Trial for a Paradise Cove survivor starts.

[Dr. Acula]

My comment in blue

Here's the previously mentioned more in-depth article from The Miami Herald; (same) twenty pics at the link (Adobe Flash Player):

-------------- • -------------- • --------------

The Miami Herald
Posted on Thursday, 07.22.10

Christopher Sutton found guilty in plot to murder parents
Miami-Dade jurors convicted Christopher Sutton of hatching the murder plot that left his mother dead and his father blind. He will spend the rest of his life in prison.

BY DAVID OVALLE
[email protected]

Minutes after John R. Sutton's adopted son was convicted of masterminding the bloody attack that left Sutton blind and his wife dead, a reporter asked if he still considered Christopher Sutton his son.

He paused, saying finally: "I cannot answer that question.''

At the same time, jailers whisked Christopher Sutton from the courtroom. He passed within a few yards of his father, never giving him so much as a glance.

The heart-wrenching scene capped an emotional three-week trial that left family, jurors and even the judge choked up.

After 10 hours of deliberations over two days, jurors convicted Sutton, 31, on charges of first-degree murder and attempted murder. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Stanford Blake immediately sentenced Sutton to three life terms.

Sutton did not address the court or shed a tear.

Prosecutors say Sutton, wanting his parent's wealth and still smarting about being sent to an abusive reform school in Samoa, hired a pal to shoot his parents inside their Coral Gables house in August 2004.

As Judge Blake read the guilty verdicts, two jurors cried. So did Melissa Sutton, Sutton's sister. Both were adopted by the Suttons as newborns.

Even Blake, a family court judge who returned to the criminal courthouse to try the case, teared up as he imposed the sentence.

During trial, prosecutors Carin Kahgan and Kathleen Hoague painted Sutton as a brat who dealt drugs, spoke openly of hating his parents, and pushed pal Garrett Kopp into shooting his well-heeled parents.

"We put on a tremendous amount of evidence,'' Kahgan said after the conviction.

The state's winning theory: that Sutton believed he deserved his father's wealth after his parents shipped him off to the Samoan Paradise Cove program, where he spent 29 months in the mid '90s.

Testifying in his own defense, Sutton cried when recounting his arrival at Paradise Cove. Jurors heard that boys there were hogtied, left in cages, forced into hard labor and deprived of food. But Sutton testified that the program eased up after a while, and he came to appreciate his time there.  The kid was hogtied and stuck in a cage, but "came to appreciate his time there".  Sound familiar?  Stockholm Syndrome???

For prosecutors, hired gunman Kopp was the key witness. He previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and accepted a 30-year prison term.

On the stand, Kopp told how he committed the shootings and said he was hired by Sutton, who gave him a gun, showed him how to break into the house and gave the green-light on Aug. 22, 2004.

Mitchell Kopp, his father, who was key in convincing his son to cooperate with prosecutors, stayed for the verdict Wednesday and tearfully shook Melissa Sutton's hand after the verdict.

"Both the families lost a son,'' he said afterward.

Sutton's defense attorney, Bruce Fleisher, had argued that Kopp was a drug-addled burglar who broke into the house on his own looking for a drug stash belonging to Sutton. Jurors did not buy it.

Fleisher said Christopher Sutton thanked him for his work in representing him. "He was upset. He had tears in his eyes. I think everyone had tears in their eyes.''

John Sutton stood up in court but did not directly rip into his son. Instead, with the boom of a seasoned lawyer, he praised Fleisher's professionalism and hailed the prosecutors for putting his son away.

"The state has never seen better,'' said of the prosecutors.

In the hallway afterward, Sutton said he believed the shooting was a "scheme hatched over a long time,'' and insisted he and his wife did their best to educate their adopted son.

"Those other people that went to Samoa, they didn't kill people,'' he said.


Copyright 2010 Miami Herald Media Co.

Or maybe he made it all up and realized half way into the conversation that the program for his "sick psychopathic ass" wasn't that bad at all.
 "Stockholm Syndrome" ya riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. "The program made me do it".
How about some people are just, "bad to the bone".

