some great stories about my mom and so kind of keep her alive. and in this million dollar home, a mystery. > they call it the gold coast. the sun, the sea, and in this when he heard a loud bang. keith morrison: a woman, murdered, her husband left blind. keith morrison: but who? everyone is somewhat of a suspect. keith morrison: and why? what brings someone to make a decision that they're going to do this? keith morrison: was is love? what we learned was that he was having an affair with mrs. sutton. keith morrison: was it money? nobody knows what really happened except for him and garrett. keith morrison: or was the truth hidden here on this tropical paradise?

it was an assassination. it was a hit. no question. keith morrison: it was august hot in coral gables. the air was shirt-sticking thick as night fell. a small damp breeze pushed weakly at the palm fronds. in the artificial cool of attorney john sutton's house, an intimate party was winding down early. it was susan sutton's birthday. attending, their son, his girlfriend, and john's law partner. daughter melissa, just off to college in north florida, couldn't be there. so she phoned her mother to say she missed her. interviewer: were you two close? extremely. it's my best friend.

i was going to ask how old your mom was. 57? no, you can't put that on-- she was a nice 45. let's put it-- let's leave it at that. keith morrison: the guests left. the law partner went home. son christopher and his girlfriend went out to a movie. john settled in to watch tv in the master bedroom. susan, in another bedroom, talked on the phone with a close friend-- the quiet end to a pleasant evening. quiet, but not for a long. keith morrison: john sutton, a tough as nails take no prisoners lawyer, was barely conscious as he begged the 911 operator for help.

he told the operator blood was gushing from his head wounds. he couldn't see. keith morrison: somehow, he made it out the front door on his own. he was met by a paramedic. the holes in his head and his face-- i mean, i couldn't believe how mr. sutton made it out of the house walking to us. keith morrison: they stabilized sutton. rushed him off in an ambulance. an hour north of sutton's home, homicide detective, larry belyeu was just getting home after a long shift. i was just pulling into my driveway when i got the phone call. he was critically injured. however, he called 911 and he made his way to the door and opened the door. they didn't want to go in until he came out? was that-- there was no way to know whether the person or persons who were involved were still inside. they backed off until the swat team arrived and made entry into the house. keith morrison: not knowing if the gunman was still in the house, swat teams cleared the house room by room,

finally entering the bedroom, where susan sutton had been on the phone. and when they went into the room in which mrs. sutton was, they didn't see anybody. miami-dade prosecutor, karen kagan, was on homicide duty that night and was called out to the scene. they saw a mound on the bed, covered by a blanket. there were bullet holes in the blankets, and they had to yank the blanket down, and when they did that, they found mrs. sutton in bed with her hands up. she had been holding the blanket and covering herself, literally ducking under the covers for cover. keith morrison: susan sutton was dead, a bloody phone beside her. she must have dropped it as she pulled up the covers in her vain attempt to hide from her killer. now secure no shooter around, the swat team withdrew. a dispatcher warned detective belyeu this might be the deadly result of a domestic dispute, sutton's 911 call perhaps an attempt to cover up what he had done. when i got the phone call and said that there was a murder

suicide down in the city of coral gables, we heard that the husband was en route to a trauma center and in critical condition. keith morrison: en route with two bullet holes to his head. had sutton killed his wife then turned the gun on himself? no. that theory was quickly dismissed when the paramedic who took him to the hospital put out an update over the radio. he had wounds to his hands, which would make it clear like it was defense type wounds, that somebody else must have shot, because he put his hands up. so obviously, first clue, this is not a murder suicide. this is not a murder suicide. keith morrison: who or why would anyone want to harm john or susan sutton? the sutton's had lived exemplary lives, seemed to have it all, a beautiful house with a 31 foot boat out back in exclusive coral gables, the upscale enclave south of miami. his law practice-- susan worked as office manager--

was booming. just that week he'd received a check for a million dollars for a case he'd settled. so was robbery the motive, and if so, how did the killer get into the house? officer saw a curtain blowing in the wind through a sliding glass door in the rear of the house near the pool. the door latch showed signs it had been broken long before that night. karen kagan: the killer had gone in through that sliding glass door, had walked all the way through that house. no ransacking. draweres were not opened. and in the master bathroom, on the vanity, some beautiful diamond and gold jewelry. so clearly, early on, it was pretty easy to detect that robbery was not the issue here. no. and then it was apparent that they were targeted. it was an assassination. it was a hit. keith morrison: an assassination? a hit? that sort of crime just didn't happen in staid coral gables. whatever the motive, there was little to go

on-- no murder weapon, no fingerprints, no dna. there was, however, one possible lead. susan sutton, as it was painfully obvious from the bloodstained evidence, had been on the phone when she was shot five times. someone heard the screams of bullets ripping through the silence of that steamy august night. but who? coming up-- and what did he know that police didn't? he was given a polygraph, wasn't he? he passed on certain information, but he was deceptive on others. which is a red flag. yes. keith morrison: when dateline continues. and they got it from theirs. it's your skin, and it can protect you from millions of things. so we're here to help you protect your skin. walgreens pharmacists and beauty consultants are specially trained to know what works for the

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the sense that you knew something bad happened? >> i didn't know what. i didn't know what level. >> reporter: eventually melissa reached montodo who reluctantly broke the news to her on the phone. he brought her back to miami and

the hospital where her father was in intensive care. her brother, christopher, had already arrived. both of them were reeling from loss of their mother. and now they kept vigil at their gravely wounded father's bedside. >> we didn't even know if he was going to live for a long time. >> reporter: pretty touch and go wasn't it? >> to say gruesome is, if i didn't know his hands and know little intricate pieces of him you wouldn't have known it was him. >> reporter: you faced the shocking prospect of becoming an orphan. >> i don't think that ever crossed my mind. he was still alive. >> reporter: melissa wondered -- why her parents? who could have done this? gators describing -- investigators describing it as a hit.

