Camper in Copper Dollar Ranch murders will be used as evidence

Terri Supino, the 54-year-old woman accused in the 1983 double murder of her estranged husband 20-year-old Steven Fisher and his girlfriend Melisa Gregory at the Copper Dollar Ranch in Newton, appeared in Jasper County court Thursday, as her attorneys and county prosecutors argued the admissibility of key portions of their cases.

This was the final pretrial conference before jury selection begins Feb. 2 in Black Hawk County. Supino is charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

Judge Terry Rickers, who is assigned to Supino’s trial, is expected to rule on the disputed arguments Friday. The rulings were not available by press time. The judge did issue a ruling during Thursday’s proceeding which will bring part of the crime scene to Waterloo.

Rickers approved the state’s motion allowing the jury to view the camper trailer where Gregory and Fisher were found murdered more than 31 years ago. In his motion filed Jan. 14, Jasper County Attorney and lead prosecutor in the case, Mike Jacobsen, stated the camper is “substantially” unchanged from the night of the 1983 murders in its size, layout and general configuration.

The state will have the camper towed to Waterloo to give jurors a first-hand account of where the murders took place. Jurors will likely be taken to a location off the Black Hawk County Courthouse grounds to see the camper.

Among the other issues in dispute Thursday was the long-standing defense theory that Gregory and Fisher’s murders could have been drug related. Assistant Jasper County Attorney Scott Nicholson argued the defendant’s allegation that Gregory and Fischer were killed due to a retaliation for a drug hit — one of two major theories in the double murder throughout the decades — is a “red herring.”

Lead defense attorney Steven Addington argued that Hal Snedeker — former drug runner, owner of the Copper Dollar Ranch in 1983 and one-time suspect in the case — should be required to give information regarding his drug contacts he had in Florida at the time of the murder. The defense feel they could provide a connecting with a drug hit against the victims.

“It goes to the heart of the defense that perhaps someone came up from Florida and murdered the two people. Without knowing the contacts, without knowing their arrests to this date, we can’t pursue that,” Addington said. “The idea that the objection has relevancy, the state does not get to make that choice and the witness does not get to make that choice in the deposition.”

Nicholson rebutted that supposed drug contacts the defense is seeking could be obtained through Allen Shad, an individual known to have conducted drug runs in Florida for Snedeker and is listed as a witness for the defence. Therefore, the prosecution does not feel Snedeker should be forced to give names.

“What the court really must determine is if the witness must be compelled to answer a question concerning his contacts he had 31 years ago,” Nicholson said. “I’m strained to see how that is relevant in this particular case which is going to trial in a week and a half. We believe the evidence at this point is stale, it’s irrelevant and immaterial.”

The prosecution believes any evidence alleging drug trafficking’s role in the homicides would mislead and confuse the jury. The defense claimed the timeline Snedeker outlined in his most recent deposition stating the date he stopped drug trafficking does not coincide with his 1983 testimony.

Rickers will also rule if the state will be allowed to enter several incidents of alleged domestic violence between Supino and Fisher in the years and months prior to the murders. Newly discussed interactions between Supino and Gregory that allegedly resulted in verbal and perhaps physical altercations were also disputed by the defense.

Two events highlighted in Thursday’s hearing 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 — a key part of a 2014 episode of TNT’s Cold Justice program which assisted Jasper County Sheriff’s Office investigators in gathering additional evidence to bring charges against Supino in the once cold case.

Rickers must decide if these events are relevant to the state’s case against Supino or if it would unfairly paint Supino’s character in a negative light for jurors. The prosecution wants to establish a pattern of violent behavior from Supino leading to the night of the murders.

“These two incidents should not be taken lightly by the court in its evaluation on whether is should be admitted,” Nicholson said. “These are acts of violence.”

The admissibility of these acts were argued by the Supino’s defense, stating the volatility of the marriage is already established in the case.

“I can see this case evolving or going down a road where we feel the need to respond to these domestic abuse allegations which the state seems to be making, when in fact, if the point is to show that this was not a healthy marriage, this fact is not in dispute,” said Jill Eimermann, co-counsel for Supino. “It’s not necessary to paint a picture of the relationship between Steven Fisher and Terri. It could get sidetracked very quickly and very easily.”

Addington said the incident involving Fisher’s arm appeared to be hearsay by most witnesses interviewed, and he claimed the single eyewittiness to the event — Hal Snedeker’s wife Linda — changed her statement from hearing about the drive-off to actually seeing it. Court documents show Linda Snedeker has been subpoenaed in the case.

Supino’s trial will begin Feb. 2 in Black Hawk County. Read the Newton Daily News for more pretrial coverage Jan 29 and 30. Get the latest trial updates from jury selection to verdict at newtondailynews.com and daily in print.

Contact Mike Mendenhall at mmendenhall@newtondailynews.com.