:dose:

[Ursus]

Two comments for that last article kinda stuck with me:

gowani wrote on 07/22/2010 11:18:24 AM:

We must all remain responsible for our actions, however provoked we may have been. On the other hand, severe abuse can be regarded as an explantion even if not an excuse. Being hogtied, left in cages, forced into hard labor and being deprived of food qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. It also qualifies as torture and would be deemed unacceptable even in our most severe centres of incarceration, including Gitmo.
Of course what Sutton did was inexcusable and he must pay for it. But that does not diminish the fact that what his parents did to him was also inexcusable, albeit to a lesser degree. In the end the quesiton remains: Would Sutton have killed his parents if they had never sent him to the 'Samoan paradise'? Nobody will ever know, but the odds are in favor of saying it would probably not have happened.

[/list]

nmfish wrote on 07/22/2010 12:23:58 PM:

A couple of things that were not mentioned but I'm sure were contributing factors to Chris's resentment and anger towards his parents were the gang rapes in Samoa and the fact that his father tried to prevent his release upon his 18th birthday. It's a program for kids but even after he became a legal adult, they didn't want anything to do with him.

[/list]

[DannyB II]

Two comments for that last article kinda stuck with me:

gowani wrote on 07/22/2010 11:18:24 AM:

We must all remain responsible for our actions, however provoked we may have been. On the other hand, severe abuse can be regarded as an explantion even if not an excuse. Being hogtied, left in cages, forced into hard labor and being deprived of food qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. It also qualifies as torture and would be deemed unacceptable even in our most severe centres of incarceration, including Gitmo.
Of course what Sutton did was inexcusable and he must pay for it. But that does not diminish the fact that what his parents did to him was also inexcusable, albeit to a lesser degree. In the end the quesiton remains: Would Sutton have killed his parents if they had never sent him to the 'Samoan paradise'? Nobody will ever know, but the odds are in favor of saying it would probably not have happened.

[/list]

nmfish wrote on 07/22/2010 12:23:58 PM:

A couple of things that were not mentioned but I'm sure were contributing factors to Chris's resentment and anger towards his parents were the gang rapes in Samoa and the fact that his father tried to prevent his release upon his 18th birthday. It's a program for kids but even after he became a legal adult, they didn't want anything to do with him.

[/list]

 

What stuck with you is the drama, your addicted to it.

[DannyB11]

My alter ego is out of control again and Im sorry for that. When I responded to Ursus' post I told him he was "addicted" to the drama. That was wrong. I however am addicted to many many things, drugs and alcohol mainly but power also attracts me heavily. All must bow before the might of Danny.
Peace and Powerlessness
Danny

[Whooter]

A few comments That I found interesting:



originalrat2 wrote on 07/22/2010 02:03:57 PM:
gowani, It's people like you who make creatures like this flourish. You make excuses for everything they do except put the blame right where it belongs, on their backs. What his parents did was forced upon them by this creature who wouldn't do anything in an acceptable manner. Upon returning he was still incorrigable and just wanted to live the high life off his parents and use drugs. Well guess what, if he didn't have his mom killed and dad almost killed he would have been doing home invasions and eventually killed someone himself. If we are to swallow your explanation than every serviceman who has been in a war would be considered to be a candidiate to kill relatives and loved ones due to what they experienced and saw. No, gwani, it's more likely your type of pity as misplaced as it is, help caused this. It's not your fault Christopher, we made this happen because we are so mean, Waaaaaaaaa.

axl wrote on 07/22/2010 07:58:12 PM:
If ever there was a poster child for abortion rather than adoption, it is Christopher Sutton.

nancydavisl wrote on 07/22/2010 08:13:16 AM:
What a lousy excuse for a human being.....A Samoan school made him do this ? Please.......how about hard core pond scum that he is......

ramundo wrote on 07/22/2010 09:52:21 AM:
The s.o.b. should be lethally injected and we will be done with him. There's no place on earth for someone that would kill their parents.




...

