Murderous Elements | "48 Hours" Full Episodes | Forensic Files

[music] On Sunday, August 22nd, 2004, 2 days after my wife Susan Sutton's birthday, we were having a family get
together. our son Christopher and his girlfriend Juliet, my law partner Teddy Monto. We had a birthday cake.
>> John and Susan lived in a very fancy neighborhood, Carl Gables. John was a local attorney. The firm had had a very
successful week. The firm got a settlement over a million dollars. After dinner was over, we were watching
the Olympics in swimming and diving. Everything was fine that evening. Everybody was relaxed.
>> John and Susan's son Christopher [music] and his girlfriend Julia Driscoll had
plans to go to the movies, so they left. >> Shortly thereafter, my law partner Teddy
Monto left. Approximately 10:00, I decided to go in to bed. Susan retired to one bedroom, [music]
Jon to the other. Susan oftentimes slept in the second room because her husband John snored.
Settling into the evening, unaware that at that time, about four blocks away, there was a man who had driven up
Glock 9mm semi-automatic [music] pistol in his waistband with one intention. He was there on a mission.
A mission to murder John and Susan. >> Next thing you know, I saw someone come in.
>> He took out his Glock. >> I heard a bang. A big bang. I was being shot >> and the bullets even broke [music] the
headboard, shattered the glass, the mirror. John Sutton flipped out of the bed, landed on the floor, and then the
gunman turned towards Susan, and shot her six times. Gunman then turned back [music] to the
master bedroom, fired more times at John, emptying the gun. >> I knew that I had been shot in the head.
I needed assistance, and I went for a telephone. >> Call was 911. >> Somebody came in and shot me. I need
police and I need an ambulance. >> 2240 6186. >> Susan Sutton was assassinated in her
bed. Didn't have a chance. And John Sutton should have died [music] for all intents and purposes, but did not. My
name is Karen Kagan. I was the prosecutor on homicide duty. And I went into that house. I was able to see the
bullet holes, the blood on the floor, and the blood in the bathroom. Most remarkably, nothing else [music] in that
house was disturbed. There was beautiful jewelry on the vanity. Undisturbed. It was [music] clear this was no burglary.
It was a premeditated effort [music] to make sure that they were dead. >> I could not imagine that anyone would
want to [music] kill us. >> The question was, who done it? >> [music] [music] >> Everybody says it was somewhat of a
miracle that I survived. [music] I lost a tremendous amount of blood. >> Just hours after someone broke into John
Sutton's home, murdered his wife, and tried to kill him, doctors weren't sure he would live.
>> They apparently gave me last rights. They thought that I was gone. >> When you got to the hospital to see your
father, tell me what you saw. >> Almost [music] unrecognizable person. Melissa Sutton was 18, a
freshman in college. Her mother was dead. [music] Her father had been shot multiple times, twice in the head.
[music] >> The fact that I knew his hands and I knew his ears and his skin tone. [music]
I could tell that this kind of disfigured person was my dad. >> She knew him, but he had a harder time
recognizing her. >> You cannot see [music] me now. You don't even see a shadow. No.
>> John Sutton woke [music] up in intensive care blind. >> The magnitude of my injury, [music] the
facial pain and the loss of the eyesight was just so huge. [music] >> You must have been racking your brain
thinking, who could have possibly have done this? >> I certainly was. And I thought people were trying to kill
me when I was in the hospital. I felt that I wasn't safe. I wanted to get out of there.
It was just one big [music] mess. >> And John still hadn't heard what happened to his wife.
>> I remember asking Melissa, [music] "How's mom doing?" She had been told by the police not to tell me about Susan.
[music] Later on, I was told that she passed away. Melissa, >> what kind of woman who's your mom?
>> Intelligent, confident. >> Some you got mommy. It's >> the kind of person who's in their 40s
but wants to take [music] violin classes and calculus classes because she just wants to be better.
>> And more than anything, [music] she wanted to be a great mother. Once the head nurse of a surgical intensive care
unit, she gave her career up in the late 70s when she and John adopted their first child, Christopher.
>> That was the happiest day of her [music] life. It was absolutely the happiest day
of her life. >> Susan's sister, Mary Marier. >> I heard her on the telephone. I could
hear her screaming from Florida, you [laughter] know, how happy she was and how thrilled she was.
>> Almost 7 years later, they adopted Melissa. >> She loved those children. >> Hi, Christopher. and she loved them
unconditionally. >> Now, those children [music] were planning their mother's funeral while
police scoured the crime scene, seeing Susan Sutton's jewelry and John Sutton's wallet [music] untouched on a dresser.