>> reporter: did you have any idea? >> teddy told me what happened. i didn't know who, i thought it was some sort of break in. was my first instinct. that's what i thought for a long time until we started talking about my dad's clients. >> reporter: the homicide detectives were also thinking about sutton's clients and those he sued on their behalf. at this point, john sutton couldn't provide any information. he was clinging to life in a drug induced coma. >> i went several times to try to talk to john sutton. he was on pain medication. he was intubated. we are looking at maybe, incidents in his law firm, he may have had made people angry. >> reporter: civil attorneys take a lot of money from people and make people mad. >> i said find out if any of these people had reason for revenge. >> reporter: john sutton ran his law firm like most things in life. efficient and hard driving. in fact, detectives heard about one woman who lost a $97,000 lawsuit and was so mad she threat tuned shoot up john's firm. and the very night of the murder, the neighbor heard a

boat roaring down the canal behind john's boat over here and it turned out that that woman owned such a boat. >> she was interviewed down the line also, and she was not the person responsible. >> reporter: what about the phone call susan was on when she was shot to death. detectives found the bloodstained handset susan dropped when the gunman opened fire. who was she talking to? had that person heard something? detectives got their answer almost right away. john sutton's law partner, teddy montodo had shown up at the house even before the first reports of the shooting hit the news that night. he was also armed. >> he was talking to susan sutton on the telephone when he heard a loud bang or what he said maybe gunshots he didn't know. >> reporter: at least that's what he told the police. depending on the all. truth in his statement he could be a suspect. >> absolutely. >> reporter: that said melissa had to be impossible. teddy and susan worked together they talked often and frequently late at night.

>> he was my mom's best friend. i call him my godfather pretty much. like a relative. >> reporter: police were suspicious. why had montodo arrived so quickly after the shooting? why was he armed with a handgun? they had a to questions and perhaps more importantly, some testing to do. >> we interviewed him extensively. we did take gunshot residue from his hands. >> he was given a polygraph wasn't he? >> yes. >> reporter: how did he do? >> he passed on certain information but showed he was deceptive in others. >> reporter: a red flag. >> yes. >> reporter: a red flag this early in the investigation, what exactly did the law partner have to hide? perhaps john sutton could tell them. because, the survivor of the slaughter, it was clear, was going to live. and when he came out of his coma, what story would he tell? what did he see? coming up -- with his victim defenseless in the hospital, would the killer try again?

john sutton's son seemed to think so. >> i do recall him as very adamant that my dad be placed under john doe so that who ever did this could not finish off what they had started. >> reporter: well was the killer already closer than anyone could have dreamed? when "dateline" continues. are you ready to take your wifi to the next level?

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it gives you super fast speeds for all your devices, provides the most wifi coverage for your home, and lets you control your network with the xfi app. it's the ultimate wifi experience. xfinity xfi, simple, easy, awesome. susan sutton was dead, shot five times by a killer who invaded her home after her birthday party. her husband, john, an attorney, had been shot in the head twice and was in critical condition at a miami hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries to save his life. but soon after the shooting, detectives had a potential suspect, john sutton's good friend and law partner. he had a partner who was on the scene when homicide detectives got there. keith morrison: teddy montoto told police

he'd been on the phone with susan, heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire, rushed over to the sutton house with a gun of his own to try to help. but was the whole story? they gave montoto a polygraph. it showed he'd been deceptive, hiding something. what we learned was that he was having an affair with mrs. sutton. keith morrison: so montoto hadn't been straight with them, or with his good friend and partner, john sutton . but was he off the hook for murder? well, maybe. maybe not. when they checked phone records, it appeared montoto was still being deceptive. he told them the affair had been recent and brief. but that's not what the phone records said. did teddy montoto have some secret reason to kill his lover and her husband? they tested him for gunshot residue. he told them he might test positive. he was an expert marksman, had been shooting earlier that day.

another twist in the story, but what did it mean in terms of the likelihood that he was involved in this incident? again, it was early in the investigation. there was a lot of investigating to do. keith morrison: and mostly, for days, they waited with everyone else to see if john sutton would survive the attack, to see if they'd ever be able to ask him what happened. until now, all they'd heard from sutton was this-- keith morrison: i can't see. it was almost a week after the shooting, when sutton was awakened from a medically induced coma. he was going to live. but he was going to live with the scars of the shooting. he had lost an eye, but worse, far worse, was the news the doctors gave him. he would never see again. he was blind in both eyes.

shortly before i left the hospital, some ophthalmologists came around and very bluntly told me there was nothing they could do for my eyesight. i was very unhappy, very upset about the eyesight. did you know right away he was going to be blind? no, i didn't. we didn't even know if he was going to live for a long time. be nice to look into his eyes and know he can see back and see you. it's different. it's different to look at someone who's blind. it's a different expression. keith morrison: though for a long time, any expression was masked by truly dreadful injuries. how many bullets had you been hit by? i had two in my head, in the right temple, and i'm told out the left jaw. one higher towards my ear, and one in the lower part of the jaw. keith morrison: those were only the shots to his head. the tip of his ring finger was blown off.

other shots hit his thumb and shoulder. there were six pretty good size bullet holes. keith morrison: when he was well enough to talk to detectives, sutton told them what he could, the story of a man who barely witnessed the attack that killed his wife and almost killed him. he was a former college swimmer, so he was watching an olympic diving event in the master bedroom, he said. the next thing i know, somebody was standing there in a black hat or visor, black shirt, black pants, face shaded by the visor, and open fired. all i really remember was one bang. keith morrison: the bullets destroyed his right eye, and severed the optic nerve in his left eye. the optic nerve connects the eye to the brain. without it, sight is impossible. but the bad news, of course, didn't end there. how did you find out about susan? at some point i asked melissa, how's mom doing?

and melissa said, well, she's not doing quite as well as you. they're working on her somewhere else. so you need to hang in there. didn't really mean too much to me. i think i was hallucinating an awful lot. at some point, somebody told me that she had died. keith morrison: in fact, for weeks and weeks, sutton drifted in and out of alertness, dependent on others to save him. of course, my son was there. a bunch of my friends were there. because i had multiple surgeries in that hospital. keith morrison: and as he lay in that bed, sedated, medicated, breathing through tubes, the thoughts, half a dream, terrified him. was the killer a hit man? was he coming to try again? i thought somebody was trying to kill me one night, so i raised hell. i said, you know, call the police, you know, everything i could say to get some assistance. keith morrison: he was wrong. there was no killer. still, christopher demanded the hospital

take special precautions. i recall him as very adamant that my dad be placed under john doe, so that whoever did this could not find him and finish off what they had started. keith morrison: so you were a pretty paranoid guy [inaudible]. most certainly. keith morrison: and with good reason, because the killer was still out there, and knew exactly where john sutton was. coming up-- but unfortunately, police had no idea where the killer was. everyone is somewhat of a suspect. you start with the family, keep working your way out. keith morrison: when "dateline" continues. at lowe's we have the right paint for every family.. with our collection of stain resistant and durable paints, we've got you covered. ♪