[Ursus]

Two comments for that last article kinda stuck with me:

gowani wrote on 07/22/2010 11:18:24 AM:

We must all remain responsible for our actions, however provoked we may have been. On the other hand, severe abuse can be regarded as an explantion even if not an excuse. Being hogtied, left in cages, forced into hard labor and being deprived of food qualifies as cruel and unusual punishment. It also qualifies as torture and would be deemed unacceptable even in our most severe centres of incarceration, including Gitmo.
Of course what Sutton did was inexcusable and he must pay for it. But that does not diminish the fact that what his parents did to him was also inexcusable, albeit to a lesser degree. In the end the quesiton remains: Would Sutton have killed his parents if they had never sent him to the 'Samoan paradise'? Nobody will ever know, but the odds are in favor of saying it would probably not have happened.

[/list]

nmfish wrote on 07/22/2010 12:23:58 PM:

A couple of things that were not mentioned but I'm sure were contributing factors to Chris's resentment and anger towards his parents were the gang rapes in Samoa and the fact that his father tried to prevent his release upon his 18th birthday. It's a program for kids but even after he became a legal adult, they didn't want anything to do with him.

[/list]

One of the points which struck home with me was less about Christopher Sutton's character, than it was about that of his parents. Seriously, can you imagine being a kid that was gang raped in a program and the parents did nothing? Actually, worse than nothing: they signed him up to stay even longer, technically into his adult years. They must have been so perfused that they were exhaling the Kool-aid!

[Whooter]

One of the points which struck home with me was less about Christopher Sutton's character, than it was about that of his parents. Seriously, can you imagine being a kid that was gang raped in a program and the parents did nothing? Actually, worse than nothing: they signed him up to stay even longer, technically into his adult years. They must have been so perfused that they were exhaling the Kool-aid!

Ursus I believe you are assuming that he was raped and placed in a cage arent you?  I didnt see where this was written or when the parents were notified that their son was raped and placed into a cage.  Maybe I missed it.



...

[Troll Control]

Yeah, like we're "assuming" you were crapping your pants when you were locked up with the "big black guys" that made you "so scared."  You probably took it in the tailpipe while you were in the joint, Whooter.  Only you did it voluntarily.

Of course you did not find anything. As stated previously the entire thread is gone. This has happened to a lot of data in the 2 moved which have just occured. The who deleted his post claiming that he repaid his debt to society but the entire thread has been removed.
Th Anne bonney, unfortunately you are wrong. I wish that you were not. I am not the who. I genuinely recall seeing this post. it is extremely frustrating that it appears to no longer exist as it is information that any parent should be aware of when reading this bastard's posts.

Hey, I'm not saying it did or didn't happen and that is damned frustrating. He's the only one who can do that.  I was just presenting a theory.   I wish there was some way to retrieve it.  Have you contacted Ginger or anyone else through PMs to see if there is any chance?  There must at least be a Google 'cached' page??  I have no idea what I'm talking about so someone tell me if that's not possible.  

Hey. Let's try this.

The Who.....have you ever been charged with lewd and lascivious behavior or child molestation or anything similar?  Anything in that realm?  This is your chance to state, unequivocally one way or the other what your side of the story is.  Or do you not want to 'go on record' so to speak, denying it in case you're proven wrong later?  I really have no fucking clue.

Hi Anne, seems I am on the hot seat:

Actually I do have a record...I was arrested several times in Boston and once in Ann Arbor Michigan...I will never forget they separated me from the others for some reason and I ended up in a cell with 5 other people.  This one hue black guy who was obviously drunk out of his mind kept falling asleep and then falling off his bench...he would then wake up and look right at me and say something like : if you push me again white boy I will "F" you up so much even your mother will not love you.....  I was so scared...

Lols.  Whooter does the crime and then craps his pants in jail.  Awww...another BAWWW sesion.

Remember who you're talking to here: a program employee with a loooong criminal record.

[Ursus]

I guess Christopher Sutton's dad, John Sutton, was originally from Pennsylvania. There was even an article in the local paper this far north:

-------------- • -------------- • --------------

Reading Eagle (Pennsylvania)
Originally Published: 7/23/2010

Berks native's adopted son found guilty of trying to kill father in Florida
Wyomissing grad shot twice in head; wife slain in attack

By Jason A. Kahl
Reading Eagle

Berks County native John R. Sutton had little reaction this week after his adopted son was convicted of masterminding the bloody attack that left Sutton blind and his wife dead.

