Judge dismisses defamation suit tied to Copper Dollar Ranch murders

A federal judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against the lead Jasper County investigator and prosecutor who in 2015 unsuccessfully sought to convict a former Newton woman in the 1983 deaths of her estranged husband and his girlfriend.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger ruled that Theresa “Terri” Supino’s defamation claims against Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty and Jasper County Attorney Mike Jacobsen lacked adequate legal basis, according to the Associated Press.

Supino became the primary suspect of the March 3, 1983 murders of her estranged husband, 20-year-old Steven Fisher, and his girlfriend, 17-year-old Melisa Gregory. Both were discovered dead by blunt force trauma at the former Copper Dollar Ranch northwest of Newton. Gregory was found in a camper trailer on the property while Fisher was outside. Halferty reopened the 34-year-old cold case investigation in 2012.

Supino was acquitted by in Black Hawk County jury in 2015 following a three-week trial. Her attorneys at the time argued there was no physical evidence such as DNA or fingerprints tying Supino to the murders, although she admitted to driving to the ranch with her brother looking for Fisher the night before the bodies were discovered.

In the initial complaint filed in February, Supino’s attorney Bruce H. Stoltze Jr. claimed his client was denied due process in the murder case and did not have the resources to deny statements of implied guilt, which were brought forward in witness testimony during the trial.

Supino was charged with two counts of first-degree murder March 3, 2014, the 31st anniversary of the murder, and spent the next year in jail awaiting trial.

The suit also accused Jacobsen and Halferty of false statements to the press during the course of the trial.

“The statements were of a kind that would reasonably be understood to attack the plaintiff’s (Supino) moral character and integrity; expose the plaintiff to public hatred, contempt or ridicule; and deprive the Plaintiff of the benefits of public confidence and social dealings,” the complaint stated.

The federal judge said Supino can’t sue under the U.S. Constitution for “reputational harms” and she failed to sufficiently plead a state claim.

The case was dismissed Thursday and Supino was denied the $500,000 in damages sought in the defamation suit.

To aid in reopening the cold case, Halferty brought in outside investigators from the TNT television show “Cold Justice.” The sheriff said the program could provide investigative tools not at his disposal. The involvement of “Cold Justice” became a controversial topic during Supino’s trial.

Immediately following the verdict, Supino spoke with reporters in the courtroom, stating she believed her arrest was a device to get the “Cold Justice” episode to air and she intended to file a lawsuit.

“They wouldn’t air the show unless they had someone in custody and that somebody was me,” she said. “Even now I’m not done. I’m going to sue somebody.”

No one from “Cold Justice” was named as a party in the federal defamation suit.