or do you need a minute? man: yeah, this might be good time for a break, anyway. keith morrison: that night, whether juliette knew it or not, christopher and his drug-dealing hit man, garrett kopp, were already leaving a trail for detectives. a trail of phone calls, 17 in all, one just an hour after the murder, as christopher and juliette left the movie theater that august night. karen kahgan: the state will call garrett kopp to the stand. and here was the man on the end of that phone, the man who said he did it, garrett kopp. 25 years old, short, scruffy. the self-confessed killer shuffled into the courtroom and told a horrifying tale. how christopher instructed him to enter the house through a sliding glass door near the pool. how he d made a sketch of the house to guide garrett down the hallway to john and susan s bedrooms. karen kahgan: what did you do at the end of the hallway? proceed to shoot. who did you shoot at first? john. karen kahgan: is that mr. sutton?
yes. karen kahgan: where was mr. sutton when you shot at him initially? on the bed. karen kahgan: and what did you see mr. sutton do when you shot him? flip off the bed. karen kahgan: after you fired at mr. sutton, what did you do? proceeded to shoot in the other room. karen kahgan: and who was the person with whom you were in a plan to shoot john and susan sutton? chris sutton. karen kahgan: and what do you remember the defendant telling you about how much money you might expect to get? upwards of $100,000. keith morrison: until this moment, john sutton had been a spectator at his son s trial, his thoughts and feelings his own. but he was a victim, too. staying out of it wasn t an option for him. and now came the moment he d both dreaded and demanded. he testified against his own son. first, about the night his world went dark. the only thing i saw was, for an instant, a snap.
a son charged with hiring the hit man who murdered his mother, blinded his father. and here he sat, apparently confident, highly prepared, ignoring, most of the time, the surviving members of his family a scant few feet away. you know, we locked eyes, but i have nothing to say to him. keith morrison: melissa s sat with their father their father front row seat. prosecutor karen kahgan told the jury a horror story, the state s version of what happened the night of the murder. the man for whom the gunman had signed on to commit a double murder. a man who was intimately familiar with john and susan sutton. that man? their son, christopher sutton. keith morrison: then, graphic evidence. a crime scene soaked in blood and littered with bullet casings. the medical examiner placed knitting needles in a mannequin to show where susan was shot six times.
over it, made the best of it. and when his parents and melissa came to visit, they all had a wonderful time together. hardly a dysfunctional family in the story the photos told. bruce fleisher: well, were you happy to be with your parents? i was very, very happy to see my parents. you know, i love them very much. keith morrison: so, he d given the jury an alternative. he tried, at least, to defuse the samoa motive. enough? not nearly, said prosecutor kahgan. what motive did garrett kopp have to go in an attempt to assassinate both of those people? none. what motive did christopher sutton have to want both his parents dead? plenty. and what s the story, here? they have the statement of garrett kopp, the drug-crazed, little thug who gives this story to save himself from the death penalty, and the coerced statement of juliette driscoll. where s the evidence in this case?
hardly a dysfunctional family, in the story the photos told. were you happy to be with your parents? i was very, very happy to see my parents. i loved them very much. so he had given the jury an alternative. he tried at least to defuse the samoa motive. enough? not nearly said prosecutor kahgan. what motive did garrett kopp had to go in and assassinate those people? none. what motive did christopher sutton have to want both his parents dead? plenty. they have the statement of garrett kopp, the drug-crazed little thug who gives this story to save himself from the death penalty, and the coerced statement of juliet driscoll. where is the evidence in this case? what do they have? nothing. seven men, five women on the jury. and real doubt in the air.