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 what they had against kopp, detectives gambled the shooter may roll over on the son. He denied all. That wasnt my gun at all . It wasnt my gun. Looks like well beep here a long time today. And they were. Hours and hours. Do you know how the house was set up. I said i dont believe you did this on your own. Give me the reason as to how chris got you to do this . He basically said look, you have to look out for me and my family, because im afraid of him. Was is going to kill him . Yes. If he didnt do this, chris was going to take care of him and his young son. I cant believe it, but thats the excuse he gave. Having given himself an excuse. Kopp confessed. Said christopher was behind it all. Gave him the gun. Money to buy the black clothes. Hired him as the a hit man. Did he formulate this plan or was it a combined effort between the two of you . He did. What plan did he tell you . What did he want you to do. Go in the back door, walk in, and shoot him. Did it upset him to tell you this story . No, not really. Not that i could tell. Did he seem relieved he had told someone. No. During this time i was talking to him. He was pretty calm talking about it. After the confession, kopp was charged with first degree murder. He was allowed to see his father, his girlfriend and then his son and then taken off to jail. So case closed . Youd think given what composite told the detectives in there. But it did not give them what they needed to arrest christopher. There is a feature in florida law which says that the things a person says in a confession about somebody else could be labeled as hearsay. They needed more. So they turned to the person closest to christopher, his fiancee, Juliet Driscoll, the two were engaged to be married in a few weeks. Dress bought, invitations in the mail. She sat there and said i dont know anything about it. Christopher doesnt tell me. Didnt tell her anything . Or so she said. That was my reaction, and i didnt buy it. I guess not. Because he went on grilling this young woman for more than 12 hours. At the end of which, the detective played to her heart, her relationship with susan and john sutton. I said, look, susan really cared about you. She basically thought of you as a daughter. This woman didnt deserve to die like this. John doesnt deserve to be blind the rest of his life. And i know for a fact that garrett did this under the direction of christopher. Finally she started crying. And i go, i think i might have her. With the tears came a story, what christopher had said to her that just might nail him for murder. His parents deserve to die for taking years out of his life. She said this went for years. She interjected i knew it was going to happen. I just didnt know when. That night they put juliet who was living with christopher, into protective custody. The next day i prepared an arrest warrant for Christopher Sutton. And a female officer paid a visit to christophers father home alone. She says, well, i have good news and bad news. And the good news is that we have arrested the assailant. Hes admitted it. The bad news he has inculpated your son and said your son set him up. I go, man, oh, man. That was a bad night. A real bad night. What was it like to hear that . Was it a shock or did you have some kind of an idea . It was 50 emotions all at the same time. One of which is well, i finally know. Two was, i cant believe this. John, ever the attorney, wanted to know what the evidence was, had the reports read to him, and was convinced. I think that i was some where in between being completely only and upset and somewhere i knew he had done it. Melissa so grief stricken wasnt focused on who did it so much as what she had lost. A lot of people chase the killer. I think i chased missing my mom. Police are looking for 25yearold Christopher Patrick sutton. And christopher was nowhere to be found. Day after day as police looked for him. John sutton had time to think and remember. One event in particular which perhaps hed suppressed. It happened nine years earlier when christopher was just 16. It was the deciding factor in sending him off to samoa. Susan was going through christophers room. And found a handwritten note planning our murder. What did it say . Well it talked about killing us for insurance. A week after a warrant was taken out for his arrest, police found christopher and brought him to the miamidade homicide bureau. There he learned that both his alleged coconspirator, garrett kopp and his fiancee Juliet Driscoll had somehow implicated him. I showed him certain excerpts out of Juliet Driscolls statement. I knew it was going to happen. I just didnt know when. At that point he immediately began to sob, put his head on the table and said im [ bleep ]. But did that mean he was guilty . Or merely that he understood the police believed he was guilty . He made comments like, there is no magical way i can tell you where to go to find the truth. Christopher sutton and garrett kopp were charged with first degree murder, possible Death Penalty case. Both pleaded not guilty. And john sutton got busy. He had a mission, two, in fact. One to seek justice no matter what that might mean for his son. And the other, perhaps even more impossible, to simply see again. Coming up, garrett kopps con investigation should be enough to put him behind bars, but did prosecutors have enough to convict Christopher Sutton . This was a circumstantial case. When blind justice continues. Blind justice continues. You wouldnt accept an incomplete job from any one else. Why accept it from your allergy pills . Flonase relieves your worst symptoms including nasal congestion, which most pills dont. Flonase helps block 6 key inflammatory substances. Most pills only block one. Flonase. [kno king] memories. What we deliver by delivering. 