scene by Sueppel indicated he felt shame from the legal troubles and financial strain weighing on him.

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