"Christopher had a rifle it was not loaded. But if prosecutors Hoague and Carin Kahgan wanted Garrett to testify, it was going to cost them. 4/20/1674 Piscataway, NJ d. 12/19/1750 Piscataway, NJ and buried in Stelton, NJ; in 1695 he married Elizabeth Conger (b. Police were back at square one. Hit man Garrett Kopp is scheduled to be released in 2035. She had been told by the police not to tell me about Susan," he said. Susan had just turned 57, and John's firm had won three lucrative cases. Bullet casings recovered at the scene were all from a .9mm gun. Susan Sutton's jewelry and John Sutton's wallet were left untouched on a dresser. Garrett is now saying that Christopher promised him $100,000 to kill the Suttons. John Sutton thinks otherwise. Instead, with the boom of a seasoned lawyer, he praised Fleisher's professionalism and hailed the prosecutors for putting. "Later on I was told that she passed away. Detective Belyeu thought it odd that fingers were being pointed at John and Susan's son, Christopher, then 25 years old. "So with that kind of spotty memory, the information he provided wasn't very helpful?" "She was threatened with going down.". On August 22, 2004, there was a lot to celebrate. He was now out on bail. Det. Roberts asked Christopher? Bruce Fleisher: You need to tell us something Garrett, because they're going to fry your ass in the electric chair. It was a tense interrogation. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. Sutton's birthplace has been mistakenly listed in various sources as Orange, New Jersey, Jersey City, New Jersey, Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, England, and South Africa. "I did not at all believe that he was behind this," she said. "He actually choked his mother one time, saying that he could kill her," said Belyeu. In shackles, Garrett Kopp takes the stand. I looked at Christopher and I thought, 'You killed her. His admitted assailant, Garrett Kopp, is serving a 30-year term and has also testified at the trial. A father helping prosecutors convict his own son -- the boy he had raised for 25 years. They paid car payments. Police reinterviewed Montoto who agreed to a polygraph test. Perhaps, but when Christopher was 16, things really escalated. "I said, 'Christopher can I speak to you for a moment.' "That was the happiest day of her life, it was absolutely the happiest day of her life," said Susan's sister, Mary Marier. Police investigated every one of them - but they all had alibis. Murderer Christopher Sutton tried to kill his own father John Sutton in 2003. This case was adjudicated by thesame probate judge who adjudicated Suttons will, Judge William Crabtree, and involved an appearance by the same lawyer who drafted Suttons will, Gregory Yale (this time representing family members opposed to emancipation). John Sutton was found guilty by the jury after the murder. Then, three weeks later, two men came to get Christopher. Christopher's friend, Eric Polk says the Suttons tended to overreact. Cordero recalled. The gunman turned back to the master bedroom and emptied the gun into John. ", Asked who he though had done it, Christopher told Roberts, "I had no idea.". As their night finally winds down however, an armed intruder suddenly enters their bedroom firing reckless gunshots that kill Susan but leave John severely wounded in the head. Her alibi checked out. "The fact that people could even think that I would know something like that. Garrett Kopp, 21, was brought in for questioning. >> reporter: susan sutton was dead, shot five times by a killer who invaded her birthday party. He said, "We saw a particular number that came up several times.". Investigators questioned why he was on the phone with her. Nobody knows what really happened except for him and Garrett," Juliette testifies. He told Cordero that he was a marksman and he'd been shooting a gun earlier that day. Christopher's not like other people," she said. Keith Morrison reports.Oct. He and his girlfriend were at the movies - and can be seen on the theater's security cameras. Belyeu tells the jury about what he believes is a defining moment in the case. As he was escorted from the courtroom after his testimony, he couldnt see that his son didnt look at him, reports CBS 4. Susan just turned 57, and Johns firm has won three lucrative cases. For months after the shooting, Christopher had been by his father's side. An arrest warrant for Chris Sutton was issued on March 26, 2005. This is the second part of the story that should be of particular interest to practicing probate attorneys. Cordero asked for one, Christopher replied, "Because of Teddy's interrogation.". Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. They thought that I was gone. "You must have been wracking your brain thinking, 'Who could have possibly done this?'" It was updated on July 20, 2013.]