"The whole thing is a lose-lose situation," said Sutton, 62, a Miami lawyer who is a 1965 graduate of Wyomissing High School.

As the trial wrapped up Wednesday, jailers whisked Christopher Sutton from the courtroom. He passed within a few yards of his father, never giving him so much as a glance.

The heart-wrenching scene capped an emotional three-week trial that left family members, jurors and even the judge choked up.

After 10 hours of deliberations over two days, jurors convicted Christopher Sutton, 31, of first-degree murder and attempted murder. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Stanford Blake immediately sentenced him to three life terms.

The defendant did not address the court or shed a tear.

Prosecutors say Christopher Sutton, wanting his parents' wealth and still smarting about being sent to an abusive reform school in Samoa for 29 months in the mid-1990s, hired a pal to shoot his parents inside their house in Coral Gables, Fla., on Aug. 22, 2004.

John Sutton was shot five times, including twice in the head at point-blank range. His wife, Susan, was killed as she lay in her bed.

John Sutton continues to practice law and do things he enjoys. He is the principal partner at the Sutton Law Group in Miami.

He said he has handled three high-profile jury cases since he was blinded and continues to ski, even though everyone thinks he is crazy for doing so.

He said his story is being featured by a number of national television news programs.

Sutton also said he plans to return to Pennsylvania for a school reunion in October. He said he still has many friends from around here and worked at and managed a number of area pools while growing up on Reading Avenue in Wyomissing near the traffic circle.

During the trial, prosecutors Carin Kahgan and Kathleen Hoague painted Christopher Sutton as a brat who dealt drugs, spoke openly of hating his parents.

Co-defendant Garrett Kopp testified that Christopher Sutton hired him to kill the Suttons. Kopp said Sutton gave him a gun, showed him how to break into the house and gave the green light for the attack.

Kopp was the key prosecution witness. He previously pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and accepted a 30-year prison term.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)

Contact Jason A. Kahl: 6110-371-5024 or [email protected].


© 2010 Reading Eagle Company

[Anne Bonney]

Hi Anne, seems I am on the hot seat:

Actually I do have a record...I was arrested several times in Boston and once in Ann Arbor Michigan...I will never forget they separated me from the others for some reason and I ended up in a cell with 5 other people.  This one hue black guy who was obviously drunk out of his mind kept falling asleep and then falling off his bench...he would then wake up and look right at me and say something like : if you push me again white boy I will "F" you up so much even your mother will not love you.....  I was so scared...

That still doesn't answer this question......


The Who.....have you ever been charged with lewd and lascivious behavior or child molestation or anything similar? Anything in that realm? This is your chance to state, unequivocally one way or the other what your side of the story is. Or do you not want to 'go on record' so to speak, denying it in case you're proven wrong later? I really have no fucking clue.

[DannyB II]

Hi Anne, seems I am on the hot seat:

Actually I do have a record...I was arrested several times in Boston and once in Ann Arbor Michigan...I will never forget they separated me from the others for some reason and I ended up in a cell with 5 other people.  This one hue black guy who was obviously drunk out of his mind kept falling asleep and then falling off his bench...he would then wake up and look right at me and say something like : if you push me again white boy I will "F" you up so much even your mother will not love you.....  I was so scared...

That still doesn't answer this question......

The Who.....have you ever been charged with lewd and lascivious behavior or child molestation or anything similar? Anything in that realm? This is your chance to state, unequivocally one way or the other what your side of the story is. Or do you not want to 'go on record' so to speak, denying it in case you're proven wrong later? I really have no fucking clue.

Ok Anne,
Our closet sexual deviant, how many adolescence boys were around when you were flashing your naked ass all over Florida. One other thing since you put all your shit on Straight and your father, where were your girls(children) when you were flashing all of Florida. I would love to personally hear from them about there mothers promiscuity in Florida and on fornits.
Listen it is like this when you can stop acting like a 14 year old promiscuous snotbag then you can ask men about there stuff otherwise close your legs, get another avavtar, quit posting porn on websites of yourself and grow up.  Your just as much a deviant as any male here if not more.