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Eliquis, the number one cardiologistprescribed blood thinner. Ask your doctor if eliquis is whats next for you. Welcome back. Garrett kopp had confessed to police that he was the gunman in a murderforhire plot to kill john and susan sutton. Who was the mastermind behind the crime . It was their own son chris, said garrett. Both men were charged with firstdegree murder. John was staggered by his sons alleged betrayal, yet this remarkable man was determined to move on with his life, and as it turns out, a new love. Here again is Keith Morrison with more. John sutton had survived gunshot wounds to his head. The death of his wife and his own sons arrest for murder. And to top it off, he was blind, apparently permanently. It still is unbelievable. I mean, its like a big, bad dream. A nightmare from which there was no awakening. But john, if you hadnt noticed by now is a determined man. He had been a champion swimmer in college. Now he swam again. He had been a skier. Now he learned to ski blind. He fell in love again. With a woman named kathy henry. How did you meet her . Blind date. Haha. Am i supposed to laugh at that line. Yeah, its true. What has it meant to you to have her with you . Is has meant a great deal. Its just tremendous. I wish i could see her. And he went back to the thing he had always done best. He went back to court to practice law. We did not sue for breach of that contract. Where his blindness became not exactly the handicap some opponents seemed to expect. I like to put myself down. So i say, poor old blind guy, you know, im just trying to do the best i can. Then i go in and memorize the citations and let them decide if i know what im doing. And he was able to keep up with a busy work load, even winning a 9 million judgment for one of his clients. The blindness, i just couldnt even imagine. I dont even, i cant even try to think what that would be like. Its heavy. Memorizing things and going into court, what is that a pretty determined guy. Yeah, i agree. But adapting, even successful adapting using a talking typewriter for example. Wasnt enough for john sutton. As he waited for his sons long delayed trial he pursued with Something Like an obsession, a quest to regain his eyesight. And most people might have given up by then. Cant do anything. Live with it. Not even close. Not you . No. I wont take no for an answer. At some of the best hospitals in the country, sutton had been told there was simply nothing to be done. The bullet had destroyed his optic nerve. He would be blind for life. The bullets had permanently destroyed his optic nerve. John had heard about a landmark break through at harvard affiliated Research Institute in boston where a renowned researcher had regenerated the optic nerve in mice using Stem Cell Therapy and drugs, human trials would be next. One step up. And so in march 2008, almost three years to the day after his son was arrested, sutton and his girlfriend kathy were on the cold rainswept streets of boston on the way to an appointment at scapins. Okay. There is a chin rest in front of you. A doctor evaluated suttons unintact eye and discovered even though the nerve was destroyed, the rest of the eye, theoretically, at least, could work. My son is in jail, charged with first degree murder. They listened to the awful story of the way john lost his eyesight. They explained to him the Amazing Things they were doing here like growing corneas in a petri dish and working on optic nerve regeneration. John took it all in, amazed. And for the first time, since the shooting, he felt a surge of positive excitement. And a little germ of hope lodged itself in his stubborn mind. You were thinking, maybe they can do it for you. I said i am in the right spot. He talked to the leading researcher working on optic nerve repair. Have you done any studies with severed optic nerves. He peppered them with questions like he was crossexamining witnesses. Mike gilmore, then president of skapins offered him a glimmer at least of hope. We will be able to regenerate an optic nerve not so much a question of can we, when can we . And it was a good news bad news sort of day. I do not want to mislead you or provide false hopes. Yes, there might be a cure, but perhaps not for five or ten years or more, quite possibly too late for john sutton. Okay. How soon depends on how much funding we can get, how many scientists we can put behind the problem to solve it. Sutton told the doctors he would somehow help make it happen. He wrote checks. He joined the board of directors. John sutton. He offered himself as a voice of hope for desperate patients. Even though it may never help him, as long as he lives. He is okay with that . There is a chance that that we may not be able to restore his vision. There is a chance on the other hand, we may. If he doesnt get behind it. He does know that were not going to move it as fast as we could. Well, its my pleasure to be here today. As you will hear i almost didnt make it here today. Sutton traveled the