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the fact that john sutton was alive at all after that mystery invader killed his wife and shot him in the face was a medical marvel, frankly. the rest of the news was not so good. when he was finally able to talk, sutton received a visit from police detectives. susan, police discovered, had been having an affair with sutton's law partner, teddy montoto. it's upsetting. i'm not excusing teddy. i'm not excusing anybody. so i don't focus on that. i can't change it.

i can't change any of this. it's like a bad dream. keith morrison: but then the dream got worse. teddy was a possible murder suspect. one of the homicide detectives related to me that there had been a problem with the polygraph. because he was-- he was actually a suspect. i suspect so. anybody that was probably anywhere near me was a suspect. keith morrison: but as sutton was absorbing the news of his wife's apparent betrayal, montoto slipped off the list of top suspects. for one thing, he couldn't have been the shooter. he was on the phone with susan when it happened. records confirmed he actually called the police before rushing to the sutton house. so as detectives eliminated early suspects like montoto, they went back to the basics at every homicide investigation. everyone is somewhat of a suspect. i mean, you know, you start with the family and you keep working your way out. keith morrison: family-- john and susan met on a blind date, were married

a year later, and from the beginning made family a very big deal. but even though they were strikingly good looking, and financially successful and happy, they were stymied. no matter how they tried, and oh, how they tried, they could not have children. she was sure that as much as anybody else wanted a baby, she wanted a baby more than anyone in the world. keith morrison: but if wishing couldn't make susan pregnant, said her sister, mary, it could make her a mother by adoption. she got her wish, and as i said, it was the happiest day of her life when she brought christopher home. keith morrison: christopher sutton was born april 13, 1979, and the day they brought him home, john sutton remembers every minute, every detail, even the green suit he was wearing. when christopher came to us at about two days old, very cute, it was a lot of fun. it was a happy time.

absolutely. keith morrison: susan quit her job to be a full time mom, but susan kept trying to get pregnant, kept suffering through years of failed fertility treatments and miscarriages, and finally adopted a sister for christopher, melissa. she was and always has been a little angel. absolutely. she would probably be upset with me saying this, but she was pretty close to perfect. keith morrison: which seemed to describe the family, too. they told the kids they'd been adopted. didn't seem to worry them at all. my mom and my dad were my mom my dad. you know, there wasn't, you know, these are my biological and these are my adopted. and i had a great childhood. keith morrison: and there were advantages to having a brother seven years older, especially when he grew to be a six foot 200 pounder. he was my defender and my protector. you know, someone made fun of me at school one time.

he came and he kind of gave the kid a stern look, what a big older brother did, and i think he was protective of me. keith morrison: after the murder, in fact, christopher resumed that protective role, this time for his father, who insisted that melissa should return to college in northern florida. the day after the shooting was her first day of college. keith morrison: oh, my gosh. and i was then, and i am still, proud that she managed to stay in school. during a long and arduous recovery, the many surgeries, the lingering fear, a protective layer formed around john's demeanor. he learned the hard way to keep focus in and emotions safely at bay. it was easier that way-- survival mode. he just focuses on putting one foot in front of the other, and i think i do the same thing. and if you were to break down emotionally all the time, or dwell on what happened, you wouldn't get out of bed.

keith morrison: the doctors let him go home finally, but since home was not exactly livable, he moved in with christopher at his townhouse. my house was a mess because it was a crime scene. the most logical place for me to go was not where the incident occurred, because we didn't know who was responsible, but this townhouse. and that's where i went. keith morrison: a full time nurse looked after him during the day. christopher and his girlfriend, juliette driscoll, were there for him the rest of the time. and three months after the august shootings when john decided he was ready to go home to the house in which the shooting happened, christopher went with him, eyes for his blind father. and at that point, he was more involved in driving me around or some caregiving. keith morrison: but now it was almost christmas. still no arrests. detectives larry belyeu and his partner, art [inaudible] were certainly following up leads

trying to find anyone with a motive to kill the suttons. though, understand the digging they were doing was mostly in mounds of dry, turgid paperwork, records of phone calls and the like. and then, somewhere in the middle of that pile, there it was, and boy was it a doozy. coming up-- he's sitting across from me and i look at him and go, pal, we got something here. keith morrison: a phone call from a killer, when "dateline" continues. party's over, 'six legs', she's got simparica now. simpari-what? simparica is what kills tick and fleas, like us. kills? kills! studies show at the end of the month, it kills more ticks in less time than frontline plus and nexgard. guess we should mosey on. see ya never, roxy! use simparica with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. the most common side effects are vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. say goodbye to ticks and fleas...

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to narrow down their list of suspects, and in the pile of material from the phone company, they came across a name. we isolated, within a three or four hour period of the murder, five or six different names. and one of those came back to garrett cop. who was he talking to? on the 22nd, there was probably, i want to say maybe 13 phone calls, if memory serves me right. there were made between garrett cop and chris sutton's cell phones. a lot of calls. a lot of calls. keith morrison: lots of calls, on the day of the murder. quite probably meant nothing at all, of course. still, garrett kopp was 20, a frequent visitor around the house. he didn't seem to have a job or any direction in life, but christopher saw some good in him, apparently, hired him occasionally to do odd jobs. in fact, after the murder, christopher had kopp rip up and remove the bloody carpets from the crime scene.

what sort of person did he seem like? when garrett was in the house, he was always, shall we say, at a distance. i honestly cannot recall any conversations whatsoever with garrett. keith morrison: but kopp and christopher called each other all the time, even the night of the murder, an hour after the shooting, just when christopher and his girlfriend juliette were coming out of a movie. we pulled the video from the amc movie theater, and it showed him getting right on his cellular telephone, right after all the shooting happened. keith morrison: was there a connection here with what happened? again, probably not, but just to cover all the bases, detective [inaudible] ran a criminal background check on young mr. kopp, and what do you know. he was arrested on august 23. the day after the shooting. day after the shooting. you know, and i still get goosebumps when i remember that, because he's sitting across from me,

and i look at him and go, pal, we got something there. keith morrison: indeed, they did. one day after the murder, garrett kopp was arrested for aggravated assault after an altercation at this apartment complex. big no, no. he pulled a gun on a couple of guys. happened in the town of homestead, florida, about 30 miles away from the crime scene. detective belyeu called the homestead police department, talked to the arresting officer. i said, please tell me it was a handgun. he says, it was. i said, now please tell me it was a glock 9 millimeter. he goes, it was. i said, now please tell me you have that weapon. he goes, i do. bingo. we've got to get that-- we've got to get that gun. yeah. art went down and picked up the gun, and we submitted it to our firearms techs. keith morrison: the report came back clear as day. this was the gun that killed susan sutton and blinded her husband. which obviously connects garrett kopp to that murder

pretty intimately. absolutely. keith morrison: but detectives did not rush out and arrest kopp, for a simple but very important reason. there was a bigger question that needed to be answered. did his friend christopher know anything? was he even, perhaps, involved? shocking question, of course. this was sutton's son, the son who devoted himself to nursing his father back to health. but something about christopher bothered them, and had ever since he was interviewed the morning after the murder. he said that, i was at the movies. and said, do you want to see the tickets? just had them, right there, like that. basically to me, it was like, red flag there. i want to prove that i'm at the movies. keith morrison: odd? perhaps. might mean nothing at all. the gun implicated kopp, of course, but christopher? no real evidence to show he knew a thing. i mean, there were still a lot of pieces of puzzles that we're still putting together. we certainly can't prove it yet.

