Five found dead in Iowa home of accused banker

DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - A woman and four children were found dead in an Iowa house on Monday, and her husband, who faces bank embezzlement charges, may have died later in a fiery highway crash, police and media reports said.

Police said they were called to a house in a suburban neighborhood of Iowa City, home of the University of Iowa, and found the bodies of the woman and the children.

They confirmed it was the house of Steven Sueppel, 42, vice president and controller of the Hills Bank & Trust, where he lived with his wife, Sheryl, and their four children.

He was indicted on February 12 for embezzlement and money laundering and was facing trial next month. Authorities say nearly $560,000 was missing from the bank as a result of thefts that had occurred over several years.

About 30 minutes after the anonymous emergency call came in from the Sueppel house, a vehicle matching one owned by the family crashed and burned on a nearby highway, police said, killing the single occupant. No other vehicles were involved.

Police said the car was Sueppel's but the body inside had not been identified because it was burned beyond recognition.

The Iowa City Press-Citizen said police believed the body in the car was that of Sueppel, and said the victims in the home were his wife and children.

Police did not say how they died.

The Des Moines Register said officials had earlier reported that Sueppel admitted to stealing some money from the bank to support a cocaine habit.

(Editing by Xavier Briand)