country speaking at fundraisers using what he calls his shock and awe presentation to tell his story, complete with his 911 call and news footage. The body of susan sutton. I want to flip this tragedy, this catastrophe into a positive. Meanwhile, in miami, it was decision time. The alleged shooter, garrett kopp, had finally agreed to plead guilty and testify against suttons son christopher. In exchange for a 30year sentence and no Death Penalty. Sutton confronted the killer the day he entered a plea. During the next days, months, years, 20 years, 30 years, i want you to think about what you planned and what you did that night, you can be assured that with my blindness, every minute of every day, that i will not forget you. All rise, please. With that the murder trial of Christopher Sutton could begin. Now, florida law again, now prosecutors could use the sworn testimony in court of both of the girlfriend and the hit man. But even with that, the case was as prosecutor Kathleen Hogue knew all too well, rather weak. This was a circumstantial case, extremely circumstantial. Really based on motive. John sutton wanted the law to convict his son of murder. But was christopher actually guilty . Coming up, in court, a killer returns to the scene of the crime. What did you do at the end of the hallway . Proceeded to shoot. When blind justice continues. Continues. Have you seen my glas . Ive always had a knack for finding things. Colon cancer, to be exact. And i find it noninvasively. No need for time off or special prep. It all starts here. You collect your sample, and cologuard uses the dna in your stool to find 92 of colon cancers. You can always count on me to know where to look. Oh, i found them i can do this test now ask your doctor if cologuard is right for you. Covered by medicare and most major insurers. No matter when you retire, your income doesnt have to. See how lincoln can help ensure you still have income every month of your retirement, guaranteed, at lincolnfinancial. Com. Run with us. On a john deere x300 series mower. Because seasons may change. But true character doesnt. Wow, youve outdone yourself this time. Hey, whatre neighbors for . Its beautiful. Nothing runs like a deere™. Run with us. Save 300 on x330 and x350 select series lawn tractors. At participating john deere dealers. Welcome back. Christopher sutton was facing trial for an unthinkable crime, killing his parents. The state claimed he hired garrett kopp to carry it out. Soon, however, prosecutors would deliver a onetwo punch, calling christophers exfiancee juliette and his alleged coconspirator garrett to the stand. And the chilling stories they would share would leave the courtroom stunned. With more of our story, here is Keith Morrison. Summer time in miami. Pounding heat, blinding sun. Unavoidable except of course inside. All rise, please. Six years inside a cell in the county jail had produced a doughy Christopher Sutton by the time his trial finally began. It was july 2010. The 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 to feet away. You know, we locked eyes, but i have nothing to say to him. Melissa sat with her father, their father. Front row seat. Prosecutor karen keagan told the jury a horror story. The states version of what happened. The man for whom the gunman had signed on to commit a doublemurder. A man who was intimately familiar with john and susan sutton. That man their son. Christopher sutton. 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. Her son took a deep breath, recoiled, dreadful. But, how would the state prove that christopher was behind it all. Raise your right hand. She will administer the oath. For starters, this man once worked with christopher, was an occasional pot customer too, but was shocked he said when christopher asked him a certain question. What did the defendant ask you . He asked me if i knew of any hit men that would kill his parents. What reason or explanation did he give you . He said his parents were worth about 500,000 to 1 million. Worth a lot more, actually. With house, insurance, law practice, christopher stood to inherit millions. So, was money a motive . Or was it the stint apt the boot camp in samoa or both . The detective told the jury he tried to find out when he questioned christopher. I said did you hate your parents that much . And his answer . He said you tell me. You just dont know. But did that answer the question about guilt or motive . Or would she . Ms. Driscoll, if youll come forward. Stand in front of our clerk here, please. When juliette, once his fiancee and the love of his life walked by him in the courtroom, christophers eyes welled up. He hadnt seen her in years. Now her testimony could send him away for life. What did the defendant tell you about getting his parents killed or taken care of . Same thing i have been hearing for the last six years. Which was he could find someone to kill them . Find somebody they deserved it. This wasnt easy for juliette. As she called the last time she saw susan sutton, the night of the Birthday Celebration a few hours before she was killed. We went over, it was me, chris, john, susan, and teddy. We had dinner. Do you remember that melissa was there . Or do you need a minute . This may be a good time for a break. 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 call, 17 in all. One just an hour after the murder as christopher and juliette left the Movie Theater that august night. The state