>> Take the wallet. Easy cash at least. But nothing was taken. This person had a
mission. >> Miami date detective Rosanna Cordderero hoped John, even with a serious head
injury, could help her. >> He remembered bits and pieces. He thought he remembered a figure at the
door. He might be a black man or wearing all black clothing. He was not [music] sure.
>> So with that kind of spotty memory, the information he provided wasn't very helpful.
>> No, it wasn't. >> She thought she'd have more luck with Teddy Monto, John's law partner.
Teddy told her he was on the phone with John's wife, Susan, and heard gunfire. So he raced to the scene, arriving just
after police. I was the one who told him that Susan had died and he was very emotional about it.
>> And then Teddy said something surprising. >> He was a marksman >> and he'd been shooting a gun earlier
that day. >> He's a competitive shooter. That's something that he did as a hobby. That
raised our eyebrows. >> Detective Cordderero immediately sent Teddy's gun in for testing and she
pushed him for more information about his late night phone call with Susan. He was not forthcoming with me.
>> She suspected Teddy was hiding something. >> He's asked to submit to a polygraph,
which he does, and he fails. Especially in regards to his relationship with Susan.
[music] >> The interrogation continued until Teddy finally revealed his secret. >> He did, in fact, confess to having a
sexual relationship with Susan. >> Did that make him a suspect in your mind? >> It [music] did. Obviously,
he has a motive. A motive at least to kill John. Maybe not necessarily Susan, but love triangles [music]
can drive people to do very extreme behavior. >> But Teddy's gun didn't match the murder
weapon, [music] and police were able to confirm he wasn't in the Sutton home during the shooting. As for the
polygraph, police say he failed because he was covering up the affair, hoping to
keep it from John. >> That was a pretty big surprise. How did you [music] deal with that
betrayal? >> I wasn't very happy with it. Very, very upset. >> Up until that point, John and Teddy had
a strong working relationship, and their law firm had just gotten one of their biggest settlements ever, more than a
million dollars. >> They had been very successful in their civil litigation, and along the way had
made some enemies. In fact, John had had death threats against him. Police investigated every one of them, but they
all had alibis. >> It was that point that I started interviewing some of John's closest
friends. >> Lee Detective Larry Bellow says there was one name that kept coming up.
>> And they said, "You [music] need to look at Christopher Sutton." I said, "Christopher Sutton, the son?"
Absolutely. [music] >> Belleu thought it odd that fingers were being pointed at John and Susan's son,
Christopher, then 25 years old. For months since [music] the shooting, Christopher had been right by his
father's side. And when John finally left the hospital, he moved in with his son. But police were hearing alarming
stories about Christopher. >> That he would like to have his parents [music] dead.
>> He actually choked his mother one time, saying that he could kill her. >> The son, who once seemed so devoted, was
now their prime suspect. >> I didn't do it. I never had anything to do with it. the Polynesian islands of Samoa in the
South Pacific Ocean, nearly 7,000 m from the Miami home where Susan and John Sutton were viciously attacked.
What happened here more than 15 years ago, police say, may hold the clue to solving the case.
>> We learned that Christopher Sutton had been sent away to a uh a behavioral school by his parents.
>> When he was just 16, John and Susan sent their son here. Christopher, they say,
have been getting into lots of trouble. We were [music] told that there was oppositional defiant disorder or conduct
defiant disorder, those sort of things. >> He was in and out of more than half a
dozen schools. >> I was routinely driving him to school, dropping him off at the front door, and
he was routinely going out the back door and doing other things. [music] >> Skipping school, though, was the least
of their problems. Susan's sister, Mary. He and some other kids broke into a teacher's house and trashed the inside
of the house and spray painted the inside of the house. >> He was arrested. >> We were sued.
>> $50,000 in damage. >> Perhaps more. >> Were you an out of control teenager? >> Out of control? I mean, like I
definitely wanted to do my own thing. I was definitely into body piercings and tattoos, you know, things my parents
absolutely hated. I really wasn't doing anything that was horribly wrong. But Mary says if Christopher didn't get
his way, he could get extremely angry. >> Christopher had a rifle. It was not loaded. He pointed it at Susan and
Melissa. He told him that it was loaded and he was going to shoot them. >> You threatened your mother at gunpoint.
You threatened to kill her. >> No. >> No. >> No. >> His parents to me always seemed
a little bit harsh on him. Christopher's friend Eric Pulk says the Sutton tended
to overreact >> and it was rough on him >> perhaps. But when Christopher was 16,
things really escalated. >> Susan called me and said, "We've got a problem." >> In Christopher's room, Susan found a
note. >> It was a plan to kill his parents for the inheritance. >> I saw it. I read it. It was there. How
did he react when this happened? >> It wasn't his fault. He was just kidding. He wasn't serious.
