Steven Joseph Fisher was a 20-year-old man from Newton, Iowa, trying to build a life for himself in the early 1980s. He was a father of two young children from his marriage to Theresa “Terri” Supino, though the couple had recently separated. In the winter of 1983, Steven was working at the Copper Dollar Ranch, a horse ranch located in a rural area about four miles northwest of Newton in Jasper County. He was also in a new relationship with 17-year-old Melisa Gregory, a high school student who was known for her love of horses. Friends remembered Steven as a hard worker who was devoted to his job at the ranch.
The morning of March 3, 1983, brought a horrific discovery that would haunt the community for decades. The bodies of Steven Fisher and Melisa Gregory were found at the Copper Dollar Ranch. They had been brutally killed inside a trailer on the property, both having died from massive and devastating head injuries. The cause of death was determined to be bludgeoning.
The violence of the act stunned local residents and launched a complex and frustrating investigation by the Jasper County Sheriff's Office.
In the initial days and the years that followed, investigators conducted hundreds of interviews, trying to piece together a timeline and identify a motive for the savage double homicide. Despite their efforts, the case eventually went cold, leaving the families of Steven and Melisa without answers or justice. The murders at the Copper Dollar Ranch became a well-known piece of local lore, a source of persistent notoriety and speculation within the small Iowa community. For the victims' loved ones, the passage of time did little to heal the wound of the unsolved crime.
Decades passed until a significant development revived hope for a resolution. On March 3, 2014, the 31st anniversary of the murders, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office announced an arrest. Steven's estranged wife, Theresa Supino, then 53 and living in Altoona, was taken into custody and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. The arrest came after a renewed investigation, which was featured on an episode of the television show "Cold Justice." That evening, family and friends of Steven and Melisa gathered for a vigil outside the Jasper County Courthouse, their hopes for justice rekindled.
Due to the substantial pretrial publicity the case had generated in the Newton and Des Moines areas over three decades, a judge granted a change of venue for the trial. The proceedings were moved to Black Hawk County and began in February 2015. During the trial, prosecutors argued their case against Supino. However, her defense attorneys highlighted the circumstantial nature of the evidence. On February 20, 2015, after deliberating for just over six hours, the jury returned its verdict, finding Theresa Supino not guilty of all charges.
The acquittal sent the case back to its cold and unresolved status. Following the verdict, the Jasper County Attorney stated that his office would not have brought charges if they had not felt a guilty verdict was possible. The Jasper County Sheriff announced that while the case was now considered closed from an active standpoint, the door would remain open. Investigators would entertain and review any new leads that might point toward a different suspect. As of February 2015, the brutal murders of Steven Fisher and Melisa Gregory remain officially unsolved. Anyone with information regarding the case is asked to contact the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office at 641-792-5912.