keith morrison: like, for example, this big tantalizing piece of puzzle, right here. what in heaven's name might an island in the far off pacific have to do with the shooting of john and susan sutton? coming up, trouble in paradise for a young christopher and his family. he was kidnapped in the middle of night, and he was 17 years old. we knew that christopher sutton had complained that he had been hogtied, beaten-- keith morrison: when "dateline" continues. what does life look like during your period? it's up to you, with tampax pearl. you get ultimate protection on your heaviest days and smooth removal for your lightest. tampax pearl and pocket pearl for on the go. ♪ happiness is powerful flea and tick protection from nexgard. a delicious chew that protects for an entire month. ask your vet for more information. reported side effects include vomiting and itching.

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amazing what that garden variety assault case. in homestead, florida led to. garrett kopp was arrested with a gun that turned out to be the murder weapon in the sutton case, the very same garrett kopp who talked on the phone so often with christopher sutton, the friend who'd called christopher

right after the shooting. so now the complexion of the investigation changed. we were trying to think, why would garrett kopp do this? i mean, he's a like, 20-year-old kid. obviously there was a tie with christopher sutton and him. keith morrison: as for christopher himself, the detectives had no trouble finding people with an opinion about him. the cops should be looking at christopher sutton because of the lengthy family history of problems that john and susan had with their son christopher, who was a handful from a very early age. keith morrison: a very early age, actually, as john sutton recalled all too clearly. did he get into fights at school, or-- i can remember that happening early on in preschool. keith morrison: it got worse as christopher got older. did he get into trouble? absolutely. there was vandalism, not only of our own things,

there were vandalism of other people's property. keith morrison: they sent him off to boarding schools then, but he didn't last did any of them, failed or got kicked out. course, the whole family tried, said his sister melissa. the trouble wasn't a lack of love, not at all. was there a sense that christopher was-- was loved? oh, no-- i mean, no doubt about it. keith morrison: but neither love nor money could prevent christopher from always ending back in the same place-- trouble. i know that he dealt drugs. and at one point, he was arrested for it when i was younger, and you know, that was something that my father being a lawyer as well as a parent-- you know, what do we do? finally, in 1995, when christopher was 16, when counselors and boarding schools and tough love had all been tried and found wanting, john and susan looked away, far, far away to find some help.

on the pacific island of western samoa, there was a place called paradise cove, a so-called boot camp for troubled kids, behavior modification their specialty. it's a long way away, samoa. was that part of it, that it would be a good idea to have him far away for a while? we weren't focused on finding the farest place we could possibly send him. and we were very hesitant about samoa, but we investigated it rather thoroughly. keith morrison: it was expensive. paradise cove charged about $25,000 a year. but-- we'd just had enough. yeah. what else could we do? keith morrison: but the suttons knew there was no way christopher would agree to go on his own. so attorney sutton did what attorneys do best and got a court order to have christopher forcibly sent to samoa. he was kidnapped in the middle of the night and he was 17 years old. they actually kidnapped him to take him to this place. yeah, put him on a plane. he was sent to western samoa.

keith morrison: but christopher would not break so easily. and paradise cove was no paradise. in fact, there were many reports of physical abuse and restraints used on those who were uncooperative, something christopher learned when he first arrived. we knew that christopher sutton had complainted that he had been hog tied, beaten-- keith morrison: when his family was allowed to visit him about a year later, there did seem to be a distinct change, huge improvement. they found the buff, cleaned up young man who excelled at sports. it was, as you can clearly see, a happy family reunion. it was a really happy even. you know, we cried, we hugged, we said our hellos and loved each other. and he was proud of, you know, what he'd learned and showed off, at least to us. then five months after this reunion, christopher turned 18, time for him to come home--

or so he thought. he was banking like getting out when he turned 18. but we also learned that john sutton, being a lawyer, had an order signed by a judge that said when you turn 18, if you haven't completed the course, you're going to stay, which infuriated christopher sutton. why did you decide to keep him there when he turned 18? we had concerns that he wasn't ready to return. he had not, quote, "graduated the program." how did he feel about that? he was quite upset. he wanted to come home. he wanted things his way. he always wanted things his way. keith morrison: but this time, finally, tough love seemed to work. christopher was 19 and a changed man when he returned from his protracted stay in samoa. we met him at the airport at lax on his birthday, april 13. h was happy to see you? absolutely. there was a joyous reunion? thrilled. keith morrison: the suttons went on a family cruise, a reward

for their son. that's where he met his future fiancee, a young woman from boston named juliette driscoll. juliette moved to miami and quickly became a member of the family. john sutton even got her a job at his law firm. she was, you know, what i would imagine if someone was going to marry into the family. my mother embraced her. juliette was a great influence on my brother and on the family, you know? keith morrison: christopher got his act together, enrolled in college, started working. his parents helped out by buying him a $300,000 condo. he started up his own company, which in retrospect, looking at everything he'd done, from arrests to drugs, you know, this is good behavior. we were all happy that things are better. keith morrison: and anyway, by the time of the murder, christopher was 26, and samoa had receded into his distant past. i interviewed melissa in the very beginning.

all she knew about her brother was that he was a little bit rebellious, as most teenagers are at that age. i think i said something along the lines of, no, i don't know any reason why he would want to do this. keith morrison: a believe her father shared. i asked him early on when he was able to talk at jackson hospital. could your son have something to do with this? and he says, i don't believe so. keith morrison: so perhaps garrett kopp acted alone after all. but detectives were convinced christopher had to be mixed up in that awful shooting somehow. someone must know. and they were right, someone did. coming up, john sutton survived two bullets to the head. could he survive being home alone with his son? larry belyeu: christopher made comments that his parents were going to pay. keith morrison: when "dateline" continues. and they got it from theirs.