[Ursus]

Hi Anne, seems I am on the hot seat:

Actually I do have a record...I was arrested several times in Boston and once in Ann Arbor Michigan...I will never forget they separated me from the others for some reason and I ended up in a cell with 5 other people.  This one hue black guy who was obviously drunk out of his mind kept falling asleep and then falling off his bench...he would then wake up and look right at me and say something like : if you push me again white boy I will "F" you up so much even your mother will not love you.....  I was so scared...

That still doesn't answer this question......

The Who.....have you ever been charged with lewd and lascivious behavior or child molestation or anything similar? Anything in that realm? This is your chance to state, unequivocally one way or the other what your side of the story is. Or do you not want to 'go on record' so to speak, denying it in case you're proven wrong later? I really have no fucking clue.

Ok Anne,
Our closet sexual deviant, how many adolescence boys were around when you were flashing your naked ass all over Florida. One other thing since you put all your shit on Straight and your father, where were your girls(children) when you were flashing all of Florida. I would love to personally hear from them about there mothers promiscuity in Florida and on fornits.
Listen it is like this when you can stop acting like a 14 year old promiscuous snotbag then you can ask men about there stuff otherwise close your legs, get another avavtar, quit posting porn on websites of yourself and grow up.  Your just as much a deviant as any male here if not more.

:roflmao:  :roflmao:  :roflmao:  :roflmao:  :roflmao:  Danny, did you fall off the wagon last night or sumpthin'? Geeezz... Just can't get enough of that AVATAR!!

[DannyB II]

Hi Anne, seems I am on the hot seat:

Actually I do have a record...I was arrested several times in Boston and once in Ann Arbor Michigan...I will never forget they separated me from the others for some reason and I ended up in a cell with 5 other people.  This one hue black guy who was obviously drunk out of his mind kept falling asleep and then falling off his bench...he would then wake up and look right at me and say something like : if you push me again white boy I will "F" you up so much even your mother will not love you.....  I was so scared...

That still doesn't answer this question......

The Who.....have you ever been charged with lewd and lascivious behavior or child molestation or anything similar? Anything in that realm? This is your chance to state, unequivocally one way or the other what your side of the story is. Or do you not want to 'go on record' so to speak, denying it in case you're proven wrong later? I really have no fucking clue.

Ok Anne,
Our closet sexual deviant, how many adolescence boys were around when you were flashing your naked ass all over Florida. One other thing since you put all your shit on Straight and your father, where were your girls(children) when you were flashing all of Florida. I would love to personally hear from them about there mothers promiscuity in Florida and on fornits.
Listen it is like this when you can stop acting like a 14 year old promiscuous snotbag then you can ask men about there stuff otherwise close your legs, get another avatar, quit posting porn on websites of yourself and grow up.  Your just as much a deviant as any male here if not more.

:roflmao:  :roflmao:  :roflmao:  :roflmao:  :roflmao:  Danny, did you fall off the wagon last night or sumpthin'? Geeezz... Just can't get enough of that AVATAR!!

No, I just can not stand a women who has no room to judge any male, constantly harassing them with bullshit. There is not a more sexual deviant then, Anne. Fuck her and the boat she rode (floated) in on.  :roflmao:

[shaggys]

Gosh Danny that sounded pretty sexist too me. I detect a deep seated underlying hatred for all women in your words to Anne. I guess I should add that to the impressive resume you are building up here.

[DannyB II]

Gosh Danny that sounded pretty sexist too me. I detect a deep seated underlying hatred for all women in your words to Anne. I guess I should add that to the impressive resume you are building up here.

Now you have to be fair, Shaggy. Anne has been nailing guys left and right concerning sexual deviancies, it serves her right for some push back. This has nothing to do with hatred of women and all to do with being fair.

Thanks for listening, now you may continue your ignorant trolling bash party, of DannyB II.