The Christopher Sutton murder case ended in a 2010 first-degree murder conviction after a Miami-Dade jury found that Sutton hired Garrett Kopp to shoot his parents in their Coral Gables home in 2004, killing his mother, Susan Sutton, and blinding his father, John Sutton. Sutton is serving three consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. His direct appeal, two state postconviction motions, and a federal habeas petition have all been denied, most recently in December 2023.
What Happened at the Coral Gables Home
On Sunday, August 22, 2004, John and Susan Sutton were asleep in separate bedrooms of their Coral Gables house. It was Susan’s 57th birthday, and the family had celebrated earlier that day. After the couple went to bed, Garrett Kopp, then 21, entered through an unlocked rear sliding glass door. He shot John in the face, then walked to Susan’s bedroom and shot her six times, then returned and shot John a second time.
Susan died from her injuries. John, a lawyer, survived two gunshots to the head after massive blood loss and last rites, but was left permanently blind. Nothing was taken from the house. Medical examiner Dr. Emma Lew later said the scene showed the shooter “came there to shoot Susan and her husband. She was executed.”
How Christopher Sutton Was Identified
Investigators first looked at John’s former law partner, Teddy Montoto, who admitted to an affair with Susan. Montoto’s gun did not match the crime scene evidence.
Christopher, meanwhile, moved his blinded father into his own home and helped nurse him. John later told investigators, “I didn’t suspect him, and of course, I wouldn’t have wanted it to be Christopher.” Relatives began to worry. Christopher’s aunt, Mary Marier, noticed he described the number of shots fired and the shooter’s path through the house before those details were public. Investigators also learned Christopher was aggressively pushing to control his father’s finances, including a legal settlement worth more than one million dollars.
The case broke in March 2005 when an ex-girlfriend of Garrett Kopp contacted police. Kopp’s phone number appeared 331 times in Christopher’s call records around the time of the murder. Kopp had been arrested less than 24 hours after the shooting on an unrelated gun charge, and the Glock 9mm semi-automatic pistol impounded at that arrest was matched to the bullets that killed Susan Sutton. Kopp confessed and named Christopher as the mastermind. A warrant issued on March 26, 2005; Christopher fled and was captured nearly two weeks later.
Why He Did It
Prosecutors argued the plot grew from money and resentment. When Christopher was 16, his parents sent him to Paradise Cove, a behavior modification program in American Samoa affiliated with the World Wide Association of Specialty Programs. Former students described conditions worse than prison, including hog-tying and prolonged confinement in dark rooms. Christopher spent roughly two years there and, according to trial witnesses, came back bitter.
His then-fiancée, Juliette Driscoll, testified that Christopher repeatedly said his parents “deserved to pay for what they did” and “deserved to die,” and that life would be “good” once they were gone because he “wouldn’t have to worry about money.” Prosecutor Carin Kahgan told jurors that every bullet Kopp fired was Christopher’s way of saying, “I hate you… You owe me.”
The planning went back years. Jose Peon, a former associate, testified that in 1999 Christopher asked whether he knew any hitmen, saying his parents were “worth about $500,000 to a million dollars and they had life insurance.” Prosecutors also introduced evidence that Susan had once found a note in Christopher’s room outlining a plan to kill his parents for their inheritance. Shortly before the murder, Susan had refused to pay Christopher’s car insurance bill.
The 2010 Trial
Christopher Sutton was tried in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in July 2010, more than five years after his arrest. He faced charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, attempted felony murder, and armed burglary with an assault or battery. Carin Kahgan and Kathleen Hoague prosecuted; Bruce Fleisher represented Sutton.
Garrett Kopp testified over four sessions after accepting a 30-year sentence in exchange for his cooperation. He said Christopher conceived the plan, supplied the Glock, left the sliding glass door unlocked, and promised him $100,000 for the killings. Kopp also said Christopher threatened to kill him and his son if he backed out.
Driscoll described years of Christopher wishing his parents dead. Peon recounted the 1999 conversation about a hitman. Marier described Christopher’s suspicious knowledge of the crime scene. Prosecutors introduced the 331 phone calls, surveillance footage placing Christopher at a movie theater with Driscoll on the night of the murder, and testimony that when confronted with Driscoll’s police statement, Christopher dropped his head and said, “I’m f—–d.”
John Sutton, still blind, testified against his son. He said he had not been “blind to his son’s rage” before the shooting and described their relationship as one problem after another. “He became too difficult to deal with,” John told the jury. “We were at our wit’s end.” Of the shooting itself: “In an instant, Bam! I woke up and I was on the floor. I knew I was in big trouble.”
The defense argued Kopp acted alone. Fleisher told jurors Kopp was a drug-addicted “thug” who broke in during a “drug-influenced stupor” looking for cash and marijuana. Christopher testified over four sessions that the shooting was a robbery gone wrong, that Kopp had come to steal roughly $7,000 worth of marijuana Christopher kept in a closet, and that Kopp’s confession was fabricated to avoid the death penalty. He broke down describing Paradise Cove but, prosecutors noted, did not cry when speaking about his mother’s death or his father’s injuries.
On July 21, 2010, after roughly a day and a half of deliberations, the jury found Christopher Patrick Sutton guilty on all counts.
The Sentence
The trial court imposed three consecutive life sentences on the counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and armed burglary with an assault or battery, plus a concurrent life sentence on the attempted felony murder count. None of the sentences carry the possibility of parole.
Appeals and Postconviction Rulings
Sutton appealed to Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal, arguing that his blinded father should not have been permitted in the courtroom because his visible injuries could prejudice the jury; that evidence of a separate burglary involving Jose Peon’s apartment was improperly admitted; and that convictions for both attempted first-degree murder and attempted felony murder violated double jeopardy. On May 23, 2012, the Third DCA affirmed in an unwritten opinion.
He then filed two state postconviction motions. In June 2014, he claimed his trial attorney was ineffective for failing to introduce evidence that Teddy Montoto had embezzled $206,207 from the firm and had an affair with Susan, giving Montoto a motive to hire Kopp himself. The state court denied the claim as refuted by the trial record. In August 2019, Sutton filed affidavits from two individuals he described as newly discovered evidence pointing to Montoto as the mastermind. The state court denied that motion too, finding the evidence could have been discovered through due diligence before or during trial and did not meet the standard for newly discovered evidence. The Third DCA affirmed, with its mandate issuing on June 26, 2020.
Sutton also filed a federal habeas corpus petition in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. In an order dated December 15, 2023, the court found the petition untimely and ruled that Sutton did not qualify for the actual innocence exception to the federal statute of limitations.
Throughout, Sutton has maintained he had nothing to do with the attack. Speaking from prison three months after his conviction, he told NBC Miami, “It’s hard to know I’m going to jail for something I didn’t do… I’m sure I could’ve been a better guy, but I didn’t have anything to do with this.” He attributed the verdict to “forced statements” and lies by Kopp.
Where Christopher Sutton and Garrett Kopp Are Now
Christopher Sutton remains incarcerated in Florida under three consecutive life sentences without parole. Garrett Kopp pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for his testimony and is serving 30 years, with a scheduled release in 2035. John Sutton has publicly said he no longer loves his son and has vowed to fight to keep both men in prison.