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and they at least suspected the sutton's own son, now john's care giver was all mixed up in it somehow. >> i was becoming more concerned. >> reporter: was john sutton a sitting duck for another attack one that might finish him off. you must have found it a little worrisome that john sutton was actually living with his son christopher and being cared for by christopher. >> sure. >> reporter: still they worried but did not act. even though they knew full well that garrett kopp, the shooter they were sure, was still hanging around. isn't that right that kopp was there? >> absolutely. again we still didn't want to tip our hand. >> reporter: should christopher have been a suspect at all. after all does this sound like

the behavior of guilty men. garrett kopp and christopher sutton while ripping up bloody carpets actually called detectives to tell them they found new evidence at the crime scene. a bullet casing under the carpet. >> helpful handy man. by the way, i found another casing. i mean, come on. >> an indication maybe they didn't do it. >> i didn't think so. >> reporter: that's what any good defense attorney is going to point out. >> sure, sure. the casing was underneath something. i don't know how we missed it. we missed it. >> we were a little pissed. >> reporter: detectives remain convinced christopher harbored a lingering anger at his parents for sending hem to the boot camp. they talked to camp alumni. this former resident was there when christopher got the news that he would have to stay well beyond his 18th birthday. >> i know he was upset. he was mad at his family for that. >> reporter: when detectives tracked down another paradise cove resident. he said christopher was a lot more upset than that.

>> christopher made comments that his parents are going to pay for sending him, taking years out of his life. >> reporter: when they took a closer look at christopher's more recent history. they could easily see his improved behavior wasn't exactly lasting. even girlfriend juliette's influence couldn't keep christopher from slipping up. yes he went back to college after he returned from samoa, but soon dropped out. he did form a company. but the company folded. >> he didn't seem to be motivated. >> reporter: yeah. >> we fried to get him to stay in jobs. nothing seemed to be working. >> reporter: what john sutton didn't know was that his son had gone back to the one job he seemed to be good at -- selling drugs. nor did he know that christopher's friend, garrett kopp was one of his best clients. kopp it turned out had been buying and sometimes reselling the drugs, mostly marijuana and xanax. and he and christopher spent plenty of time sampling the

goods according to the prosecutor kathleen hogue. >> is wasn't just drug deals. they hung around a lot. doing drugs. playing video games. whatever. >> reporter: in the months after the murder, phone records showed a spike in the volume of calls between the two. 300 calls in three months. >> the that is an awful lot of drugs to be dealing in three months if you have 300 some phone calls. >> reporter: could they have been talking murder? speculation of course. but -- then after the murder when kopp was arrested on the gun charge the prosecutors discovered it was christopher who put up the money to bond him out. even drove him to court. hardly the sort of thing a drug dealer would do for a mere customer. >> going to court with him. bonding him out. there was more to this friendship. >> reporter: john and melissa sutton knew nothing. christopher and his girlfriend were still living with john. garrett kopp was still coming around. so, solid evidence or no,

detectives decided it was time to act. they needed a confession to make their case. >> i told the investigate investigators, bring him to me. >> coming up a showdown with the killer. >> go in the back door, walk in, shoot him. >> reporter: case closed? far from it. when "blind justice" continues. are you ready to take your wifi to the next level?

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keith morrison: detectives larry belyeu and art nanni had a theory to explain the shooting of john sutton >> reporter: the detectives had a theory to explain the shooting of john sutton and the murder of his wife susan which was that christopher sutton hired his dope-smoking 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. >> reporter: given what they had against kopp, detectives gambled the shooter may roll over on the son. >> reporter: he denied all. wasn't my gun?

>> it wasn't my gun. looks like we'll beep here a long time today. >> reporter: and they were. hours and hours. >> do you know how the house was set up. i said i don't believe you did this on your own. give me the reason as to how chris got you to do this? >> heap basically said look, you have to look out for me and my family because i am afraid of him. >> reporter: chris is going to kill him. >> if he didn't do this. >> reporter: 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 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. >> reporter: did it upset him to tell you the story. >> not really. not that i could tell. >> reporter: did he seem relieved he had told someone. >> no. during this time i was talking to him. he was pretty calm talking about it. >> reporter: after the confession, kopp was charged with first degree murder and allowed to see his father. his girlfriend and then his son and then taken off to jail. so, case closed? well you would think given what kopp told the detectives in there. that was my reaction, and i didn't buy it. keith morrison: 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 didn't deserve to die like this. john doesn't certainly, you know, deserve to be blind the rest of his life. and i know for a fact garrett did this under the direction of christopher." finally, she started crying, and i go, "i think i may have her." keith morrison: with the tears came a story, what christopher had said to her that just might nail him for murder. the parents deserved to die for taking years out of his life. she said that this went on for years. she interjected. she goes, "i knew it was going to happen. i just didn't know when." keith morrison: that night, they put juliette-- who was living with christopher-- into protective custody. the next day, i prepared an arrest warrant for christopher sutton. keith morrison: and a female officer paid a visit to christopher's father, home alone. she says, "well, i've got good news and bad news.

and the good news is that we have arrested the assailant. he's admitted it. the bad news is, he's inculpated your son and said your son set him up." i go, "man, oh man." well, that was a bad night, a real bad night. what was it like to hear that? was it a shock, or did you have, at that point, 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 can't believe this. keith morrison: 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 somewhere in between being completely outraged and upset and somewhere where i knew that he had done it. keith morrison: but melissa, so grief-stricken, wasn't focused on who did it so much as what she had lost.

a lot of people chase the killer, and i think i chased missing my mom. newscaster: police are looking for 25-year-old christopher patrick sutton. keith morrison: 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 he'd 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 christopher's room and found a handwritten note planning our murder. what did it say? well, it talked about killing us for insurance. keith morrison: a week after a warrant was taken out for his arrest, police found christopher and brought him to the miami-dade homicide bureau. there, he learned that both his alleged co-conspirator, garrett kopp, and his fiance, juliette driscoll, had somehow implicated him. i showed him certain excerpts out of juliette driscoll's statement saying,

"i knew it is going to happen. i just didn't know when." at that point, he immediately began to sob, put his head on the table, and said i'm [bleep]-ed.-ed. keith morrison: but did that mean he was guilty? or merely that he understood the police believed he was guilty? he made comments like, "there's no magical way i can tell you where to go to find the truth." keith morrison: christopher sutton and garrett kopp were charged with first degree murder, a 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 kopp's confession should be enough to put him behind bars. but did prosecutors have enough to convict christopher sutton?

