Tim Supino: Fisher alive when we left CDR

WATERLOO — Theresa "Terri" Supino's twin brother took the stand for prosecutors Friday, detailing a visit the two made to the Copper Dollar Ranch on March 2, 1983 just hours before the bodies Steven Fisher and Melisa Gregory were found brutally beaten.

Terri Supino is on trial at the Black Hawk County Courthouse for the double murder of her estranged husband, 20-year-old Fisher, and his girlfriend, 17-year-old Gregory, at the CDR northwest of Newton. Jasper County prosecutors will continue to call witnesses Monday.

Tim Supino made clear to jurors his claim that Fisher was alive when the two left the ranch. But during their 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. visit, he testified he had no suspicions that Fisher was there with Gregory, claiming he saw "no sign of activity" in the trailer as Fisher exited to speak with Terri Supino. Previous accounts from Tim Supino, including his tapped interview in the TNT program Cold Justice, claim he felt Fisher was closed the trailer door quickly March 2, to keep the Supinos from finding Gregory inside.

The witness presented a timeline of events, showing jurors the route they took to the CDR to find Fisher that night, including a detour past Gregory's home. After he dropped his sister off at the home of their brother, Carlo Supino Jr., Tim Supino said he went home, changed clothing and did electrical work all night at a 24-hour grocery store.

The defendant's twin said Terri Supino was preoccupied with finding Fisher on March 2, as she needed money to buy shoes for the couple's young son, Rocky. The defense reminded Tim Supino during cross examination he was once a suspect in the murders.

"In my opinion, Terri was suspect number one and I was number two," Supino said.

State witness Carol Supino testified that Terri and Tim Supino were gone for roughly 45 minutes the night of March 2 looking for Fisher, and she stayed up speaking with the defendant until 2 a.m. She also claimed she and Terri went to bed at roughly the same time.

Terri Supino had been living at the home of Carol and Carlo Supino Jr., her brother and sister-in-law, with her two children the two weeks prior to the murders. Carol Supino stated that the defendant was living with her parents but left due to an argument surrounding her relationship with Fisher.

She also told jurors as Tim and Terri Supino returned from the CDR around midnight, the two did not have blood on their clothing. The defense asked Carol Supino about the defendant's available transportation on March 2, referencing her need for Tim Supino's car to find Fisher at the CDR. Terri Supino did not have access to the one working automobile at Carlo and Carol Supino's house, the witness testified. The defendant's lack of transportation is an important detail for the defense.

Jurors heard the first testimony from victim Steven Fisher's family Friday. The victim's sister Darlene Illingworth recounted Terri Supino's demeanor the day following the murder. She said her then-sister-in-law was not present to help with funeral planning, and when she finally arrived at the funeral home Terri Supino — Illingworth claimed — appeared "very calm, acting like nothing was going on." Fisher's sister also said Supino shed "no tears."

Illingworth testified that she felt it odd Terri Supino had possession Steven Fisher's social security card, which the defendant presented at the funeral home for staff. Illingworth claimed her brother always kept the card in his wallet and was never found without the billfold. Fisher had no identification when he was found dead at the CDR, and the missing wallet has been a point of questioning for investigators over the years.

The defense tried to pin Illingworth on her certainty of the wallet's contents including the social security card. Co-defense counsel Steve Addington asked Illingworth why she had never told this to investigators until 2008. She replied, "no one had every asked."

"Everyone carried their social security cards in 1983," she said.

The state also called former co-worker and friend of Terri Supino, Patricia Grayson. She became one of the growing number of witnesses attesting to the tumultuous nature of Fisher and the defendant's relationship. Grayson shared a story of Fisher's violent tendency, referencing an incident where he allegedly attacked Melisa Gregory, putting her in the hospital. But with Gregory, Grayson said, the bond was different.

"When she got out of the hospital, Steven went back to Melisa, not Terri," Grayson said.

Grayson referenced a conversation she had with Terri Supino at 3 p.m. March 3, 1983 after the bodies were discovered. The witness testified that just hours after her husband's murder the defendant was focused on locating Girl Scout cookies she ordered rather than Fisher's murder. The witness said Terri Supino did not speak of Fisher until Grayson asked if she knew about the murders.

Near the end of her testimony, First Assistant County Attorney Scott Nicholson asked Grayson about particular phrasing Terri Supino used when speaking to the witness about the murders.

Grayson alleged Supino said, when she left the CDR "they" were fine — implying Terri Supino knew Gregory was inside the trailer while she and Tim Supino were at the CDR.

During an objection by the state, it was revealed that Carol Supino will later testify on behalf of the defense as the defendant's alibi witness. The objection was launched due to a line of questioning from Addington citing a passage from Carol Supino's sworn statement. She claimed investigators in 1983 threatened her with prison if she did not tell the truth about Tim and Terri Supino's clothing the night of the murders.

Her statements have remained consistent over the years, and the state argued the defense was trying to bolster their future testimony from Carol Supino. The court sustained the objection.

The court was forced to address jurors again Friday regarding handwritten notes received from unknown juror(s) asking followup questions about testimony. Iowa 5th District Court Judge Terry Rickers explained again to jurors the court could not answer these questions, and it is the parties' prerogative to establish and present the case in the way they see fit.

Judge Rickers called the written question an "inappropriate practice" and in a worst case scenario could result in a mistrial if the notes continue.

For updates and archived stories on the Copper Dollar Ranch murders, go to newtondailynews.com, follow @NewtonDNews on Twitter and Facebook and see full recaps off Friday's trail-related events from Waterloo in Monday's print edition.

Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com