The double first-degree murder trial of Theresa “Terri” Supino, who is accused of the March 3, 1983 murders of 20-year-old Steven Fisher and 17-year-old Melisa Gregory, begins Monday in Waterloo at the Black Hawk County Courthouse.
The trial will be the culmination of years of investigative work — both before and after Supino’s arrest — by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office and county prosecutors.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin day one of the trial, taking roughly two days. The state and defense will then give opening statements. The state is expected to call witnesses through Feb. 16. Afterward, Supino’s attorneys have the opportunity to call its witnesses. Following closing arguments, the Jasper County Attorney’s office hopes the case will be ready to submit for jury deliberation by Feb. 20.
The trial’s two prosecuting attorneys, Jasper County Attorney Mike Jacobsen and First Assistant Jasper County Attorney Scott Nicholson, said the sheer volume of documentation in Supino’s case — more than 4,000 pages of police reports and an additional 1,000 pages of deposition and interviews — makes this the most complex case they have ever tried. Jacobsen has represented the state in five first-degree murder trials while serving in Jasper County.
The state has more than 40 witnesses which, Jacobsen said, the prosecution team plans to call. Nicholson said Supino’s case will set a record number of called witnesses at trial by their office. All together, more than 100 people have been interviewed by law enforcement throughout the course of the investigation.
Who will take the stand during the three-week trial is still unclear, but it is expected that members of Steven Fisher and Melisa Gregory’s families will testify. Online court records show former Jasper County Sheriff Mike Balmer — a deputy in 1983, who worked on the initial investigation — and Tim Supino — Terri Supino’s brother who drove his sister to the Copper Dollar Ranch to speak with Steven Fisher the night of the murders — are among those subpoenaed. The state is not required to release its witness list to the public until they are called in court. But it is not known if these witnesses were simply interviewed by investigators or they will indeed take the stand.
The volatility of Supino’s relationship with Steven Fisher is expected to be on full display during the proceedings. Two events highlighted in the Jan. 22 pretrial conference at the Jasper County Courthouse included an alleged incident where Supino drove a car toward Fisher forcing him to jump on to a softball field backstop to avoid getting hit. The second is an instance where Supino allegedly drove off with Fisher’s arm in a car window breaking his arm.
Much of what will be presented in court is still not open to the public. One witness’s deposition has heavily affected the case during and since the latest pretrial conference. The defense is pushing for Hal Snedeker — who owned the former Copper Dollar Ranch at the time of the murders — to give information regarding drug contacts he may have had in Florida at the time of the murders. It is believed the ranch was used as a front for drug activity within the time frame of March 3, 1983, although charges were never brought against the Jasper County resident.
Chief Defense Attorney Steven Addington filed a motion Wednesday asking Iowa Fifth District Court Judge Terry Rickers to reconsider allowing evidence to establish a defense proposing a possible drug-related hit against the two victims. A denied motion to compel Snedeker to give his alleged contacts could have added to Supino’s defense that drug activity was involved. A hearing has been scheduled at 8:30 a.m. Monday in Black Hawk County to review the defense’s motion. This hearing will be held prior to jury selection, which is to begin at 9:30 a.m. that day.
Addington cited transcripts from Snedeker’s deposition in the defense’s latest motion. According to online court documents, Addington claims “The Copper Dollar Ranch was the scene of considerable drug activity and, within the days of the murders was determined by law enforcement to be ‘connected with this homicide investigation’ (Snedeker statement transcript, 3-5-83, p.11).”
In recent years, investigators had ruled out a drug related hit on the victims. To date, no murder weapon has been found, and no eye witnesses or DNA evidence has been presented by investigators. Addington also argues that when asked about his alleged Florida drug contacts, the former ranch owner refused to provide the information “out of fear for his own safety.” The defense’s motion to compel the witness to give the names was struck down Jan. 23 by Rickers who stated it was irrelevant to the case. Addington argued Snedeker’s statement could provide a connection with a theorized drug hit against the victims.
In his Jan. 23 ruling, Rickers wrote if the defense can “offer more specific testimony or other evidence of credible alternative threats to (the victims’) welfare near the time of their deaths” the court would reconsider its ruling striking the “drug hit” defense.
In his motion to reconsider, Addington wrote “In this case, the excluded evidence supports (the) defendant’s theory of the case; specifically, that there (are) others besides the defendant who had motive to harm the victim.”
The motion continues by stating the defense will not offer specific statements from a person threatening the victims, but Addington wrote the circumstantial evidence potentially implicating another actor could hold relevance to establishing Supino’s alternative theory.
But the state sought a ruling finding Supino’s “drug hit” defense “unsustainable as a matter or law.” Rickers wrote the state’s motion “pits the compelling interest of the defendant’s constitutional right to present a vigorous defense” against the requirement that the jury only consider relevant and competent evidence when determining Supino’s guilt or innocence.”
The judge acknowledged Fisher’s employer — Snedeker — might have had drug contacts at the time, capable of violent acts, but ultimately wrote the court has not heard convincing testimony is support of Supino’s theory.
A witness list filed in Jasper County Court Dec. 5 by the defense indicates Supino’s intent to call, among others, her brother Carlo Supino Jr. and Allan Shad to the stand during the course of the trial. The defendant was staying with her brother Carlo Supino at the time of the murders. Shad was an alleged drug runner in Florida for Snedeker in the years leading to the March 3, 1983 incident. The defense believes he could have knowledge of other alleged drug informants who could have had an axe to grind with Snedeker and support Supino’s “drug hit” theory.
Many of the witnesses from 1983 are now deceased, including Steven Fisher’s friend and the man who found the victims dead, Jeffery Illingworth. Former Jasper County Sheriff Allan Wheeler and then-county medical examiner Dr. Fred Carpenter also are no longer living. Both investigated the crime scene.
Judge Rickers ruled Jan. 22 that jurors would be allowed to view the camper trailer which once sat in the former Copper Dollar Ranch compound and was the scene of the double murder. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office has arranged for the trailer to be transported to Waterloo.
As for Supino, Jacobsen said he “does not even want to speculate” if she will take the stand in her own defense.
Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com