Background
Steven Sueppel was at the time charged with stealing $559,040 from Hills Bank and Trust Company of Hills, Iowa where he was a vice president, but had pled not guilty to embezzlement and money laundering on February 20, 2008. He was out on bond at the time of the murders with a trial date set for April. In a four-page note written by Steven, he indicated that he and his family would be better off this way instead of enduring further pressures caused by the charges against him.
One remarkable aspect of this case is the community mourning for the loss, including relatives from all sides of the family. A combined funeral was held for both parents and their children; all were buried together and the theme was forgiveness. An in-depth description of the events leading up to and following the family murder-suicide case is found at Death by Domestic Homicide:Preventing the Murders and the Murder-Suicides (Van Wormer and Roberts, 2009), based primarily on "Forgiveness Frames Funeral for Family of 6", Cedar Falls Times, April 5, 2008.
Read more about this topic: Iowa City Sueppel Murders
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