Dad Kills Four Korean-Born Children

An embattled former bank executive committed suicide by crashing his van after killing his wife, failing to asphyxiate their four children in a garage then slaying them individually, authorities in Iowa said.

Steven Sueppel, who had been charged with embezzlement, was missing after his family's bodies were discovered Monday morning. His van was found wrecked and ablaze on an interstate about nine miles (14 kilometers) away, and police said they used dental records to identify the body inside as Sueppel's, according to Associated Press.

All of the four children were adopted from South Korea with the names of Ethan, Seth, Mira and Eleanor.

In a news conference Tuesday, investigators said they believe he killed his wife, then tried to kill himself and his children by asphyxiating them with carbon monoxide in the garage. When that failed, he killed the children one by one in the house, AP said.

Investigators think the children died by ``blunt force trauma,'' though autopsies are not complete, Lt. Jim Steffen said. Two baseball bats might have been used and were being examined, he said.

After the children died, Sueppel tried to drown himself in the Iowa River without success. He then made an emergency call directing officers to his home, and a few minutes later crashed into a freeway abutment.

Sueppel left a long note in the family's kitchen addressed to no one in particular. He also left voice mail messages at the family's home, at the bank where he once worked and at the law office of his father and brother.

One of the messages indicated Sueppel believed his family was in

heaven, Steffen said.