. She was executed, said Dr. Emma Lew, a medical examiner in Miami-Dade County, Florida. In October 1946, he divorced his high society wife and married Roberta Fidler, former wife of newspaper columnist and radio commentator Jimmie Fidler;[5][6] this rather stormy second marriage ended in divorce in 1955. "You can understand how he may have wanted to exact revenge against his parents for his time at Paradise Cove?". He is accused of ordering a hit on his parents and killing his mother Susan Sutton. February 24, 1957 - June 2, 1960 (annulled), Rawalpindi, Punjab, British India [now Pakistan]. "Take the wallet, easy cash, at least. Belyeu says Garrett drew a sketch of how he got into the house. His foster father is John Sutton. "When I was more mature and realized it wasn't something they did to me maliciously. The Polynesian Islands of Samoa, in the South Pacific Ocean, is nearly 7,000 miles from the Miami home where Susan and John Sutton were viciously attacked. All rights reserved, Looking for Gas in South Florida? In her bookFathers of Conscience: Mixed Race Inheritance in the Antebellum South,law professor Bernie Jones studied antebellum will contests in which Southern white men, typically widowed or single, left wills giving property or freedom to women of color and their mixed-race children. "I said, 'Don't live with Christopher. Big time, and in many ways hes the real hero of this story. Christopher was hoping to leave Paradise Cove forever on his 18th birthday, but his father got a court order to keep him there for another year. Here's How to Tell, Middle School Teacher Charged After Alleged Inappropriate Behavior With Male Student, I'm Leaving Right Now': Victims of Historic Flooding in Fort Lauderdale Prepare for More Rain, Struggling to Find Gas? He doesn't ask for leniency. Was it random? What has been miraculous to me is that people have opened their arms to me and helped to support in telling this story, including the Gunster firm. The woman owned a boat, which raised suspicions about the shooter escaping by the waterway the night of the shooting. They have two adopted children. Garrett would get a deal: just 30 years for shooting John and Susan. The prosecution said in court filings that Christopher Sutton had been threatening since 1996 to make his parents pay for sending him to the Samoan school, reports the Miami Herald in an article published within a year or so after the killings. This means Mr. Sutton has taken and passed additional exams, submitted his cases for review and received positive references from both judges and other . When authorities arrived, they discovered his wife, Susan, had also been attacked. her husband, john, an attorney had been shot in the head twice in critical condition at a miami hospital undergoing surgery to save his life. They sent me to Samoa. Its the perfect storm for a will contest. It's the moment Christopher Sutton has been waiting for. The government contends Christopher Sutton let Kopp into the home and contends that he hoped to inherit from his wealthy parents as a result of their deaths, according to the NBC blog and the Miami Herald. The couples son Christopher, 25, and his fiance, Juliette Driscoll, dropped in for the gathering before going to a movie. When questioned by police Kopp confessed that Chris had recruited him to kill his parents as revenge for his time at Paradise Cove. But this was no vacation; it was a hardcore behavior modification program for troubled boys. Almost seven years later, the couple adopted Melissa. Now imagine the year is 1846. He says he got over his anger about being sent to Samoa long ago. (I know what I would have advised.) Garrett went straight to the bedrooms where he said Christopher told him he'd find the Suttons. "Christopher was familiar with details about the shooting that had not yet been released?" "He said, 'Look, you're going to have to protect me. "He did in fact confess to having a sexual relationship with Susan," she said. I can't connect the dots between what he was doing at age 5 and what happened after age 13.". They paid insurance payments. It definitely raised some flags, said Chief Rosanna Cordero-Stutz, former homicide detective, Miami-Dade County, Florida. And thats what makes these cases and estate planning for unconventional clients in general so confoundingly challenging. Whats it mean to challenge the validity of a will and why does it matter? When John Sutton woke up in intensive care, he was blind. They apparently opted for the latter course of action;William, Lucy, her children and grandchildren were all long gone by the time the will contest was tried. Susan died, and John survived but is now blind. The police are back in first place. And you know, I always will.". Hopefully that made an impact on the jury.". Christopher was in and out of more than half a dozen schools. 18, 2010. It doesn't even seem real that it could have even happened," he told Troy Roberts. As they looked more closely at Chris they discovered had a troubled past and scrapes with the law. I know that I stand on the same ark of history with John and Lucy and their children. And then shortly before the murder, Susan Sutton refused to pay Christopher's car insurance bill. Johns partner at the law firm, Teddy Montoto, who was at the party, was back in the house when police arrived. But the Suttons were frightened and they wanted Christopher out of the house. 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