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he had been a skier. now he learned to ski blind. he fell in love again. her name is kathy henry. how did you meet her? >> blind date. >> reporter: ha-ha. am i supposed to laugh at that line. >> yeah, it's true. >> reporter: what has it meant to you to have her with you? >> is has meant a great deal. it's just -- tremendous. i wish i could see her. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: where his blindness became not exactly the handicap some opponents seemed to expect. >> i look to put myself down. so i say, poor old blind guy, you know, i'm just frying to do the best i can. then i go in and memorize the citations and let them decide if i know what i'm doing. >> reporter: lately he has been busier than ever. recently won a $9 million judgment for one of his clients. >> the blindness, i just couldn't even imagine. i don't even, i can't even try to think what that would be like. >> reporter: memorizing things and going into court, what is that -- a pretty determined guy. >> yeah, i agree. >> reporter: but adapting, even successful adapting using a talking typewriter for example. wasn't enough for john sutton.

as he waited for his son's 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. can't do anything. live with it. >> not even close. i won't take no for an answer. >> reporter: some of the best hospitals in the country, sutton had been told there was simply nothing to be done. 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. so in march 2008, almost three years to the day after his son was arrested, sutton and his girlfriend kathy were on the cold, rain swept streets of boston on the way to an appointment at the clinic. >> okay. there is a chin rest in front of you.

a doctor evaluated, sutton's one intact eye and discovered 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. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: you were thinking, maybe they can do it for you. >> i said i am in the right spot. >> reporter: he talked to the leading researcher working on

optic nerve repair. >> have you done any studies with severed optic nerves. >> reporter: he peppered them with questions like he was cross-examining witnesses. mike gilmore, president of the research clinic offered sutton a glimmer of hope. >> we will be able to regenerate an optic nerve not so much a question of can we, when can we? >> reporter: and it was a good news/bad news sort of day. >> i do not want to mislead you or provide false hopes. >> reporter: yes there might be a cure but perhaps not for five, 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. >> reporter: sutton told the doctors he would somehow help make it happen. he wrote checks. he joined the board of directors. >> john sutton. >> reporter: he offered himself as a voice of hope for desperate patients. >> reporter: 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 doesn't get behind it. he does know that we're not going to move it as fast as we could. >> well it is my pleasure to be here today. as you will hear i almost didn't make it here today. sutton traveled the country speaking at fundraisers using 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. >> reporter: meanwhile in miami it was decision time. the alleged shooter, garrett kopp, had finally agreed to plead guilty and testify against sutton's son christopher. in exchange for a 30-year 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. >> reporter: 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. >> reporter: john sutton wanted the law to convict his son of murder. but was christopher actually guilty? coming up -- in court, the

killer returns to the scene of the crime. >> what did you do at the end of the hallway? >> proceeded to shoot. >> who did you shoot at first? >> john. >> reporter: when "blind justice" continues. roxy sure is having fun. party's over, 'six legs', she's got simparica now. simpari-what? simparica is what kills tick and fleas, like us. kills? kills! studies show at the end of the month, it kills more ticks in less time than frontline plus and nexgard. guess we should mosey on. see ya never, roxy! use simparica with caution in dogs with a history of seizures or neurologic disorders. the most common side effects are vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy. say goodbye to ticks and fleas... with monthly simparica chewables.

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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. her son took a deep breath, recoiled. dreadful. but how would the state prove that christopher was behind it all? man: raise your right hand. she will administer the oath. keith morrison: here's how, 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 man that would kill his parents. karen kahgan: what reason or explanation did he give you? he said that his parents were worth about $500,000 to a million dollars. keith morrison: worth a lot more, actually. through his house, insurance, law practice, christopher stood to inherit millions. so was money a motive? or was it the stint at the boot camp in samoa? or both? detective belyeu told the jury he tried to find out when he questioned christopher. i said, "did you hate your parents that much?" karen kahgan: and his answer? he said, "you tell me." he says, "you just don't know." keith morrison: but did that answer the question about guilt or motive? or would she? man: miss driscoll, if you'll come forth, stand in front of our clerk here, please-- keith morrison: when juliette-- once his fiance and the love of his life-- walked by him in the courtroom, christopher's eyes welled up.

he hadn't seen her in years. now, her testimony could send him away for life. karen kahgan: what did the defendant tell you about getting his parents killed or taken care of? same thing i'd been hearing for the last six years. karen kahgan: which was that he could find someone to kill them? find somebody, they deserved it. keith morrison: this wasn't easy for juliette as she recalled the last time she saw susan sutton the night of that birthday celebration a few hours before she was killed. we went over. it was me, chris, john, susan, and teddy. we had dinner. karen kahgan: do you remember that melissa was there? 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. suontt 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. i didn't even see the gun. but in an instant, bam, and then next thing you knew, i woke up and i was on the floor. john sutton answered the questions as if the defendant sitting before him was a man he had never met, as if this was not the boy he had raised from birth.

neither father nor son displayed the slightest emotion. --for an instant. it doesn't make any sense to get on the witness stand and cry in front of the jury. it can cause a mistrial. so i dealt with it. i did what i had to do. keith morrison: so he did it. but was he right about his son? did the state really have the puzzle solved? or had its key witness been forced to lie? coming up. now, it was the defense's turn. and christopher's old girlfriend-- one of the prosecution's star witnesses against him-- had a new story to tell about how she was threatened by police. they told me that if they didn't hear what they wanted to hear that they're going to arrest me instead. they threw my purse across the room. keith morrison: what would that do to the prosecution's case? when dateline continues.

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for all-day, all-night protection. she tells them-- keith morrison: it takes a special sort of skill to defend a man facing a charge of first degree murder. and in miami, bruce fleisher has honed the skill as well as anyone. but what he could see right away-- knew it long before the trial-- was that the scene in that courtroom was about as bad as it could be. because there they were, just feet apart,

his client and a blind father, a survivor of christopher sutton's alleged plot to kill this parents. the fact that john sutton survived and was blind, to me, was the greatest prejudice in the case. and there he was, right behind the bar the whole time. the jury would hear something bad, and they'd look over at john sutton. they had to be thinking, "this poor man. look what he has to go through life with." keith morrison: for the victim, fleisher knew, he must display only sympathy. so instead, he'd attack the murder investigation itself, the way the police came up with their two star witnesses, juliette driscoll and garrett kopp. after all, without them, the state's case was weak. and why do you suppose they came forward anyway? because they were forced to, or so reasoned fleischer. juliette driscoll, for example. why did she tell police christopher talked about killing his parents?

