Former Newton resident charged in 31-year-old double homicide

For 31 years, the families of 20-year-old Steven J. Fisher and 17-year-old Melisa L. Gregory, who were found brutally murdered at the Copper Dollar Ranch northwest of Newton, have waited for justice.

On Monday morning, they came one step closer, as local authorities arrested former Newton resident Theresa “Terri” Supino in connection with the cold case.

“It’s a happy day,” Melisa’s sister Lisa Gregory of Newton said. “It’s awesome, but it’s also a sad day. It’s a lot of emotions right now.”

Supino, 53, of Altoona was arrested at her home Monday morning and is being held in the Jasper County Jail on a $400,000 bond. Supino was married to but separated from Fisher at the time of his death.

“For the last 31 years, the deaths of Steven and Melisa have weighed heavy on the Fisher and Gregory families, this sheriff’s office and many in Jasper County,” Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty said during a press conference early Monday afternoon. “Since the bodies of Steven and Melisa were discovered, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, with the assistance of the Newton Police Department, the Jasper County Attorney’s Office, the Office of the State Medical Examiner and the Division of Criminal Investigation have continued to work to bring justice for Steven and Melisa.

“In the 31 years since the deaths of Steven and Melisa, the deputies, officers, agents, criminalists and many others have remained dedicated to assuring this case was never forgotten and that Steven and Melisa were never forgotten.”

Although no specific piece of evidence was cited in the breaking of the cold case, a 10-page statement of probable cause signed by Halferty on Feb. 27 and filed Monday at the Jasper County Courthouse indicated “investigators have re-interviewed the defendant (Supino) numerous times in the years since the murders. She had talked at length with many witness about the events, and the defendant’s account of her relationship with Steven Fisher and Melisa Gregory and of substantially every detail of the night of the murder has changed significantly, in your affiant’s (Halferty’s) opinion.”

The Crime

According to the statement of probable cause, Steven and Melisa’s bodies were found by Steven’s best friend, the late Jeff Illingworth, shortly before 8 a.m. March 3, 1983, at the former Copper Dollar Ranch, located at 4916 W. 48th St. N. about four miles northwest of Newton. Steven was found lying face down outside of a small camper trailer near a horse barn at the ranch, where he had been living for about three weeks. Melisa was found lying face up on a bench immediately inside the trailer. Both appeared to have been attacked with an unknown weapon, initially thought to be a large caliber firearm. Fred Carpenter, the medical examiner at the time who is now deceased, arrived at the location later and pronounced the victims dead.

Investigators learned the victims were employees at the ranch and in an ongoing dating relationship, according to Halferty’s statement. Although the trailer was messy, there were no signs of a major struggle inside or outside. The only identifiable fingerprints in the trailer belonged to Melisa, and investigators did not recover a murder weapon.

Autopsies performed on the victims the day their bodies were found revealed Steven died as the result of approximately 13 “chop wounds” to his head and one wound to the eyelid area of his face with extensive cranio-cerebral injuries. Melisa died as the result of 13 “chop wounds” to her face and four to the top of her head, also with extensive cranio-cerebral injuries. The medical examiner reported the wounds were compatible with injuries caused by a heavy-edged instrument. Steven also had a fracture to his lower sternum and abrasions to his groin. Both he and Melisa had bruising and cuts to their arms and hands, and neither had alcohol or illegal narcotics in their systems at the time of their deaths.

Witness Statements

Halferty’s statement of probable cause also cited accounts by numerous unnamed witnesses interviewed throughout the investigation about Steven and Melisa’s whereabouts on the night they were killed and about Terri’s relationship with the victims.

One witness reported Steven and Melisa went to Melisa’s mother’s home and ate a dinner of macaroni goulash between 7 and 8 p.m. March 2, 1983, before leaving in Steven’s Blazer. Another witness reported Steven and Melisa picked him up at his house at 8:45 p.m. and that he was with them until they returned him to his home at approximately 9:30 p.m. Another witness reported Melisa came back to her mother’s house at approximately 10:15 p.m. and stated she might stay at the Copper Dollar Ranch with Steven that night.

Another witness reported seeing Steven driving by her place of business, Casey’s North, heading away from Newton and driving toward the Copper Dollar Ranch some time after she closed at 11 p.m. Another witness, who lived just down the street from the ranch, reported seeing the tail lights of a stopped car near the driveway of the ranch at approximately 12:15 a.m. He said the car started moving when he turned the corner onto the road but that it stopped and turned off its lights after he parked in his driveway. He stated he did not see anyone exit the vehicle and that he then entered his house.

According to Halferty’s statement, witnesses reported Steven had been staying at the trailer because he had recently separated from Terri and that his romantic relationship with Melisa had greatly upset Terri, resulting in her confronting and threatening the victims. One witness recalled a verbal altercation between Steven and Terri and stated Terri rolled up a car window on Steven’s arm and dragged him down the road. Another witness recalled Terri coming to Melisa’s mother’s home between 3 and 4 a.m. about two months before the murder and inciting a physical altercation with Melisa. The witness also stated Terri and Melisa had been involved in a physical altercation at a bar in January 1983.

