Neck. Strange behavior. He went from hysterical to calm. The trial had everything. Exploding emotions, a secret affair. Did you have an affair. Yes, and my husband is well aware of it. Even an identical twin. Five years of suspicion comes down to one moment. We the jury i think that anyone can imagine what its like to love someone so much, then be charged with their murder . Its unfathomable. Keith morrison reports on a cliffhanger of a case. In an instant. Thanks for joining us. Im lester holt. The papers called it the spray tan murder trial, but could a spray tan really be to blame for a Young Mothers puzzling death . The questions in this case started early one morning with a dramatic call for help and ended five years later with an equally dramatic verdict in court. Heres keith morrison. The story, when it hit the news, sounded almost crazy. Killed by a spray tan. Claiming his wife died after an allergic reaction to a spray tan. They try to blame her death on a reaction to a spray
Exploding emotions, a secret affair. Did you have an affair. Yes, and my husband is well aware of it. Even an identical twin. Five years of suspicion comes down to one moment. We the jury i think that anyone can imagine what its like to love someone so much, then be charged with their murder . Its unfathomable. Keith morrison reports on a cliffhanger of a case. In an instant. Thanks for joining us. Im lester holt. The papers called it the spray tan murder trial, but could a spray tan really be to blame for a Young Mothers puzzling death . The questions in this case started early one morning with a dramatic call for help and ended five years later with an equally dramatic verdict in court. Heres keith morrison. The story, when it hit the news, sounded almost crazy. Killed by a spray tan. Claiming his wife died after an allergic reaction to a spray tan. They try to blame her death on a reaction to a spray tan. And thus a myth was born. The case of the spray tan defense. What a headline.
This. Was it love . What we learned was he was having an affair. Was it money . Nobody really knows what happened except for him and garrett. Or was the truth hidden here on this tropical paradise. It was an assassination, a hit. No question. Reporter it was august hot in coral gables. The air was shirtsticking thick as night fell. The small, damp breeze pushed weakly at limp palm fronds. In the artificial kula john suttons house, an intimate party was winding down early. It was susan suttons birthday, attending his son, girlfriend and johns law partner. Daughter melissa, just off to college in north florida couldnt be there. So she phoned her mother to say, she missed her. Were you two close . Extremely. Thats my best friend. Reporter i was going to ask how old your mom was . 57. No, you cant put that on. She was a nice 45. Lets put it, leave it at that. Reporter the guests laughed. The law partner went home. Son christopher and his girlfriend went to a movie. John settled in to watch
Welcome back to dateline extra. Im craig melvin. Detectives were convinced garrett kopp was involved in the family shooting, and they didnt think he acted alone. But with no evidence tying chris to the crime, they needed a confession to connect chris to the case. Could they get garrett to come clean . Returning to our story, here is Keith Morrison. Detectives Larry Bellevue and art manning had a theory to explain the shooting of john sutton and the murder of his wife susan which was that Christopher Sutton hired his dopesmoking buddy, garrett kopp to kill his parents. It was really just a theory. While the case against kopp was fairly strong, remember the murder weapon was found in his possession. The evidence against christopher was circumstantial. Little more than guilt by association. The samoa boot camp may have given christopher a motive. But. I certainly needed more than that to make the arrest. I decided it was time to act. We are going to need a confession, i believe. Given wha
Reporter and mostly, they it was an assassination, a waited with everyone else, to hit. No question. See if john sutton would survive the attack, to see if they would ever be able to ask him, what happened. And until now all they heard from sutton was this. Are you bleeding . Do you see any blood . I am bleeding all over, yes. I cant see. Reporter i cant see. Reporter it was august hot in coral gables. It was almost a week after the the air was shirtsticking thick shooting. As night fell. When sutton was awakened from a the small, damp breeze pushed medically induced coma. Weakly at limp palm fronds. He was going to live. In the artificial kula john suttons house, an intimate but he was going to live with the scars of the shooting. Party was winding down early. He had lost an eye, but worse, far worse was the news the it was susan suttons birthday, doctors gave him. Attending his son, girlfriend he would never see again. And johns law partner. He was blind in both eyes. Daughter meliss