they eventually tell her, "if you don't tell us what we want to know, you're going to be arrested in this murder conspiracy." and what does she do? she tells them what they want to know. man: if you'll please have a seat over here-- keith morrison: in fact, the defense attorney got juliette to admit the state wouldn't even have had that if detectives hadn't intimidated and threatened her. they told me that if they didn't hear what they wanted to hear that they are going to arrest me instead. they threw my purse across the room. they slammed their hands on their desks. did they tell you it was going to be for first degree murder? they told me they were going to arrest me for murder. and you eventually told them what they wanted to hear? after 13 hours, yes. keith morrison: before christopher was arrested, the two planned to a wedding and honeymoon-- in samoa, of all places-- which begged the question.

if he was going to take the lives of his parents, why would you stay with him, and why would you marry him? i can't think of how many times i've heard somebody say, "oh, my god. i hate this person so much. i could kill them right now." and when you hear it for six straight years, you just don't believe it. keith morrison: finally, juliette testified detectives lied when they said he told them, "i knew it would happen. i just didn't know when". i never believed he was going to do it, and that's why the whole thing with my statement that i knew he was going to do it, and-- which i have said, i didn't know he was going to do it. i'm still confused about the whole matter. i don't know if he did it or not. nobody knows what really happened except for him and garrett. thank you. that's what i've been saying. keith morrison: so why not just play a tape of the interrogation? well, they couldn't. the police didn't record a word of their long talk with juliette driscoll. she said, certainly he said those things,

but whether he did it or not is up in the air, as far as i'm concerned. right. and i think that gives a rise to a major reasonable doubt in this case. keith morrison: but remember, garrett kopp, the confessed shooter, testified that he was merely christopher's puppet on a string when he killed susan and tried to kill john. how do you get a jury to doubt a statement like that? we now had to go after him with hammer and tongs. keith morrison: oh, and he did. fleisher went after garrett and the cops. every time you denied being involved in this, they got aggressive with you, didn't they? somewhat. they'd just, like, push you a little bit. they'd push you. you mean they walked over to you, and they pushed you a little bit on the shoulder? and getting in my face. bruce fleisher: did they touch you? leaned up against me. yeah, like this. yep. and when they got close to you like this, what're they saying? "garrett, garrett." something like that.

"you need to tell us something, garrett, because we're going to fry your ass in the electric chair." woman: um, excuse me, excuse me. thank you, mr. fleisher. bruce fleisher: thank you for-- is that an objection? that is an objection. bruce fleisher: ok, well then, the question is, is that what they said to you? something like that. i'm going down for murder. you're going down for murder? i'm going to get the death penalty. you're going to get the death penalty? what finally made you give them some information? saying that juliette was confessing in the other room. they told me i was going, i was going to go to jail for murder already, so i ended up confessing. keith morrison: there was no doubt that kopp committed the murder. but maybe the case against christopher wasn't quite so watertight after all. maybe christopher himself could set the record straight. we're calling chris sutton. keith morrison: would jurors listen? coming up. accused of murdering his mother and blinding his father,

a son sheds tears on the stand for himself. i was, what they called, in denial. man: do you need a break? yeah. keith morrison: when dateline continues. [dramatic music]

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go to priceline. judge, we're calling chris sutton. keith morrison: jurors had to be deeply curious about the man accused of putting

a hit on his own parents. for one thing, in his button-down shirt and wire-rimmed glasses, he looked more law student than murder suspect. and besides, for two weeks, they've watched his careful note taking, his whispered asides to attorney fleisher. he felt that he was wrongfully prosecuted, and the only way that we could tie up a lot of things, and actually prove things, or disprove things, was by him testifying. bailiff: --the statement you're about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? i do. all right, mr. sutton-- keith morrison: how would he convey his innocence? first, by describing his hospital vigil, a concerned son on the night of the shooting. did he acknowledge that you were there? yeah, he could he could squeeze your hand, but he couldn't speak. how did you feel when you saw your father at the ryder trauma center? shocked, hurt, worried, scared. keith morrison: not that christopher was claiming to be a perfect son. in fact, he told the jury he was a drug dealer.

garrett kopp was one of his best customers, but had good reason to turn on him. why? because years earlier, christopher said, he turned police informant to get drug charges dropped, and who did he finger? garrett kopp. what happened, if anything, with your relationship with garrett kopp after he was arrested? i didn't speak to him for a while. or he didn't speak to me, i should say, for a while. was he mad at you? yes. keith morrison: so was it payback time, now? yes, says christopher, it must have been. and that's his theory of the murder. christopher said he had nothing to do with it, told the jury he never asked kopp to kill his parents. kopp made it all up. the police had it all wrong. what really happened, he said, was that kopp stormed into the house that night to steal christopher's hidden stash. boxes full of drugs. how much marijuana did you store in these boxes? christopher sutton: in the top box? about two pounds. and what was the value of that?

7,000 bucks. keith morrison: in fact, the very day of the murder, said christopher, a hopped-up kopp called him again, and again, desperate to buy drugs. christopher told them that between his mother's birthday party and a movie that night, he couldn't do it. why did you tell him that you couldn't get the drugs-- objection, judge. judge: overruled. i told them that i had left it in my room at my parents' house. and and that's what gave kopp the idea as to where to go to get the drugs. but that still doesn't explain why he would-- in cold blood-- murder, and attempt a murder, of these two people. he went to get the drugs. he found the sutton's home, and they could recognize him. he panicked, he was in a drugged stupor, and he shot them both. [chains clinking] so if you were garrett kopp, wouldn't you try to implicate the man who turned you in to the police? here's the thing, said christopher, he could understand kopp turning on him, but juliette? his own fiance?

when he heard what she told police, he said he broke down in tears. not because of what she said, but why she must have said it. as soon as he started reading parts of juliette's statement, yeah, i started crying. and why were you crying? karen kahgan: objection. judge: overruled. i was crying because the woman i was going to be marrying in five weeks had lied to save herself. keith morrison: his were tears of frustration, too, said christopher. how could he defend himself against lies when his police interrogator kept accusing him of murder? i told him he's not going to believe anything i say, and he's just going to try to twist my words to use them against me, or, you know, like he did with juliette. because there's no proof that i did anything, because i know i didn't do anything. so there it was, another theory for the jury to consider. but there was one more thing the defense had to do, if possible. knock down the allegation that his banishment to samoa had given him a motive to kill his parents.

but what you're about to see, as christopher described the program, probably wasn't in the defense strategy. a level two is allowed to go to the bathroom on his own, is allowed to have some more privileges. and then-- keith morrison: something in the memories on that island struck a nerve. bruce fleisher: how were you feeling, physically, during that time? i was what, i was, what they called, in denial. man: do you need a break? yeah. keith morrison: strange. stoic for the rest of his testimony, yet in the process of trying to dismiss samoa as a murder motive, he cried about his experience there. so, revealing? attorney fleischer put the best spin on it he could.

i think that showed his honesty as a witness. i cried when i got off the plane. keith morrison: when court resumed, christopher told the jury that, while he was initially upset about being sent to samoa, he got 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? what do they have? nothing. keith morrison: seven men, five women on the jury and real doubt in the air. when he first started saying his testimony, i mean, he put doubt in my mind. keith morrison: coming up. the jury speaks. we, the jury-- keith morrison: and so does christopher sutton. sure, i could have been a better guy. keith morrison: as his father hopes for a miracle. when dateline continues.

