Trial begins for Iowa woman accused of 2 killings in 1983

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) - The trial of an Iowa woman accused of killing her husband and his girlfriend more than 30 years ago began Wednesday in Waterloo.

Prosecutors opened the case against 54-year-old Theresa Supino, who was arrested in March in connection to the 1983 slayings of Steven Fisher and Melisa Gregory, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported (http://bit.ly/1DGXMYt ). Their bodies were found on the Copper Dollar Ranch northwest of Newton.

Authorities charged Supino with two counts of first-degree murder. She has pleaded not guilty. Authorities have not said what led to the arrest, only that the development came after authorities completed hundreds of interviews and continued to process evidence.

Prosecutor Scott Nicholson said the evidence presented before the jury would prove Supino's guilt in the murders. He told the jury of 10 women and four men that he would reveal "what amounts to an admission by Supino" about her role in the double slaying.

But defense attorney Jill Eimerman said investigators didn't find blood on either Supino or her brother Tim's clothes. The siblings had been at the scene where Fisher and Gregory died, but Eimerman said both were still alive at the time of the visit.

Supino was married to Fisher when he died, but the couple had separated.

Mike Balmer, a former deputy and later sheriff in Jasper County, testified about his work on the case in 1983. He said law enforcement tools and technology lacked at the time, with 911 not yet implemented and recording interviews not a common practice.

The trial was moved to Black Hawk County after a judge ruled there would be considerable bias against Supino if her trial were held in Jasper.

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Information from: Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, http://www.wcfcourier.com