Another witness, who worked with Terri at Hunt Cleaners in 2001, stated Terri told her, during a conversation about husbands or ex-husbands, “me and my brother killed someone,” according to the statement of probable cause. The witness said Terri said it in a boastful manner. Another witness recalled Terri saying if she ever caught the victims “together again” that she would “kill them” and that she would make sure “Melisa could never walk or talk again.” Another witness described Terri as acting emotionless at Steven’s funeral.

When interviewing Terri and her twin brother, Tim Supino, the morning the victims’ bodies were found, investigators learned Terri and Tim already were in contact with their lawyer. During the interview, Terri and Tim informed investigators they had been at the Copper Dollar Ranch the night before after Terri contacted Tim and asked him to pick her up at their brother Carlo’s house and take her to find Steven. Tim picked up Terri at approximately 11 p.m., and the two drove by Melisa’s house and then proceeded to the ranch. Both stated Tim got out and knocked on the trailer door for about five minutes before Steven opened the door and came outside. They also told investigators Steven and Terri talked in Tim’s vehicle for five to 10 minutes. Tim then drove Terri back to Carlo’s house at approximately 11:45 p.m. and picked up his fiancée before going to work for the night. Terri and Tim also provided investigators the clothing they stated they were wearing at the ranch that night.

Halferty and investigators have re-interviewed Tim in the years since the murders, and Tim’s account is described as “consistent with his original statement.” During an interview this year, on Feb. 8, Tim stated he did not hear the conversation between Terri and Steven in the vehicle that night but that Terri was the kind of person “who would engage in a physical altercation.” He also said Terri did not want him to tell police they had been at the Copper Dollar Ranch and that he did not have any knowledge of her whereabouts after he took her to his brother’s at 11:45 p.m.

Several witness cited in Halferty’s statement indicated Terri wanted to reconcile with Steven, with whom she had two young children, Rocky and Casey. The statement concluded with a list citing instances in which Terri “dramatically changed her account of the events in the case,” including her reasons for going to the ranch the night of the murders.

A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. March 10 at the Jasper County Courthouse.

Candlelight Vigil

As news of the arrest circulated through Newton, family members of Steven and Melisa digested the announcement while continuing to prepare for Monday night’s candlelight vigil on the Jasper County Courthouse lawn to mark the 31-year anniversary of the murders.

The vigil was the second such event the victims’ families organized, not only to remember Steven and Melisa but to remember the victims’ late mothers, Thelma Fisher and Ida (Cahill) Gregory Reynolds, who passed away Jan. 24, 2011, and May 15, 2012, respectively, without ever seeing justice for their children.

“All I know is that Thelma and Stevie and Melisa and my mom, Ida, I know they’re up there dancing, and they’re watching us. It’s a good feeling,” Lisa said Monday night during the vigil.

Several of Melisa’s family members attended the event, including her siblings Scott, Tanna, Travis and Sherry and her father, Marvin Gregory of Wyoming. Family members of Steven, including his sister, Darlene Illingworth, also attended.

“I’m happy. I’m sad. Actually, I don’t know what all I feel. It’s all crazy,” Tanna said. “It’s great. It’s wonderful. It’s sad. It’s all the emotions that you didn’t know you had. It brings out these emotions that you didn’t know you actually had all at the same time.”

Pam DeBruyn, ex-wife of Jeff Illingworth, also spoke briefly during the event.

“I think we also need to appreciate the fact that Sheriff Halferty stayed on this case,” she said. “He didn’t give up. We so, so appreciate the fact that he did what he said he was going to do. Thank you.”

Scott’s wife Karen noted TNT’s “Cold Justice” will air a segment on the Copper Dollar Ranch murders on Friday, March 21.

“Today is bittersweet,” Karen said. “It’s great, but then you also realize your loss, you know. Two people’s lives, and those two people’s lives, by being destroyed, destroyed many other lives. I know when Scott called me at work and told me, it was the first time in many, many years I’ve heard a light in his voice, and that was awesome. So I’m happy for the family. Finally, maybe, they’ll be able to get a little bit of peace.”

Although Halferty said during Monday’s press conference that Supino’s arrest does not end the investigation, and invited anyone with information to call the sheriff’s office at (641) 792-5912, an arrest in the case has been long anticipated by the victims’ families.

“I don’t know what to say,” Scott said. “I’m just basically happy that this day is starting. We just hope for the best. We just want justice to be served. I keep thinking, pinch me, pinch me. It’s finally here. Now I just can’t wait for the court dates to start.”

Daily News Associate Editor Mandi Lamb may be contacted at (641) 792-3121, ext. 424, or at mlamb@newtondailynews.com.