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Secrets, Lies and Alibis

July 16, 2011 7:45 PM

Why was a weathly couple targeted for death? "48 Hours Mystery" correspondent Troy Roberts looks at the possible suspects and motives.

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by Coomonsence May 4, 2013 3:37 PM EDT
He broke in to a teachers home, he wrote a note threatening to kill his parents and collect the inheritance ( which he later carried out). I understand why they had to send him away. As parents we are accountable to the public when we choose to raise children. How many times do we see rapist and murderers and ask what were the parents doing. I am responsible for my sons and the young men they become. It is my job to insure the children I raise are not a threat to others. Don't blame these parents for trying to protect the public from this dangerous punk.
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by Alyssa10101 March 2, 2013 3:36 PM EST
I agree with many of the aforementioned comments. Although murder is never justified, I believe that Christopher honestly wanted his parents to understand what he went through. He tried to tell his father about the conditions in Samoa, but to no avail. If Chris' parents would have been more understanding and willing to listen, I do believe that this situation could have been prevented. I actually did want to cry seeing Chris' video, how distraught he was, and it did make me feel sympathy for him. It must have been incredibly difficult for him to accept the harsh treatment that he faced and the fact that his parents refused to release him early. It is a shame that his parents were too blind to see what was happening before it was too late. I think that Chris should have definitely gotten help, seen a psychologist, done something to help him move past but not forget that part of his life. If I hated my parents that much, I would not plot to kill them, but I would try to find someone who actually did care about me and my well-being. As most of the comments have said, these parents were not good. Chris was sensitive, emotional--much like I have been throughout the years. Putting him in a place like this and making him endure this abuse not only increased his anger but also his need for his parents to actually do something about it. I think what made him hurt the most was that they would never understand him and, therefore, he felt that they never really cared. I got a glimpse into what Chris' father was really like when he said he did not love his son any longer. At that moment I wanted to cry because I can now see what Chris had to deal with in a father that did not have any love for his son--perhaps ever. This reaction from a father whose son has been convicted is most definitely not typical. I have seen many parents who absolutely love their children unconditionally though they know that their children have done wrong. As a parent, it's one's duty to be there, no matter what. This might be difficult, and that does not mean that the child's actions should be permitted, but still, that love, if real, will always last. That video of Chris in Samoa will always haunt me.
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by EM1970 January 31, 2013 8:55 AM EST
I saw a documentary a few years back about parents sending their troubled kids to camps at other countries. These kids suffered emotional,, physical, and even mental abuse. No excuse to kill your parents but the things I saw, what viewers were allowed to see, was horrifying. Still, he deserves to be punished for what he has done. I do have to say tho, the parents were not that great either.
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by WakeUpPeople001 August 7, 2012 2:01 PM EDT
1. Genetics are a b*tch. I'm often amazed at the smallest of my characteristics (physical or personality) that I see repeated in one of my sons.

For that reason, I would be very nervous about adopting a child. Extremely negative characteristics in the child's genetics could surface at any time.

(Why does John Sutton hate Christopher now? Because, in the end, John Sutton knows that Christopher is not really his son.)

2. Parents with (too much) money are a trip sometimes. The Suttons had their son kidnapped and shipped off to a penal colony on Samoa FOR YEARS?#@! Without their money, they might have considered other possibilities that would not have infuriated Christopher.
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by Jewelz816 May 17, 2012 3:02 AM EDT
As a SURVIVOR of the WWASP programs (I was in Jamaica and Mexico, and my cousin was in SAMOA), I can assure you FIRSTHAND that there was a significant amount of verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse that goes on in these programs. Please, don't open your mouth unless you've seen it (or NOT seen it) with your own eyes.

Can you imagine what kind of damage verbal, emotional, physical and sexual abuse does to a tender young psyche? Well, here's just one outcome. I don't excuse his behavior, or what he did...but I DO get how he got there after surviving this hell hole!
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by Pebbles62 May 15, 2012 1:01 PM EDT
I cannot believe so many of you are taking Christophers side. Are you crazy. That kid could probablly make himself cry if it meant getting what he wanted. He hated his parents and wanted them dead. I feel there was absolutely no abuse done to Christopher. He felt entitled way before they sent him away. He was lazy,selfish and wanted everything handed to him.It's easy to say you would never send your child away. But if they acted the way Christopher did. I bet you would think differently. My god his mother found a letter he had wrote about wanting to kill them. Christopher got what he deserved.
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by GraceK22 February 29, 2012 2:34 AM EST
Like it says in the show, Chris did things that resulted in the parents sending him to Samoa and I'm sure his parents thought he was faking to leave there. I don't think it's cold blooded at all, that's quite a harsh statement. After Chris sent that video to his parents, it's not like his parents ignored it, they went down to Samoa to check things out and found no evidence that he was being abused.
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by sanddollar1 July 21, 2011 9:29 PM EDT
I cannot believe that ANYONE would have the nerve to call these two "excellent" parents. The sister/sister-in-law needs to open her eyes as well.John Sutton makes my skin crawl, and his dead wife is almost worse. How anyone can watch the video of that young boy crying out for their love, attention and rescue from a terrible situation and then leave him there is despicable. And we just skip over the fact that the mother (and I use the term loosely) was sleeping with the law partner? Ho hum, they were sleeping together, but she was a GREAT mom. Never mind that the kid acted up a bit (yes I realize he did extensive damage to a teachers house, but that is harly the worst you hear from teenagers, albeit not the best), just send him off to a foreign country with no US supervision or intervention.

I often refer to myself as a prosecutors dream, because I do tend to side with them in most cases, and believe our justice system works for the greater part. However, their evidence could only prove that he talked to the killer on the night of the crime and was friends with him-- his story was equally plausible, and I don't really believe they proved their case. I do really believe that he is guilty, but they sure as heck didn't prove, they just got lucky with a jury.

Now here is my random conspiracy theory for you: the son looks WAY too much like the father to be truly "adopted". I am betting he was the product of an affair the father had, since affairs are apparently common in that family. Disgusting people.
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by sanddollar1 July 21, 2011 9:28 PM EDT
I cannot believe that ANYONE would have the nerve to call these two "excellent" parents. The sister/sister-in-law needs to open her eyes as well.John Sutton makes my skin crawl, and his dead wife is almost worse. How anyone can watch the video of that young boy crying out for their love, attention and rescue from a terrible situation and then leave him there is despicable. And we just skip over the fact that the mother (and I use the term loosely) was sleeping with the law partner? Ho hum, they were sleeping together, but she was a GREAT mom. Never mind that the kid acted up a bit (yes I realize he did extensive damage to a teachers house, but that is harly the worst you hear from teenagers, albeit not the best), just send him off to a foreign country with no US supervision or intervention.

I often refer to myself as a prosecutors dream, because I do tend to side with them in most cases, and believe our justice system works for the greater part. However, their evidence could only prove that he talked to the killer on the night of the crime and was friends with him-- his story was equally plausible, and I don't really believe they proved their case. I do really believe that he is guilty, but they sure as heck didn't prove, they just got lucky with a jury.

Now here is my random conspiracy theory for you: the son looks WAY too much like the father to be truly "adopted". I am betting he was the product of an affair the father had, since affairs are apparently common in that family. Disgusting people.
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by sapphyre1120 July 19, 2011 3:33 PM EDT
The parents never said 'no' to this kid. He got everything he wanted. The only real time they should have said 'yes' was when they should have gotten him out of that 'boys camp' (which is now defunct).
I believe Chris was totally wrong for his actions. But, his parents are also wrong for theirs. This case is a matter of cause & effect.
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