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all rise for the jury, please. >> not an easy task these people were given. did christopher sutton mastermind a plan to kill his own parents? >> we battled for a while. >> reporter: who knew that those 12 were butting heads all day in the jury room. and split down the middle after seven hours. they went home. it was mostly garrett kopp they had trouble with. how could they believe a cold-blooded hit man who rats on a friend to save his own skin. >> he is making the deal because the other one is going death penalty. >> reporter: which means what you can't believe what he is going to say because he is an opportunist. >> anything to save himself. >> yeah. >> reporter: next day they tried again. ten hours went by.

sweat in the air conditioned hallway. at 7:00 p.m., two words set the hall abuzz. a verdict. john and melissa sutton took their seats in the front row. >> bring in the jury, please. >> reporter: christopher sutton stood stoned faced as jurors streamed in. were those tears from some members of the jury. >> ladies and gentlemen, i understand you have reached a verdict. >> reporter: judge stanford blake read the verdict. state of florida versus christopher sutton, we the jury in miami-dade, florida, find the defendant christopher patrick sutton, as to count one, guilty of first degree murder as charged in the indictment. >> reporter: guilty. with that christopher's head snapped back as if he had been struck. >> as to count three, guilty of attempted first degree felony murder. >> reporter: melissa wept. her father, their father, locked his jaw, stared ahead,

sightless. sentencing would be immediate. john sutton was offered time to speak. and years of stoic resolve crumbled. >> regardless of the result, this is a bad case. we are now -- we're now at five years, 11 months, i lost susan, i lost christopher long before that. >> reporter: christopher did not look at his father. had he done so he would not have seen tears. the bullets that tore into his head left john sutton unable to cry. i lost my eyesight.

>> reporter: how was it in that courtroom. >> it needs to be over. >> raw. personal. here's the judge. >> it's ironic for me. i have a son who was born the exact same day as christopher sutton. when i heard his date during the trial, i remembered the joy of bringing my son home just like mr. sutton had. so at this time, as to count one, mr. sutton, the court poses a sentence of life in prison, without the possibility of parole. >> reporter: that was that. barring a successful appeal. christopher sutton will die in prison. a result he found so shocking he decided he needed to explain that they got it so very wrong. >> reporter: the verdict did seem to be a big surprise. >> yeah, i definitely wasn't expecting to be found guilty. i was shocked, you know, to know you didn't do something, yet to have people feel you did, you know. >> reporter: the words fairly

gushed from his mouth as if it wasn't time to say everything that needed to be said. >> a lot of this comes down to there is me and there is garrett and then everybody else is talking about what i did years before or -- or maybe after -- or even juliet. the only people that could know anything are christopher and garrett. >> reporter: this idea that he would break in looking for drugs. you wouldn't have stuff there. >> i had stuff in my bedroom moving in and out. garrett kopp helped me move that stuff. >> do you need water? >> the tears on the witness stand, while he talked about samoa made some believe his incarceration there on the island was motive for murder. >> reporter: you seemed kind of broken up talking about the camp, but not so broken up when you talked about your parents' death. >> when i talked about it would be hard. the program i have done my best to seal that away and forget about it. the first time i sat there in a

long time and, thought, wow, what did happen there. >> how do you feel about your dad now? >> i am devastate heed said things about me, against me. but my dad turning on me in hard times isn't anything new. >> reporter: then he talked about his circumstances, his fate and his self control abandoned him. >> the way it is said right now, this is home, you will never get out. >> at some point in time, if you have integrity inside yourself you have to stand up for what you believe in even if your life is on the line. >> reporter: how does that feel? >> it's hard. it's hard to know i will go to jail for something i didn't do. you know, i am not going to sit here and deny that i had problems with my parents or, any of that stuff happened. that's why i wanted to get up there and explain. explain to the people, that you know i may not be the best person. i'm sure i could have been a better guy, you know, i was trying, hand i didn't have anything to do with this. i didn't create the system. i'm just stuck in it.

>> reporter: trapped. >> that's why i will fight all the way to the end. like, i will always maintain my innocence. >> so me how it looks like a lion. >> reporter: john sutton still remembers the suit he wore when he brought christopher home from the hospital. and now it's come to this. what about christopher? do you still think of him as your son? >> i guess technically he is. but some day i may go see him and confront him and say what were you thinking of, you know? what a stupid criminal ridiculous crazy thing all this was. >> reporter: reconciling if it ever comes is a long, long way. >> that ain't happening. no way. no way. >> get up. >> reporter: it's complicated says melissa. ridiculously difficult. but what choice does she have? >> i have a brother, you know. i'm not going to ignore that

fact, you know. i have a billion family pictures with him. >> reporter: a brother who blew up your whole family? >> but in the same picture i have a mom who passed away, a brother who is in jail, a dad who is blind. that's my family. that's kind of -- kind of what it is. but at the same time, you know, i believed he did what he did. i have no intention of ever speaking with him again. >> reporter: so, life goes on. melissa is a media planner for a major cable network in new york now. detectives retired from the force. bellue adopted a little boy just look john sutton did all those years ago. and john sutton pursue his dream to see again. are you prepared or has it sunk in that you're going to be blind for the rest of your life? >> well, that's not my plan.

i may not be that smart, but, boy, i am motivated. >> i mean the enthusiasm coming out of you is kind of inspirational. >> i'm ready to roll. i got plans for this eyesight. ♪ ♪ i'm craig melvin. >> i'm natalie morales. >> and this is "dateline." i could not believe it. i couldn't imagine anyone that would ever want to hurt her. i had no idea what could have happened. >> married to her high school sweetheart, family meant everything to her. >> it was always a lot o