>> But the Sutton were. They were frightened and they wanted Christopher out of the house.
>> You got a restraining order against your 16-year-old son. >> Correct. >> He was a valued member of our household.
>> Eric invited Christopher to live with his family. The judge agreed. He went to
school when he was supposed to go to school and he didn't cause any problems living with us.
>> And then 3 weeks later, >> it was a Friday night, I believe. >> Two men came to get him.
>> They were trying to wrestle him across my lawn. >> Christopher was shipped off to Somala, a
place called Paradise Cove. But this was no [music] vacation. It was a hardcore behavior modification program for
troubled boys. Randy Rogers parents sent him here when he was 17. >> If he didn't follow every rule, he says
punishments were severe. >> You would go to like the box for a day. >> The box? >> Yeah, like the isolation box.
>> In 1998, 48 hours investigating a story of abuse here filmed the isolation box.
But Randy says even worse things went on at Paradise Cove in the early days of the program when Christopher first got
there. [music] >> They would tie them with with duct tape. They took them to some compound that was
in the mountains, left them hog tied there. A year into Paradise Cove, Christopher
sent a video message home to his parents. >> All right, Mommy. I wouldn't tell you.
I don't feel like you guys love me. I feel that like I'm just I've just been I've been stuck here. Just get me out of
your hair. You guys still dislike me for some reason. Cuz even though my wishes are to be here, I don't care. They don't
come true. >> John, Susan, and Melissa traveled to Samoa to see for themselves what it was
like. >> Was he happy to see you? >> Absolutely. Christopher said he tried telling them
about abuse. >> Did I believe it? No. >> You didn't believe it? >> I didn't believe it. Can't imagine that
that's what was happening. >> Christopher was hoping to leave Paradise Cove forever on his 18th birthday, but
his father got a court order to keep him there for another year. >> He was, shall we say, fighting the
program. When you met Christopher, >> Randy says he could only imagine how angry that would have made Christopher.
>> When you learned about the shooting at the Sutton home, what were you thinking?
>> I was thinking that Chris might have been behind it. >> You can understand how he may have
wanted to exact revenge >> against his parents for his time at Paradise Cove. >> Uhhuh.
>> To the point of murder. In 2000, Paradise Cove with a dwindling enrollment and accusations of abuse shut
down. But whatever happened to Christopher there was a long time ago. Christopher was now 25. And as far as
John was concerned, a loving son who after the shooting wanted to take care of him.
>> I said, "Don't live with Christopher. I think Christopher had something to do
with this." He was very angry with me about that. >> I didn't suspect him. And of course, I
wouldn't have wanted it to be Christopher. I mean, that's the worst thing. >> But Mary is sure Christopher was behind
the shooting of his father and the murder of his mother. >> Christopher isn't like you and me.
Christopher is not like other people. There's something missing. The night before the funeral is when I was
convinced that Christopher had had something to do with it. >> She says Christopher talked about what
happened. He sat there and he said, "Oh, Susan was shot more than one time." He was describing how the person came in to
the house and went down the hallway. >> So, Christopher was familiar with [music] details about this shooting that
had not yet been released. >> Yes. The blood drained from my body. I looked at Christopher and I thought,
"You killed her. You did it." But Christopher was nowhere near his parents' house when they were attacked.
He and his girlfriend were at the movies seen here on the theat's security cameras. If Christopher didn't shoot his
parents, who did I cried. [music] I couldn't believe it. You know, I was in shock. It doesn't
even seem real that it could have even happened. >> Christopher Sutton says he was horrified
when he found out about his mother and father. >> He started balling his eyes out. [music]
He seemed like he was devastated. >> Christopher's then fiance, Juliet [music] Driscoll, says she was reeling
herself. >> I was in shock at that point. Your entire world just blew up. >> Juliet met Christopher when she was just
17. He was 19 and just back from Samoa. The Sutton, she says, treated her like a
daughter. >> Susan kind of taught me about like makeup and clothes and all that sort of
stuff. You know, John was always just like really supportive of me. >> John even gave Juliet a job in his law
office. And for the [music] most part, John and Susan financially supported her and Christopher.
>> They only wanted what was best for us. Who could have done this? Was it random?
Wasn't it random? >> Who did you think had done it? >> I had no idea. >> I said, "Christopher, can I speak to you
for a moment?" I He said, "Absolutely." >> Detective Rosanna Cordderero met Christopher at the crime scene shortly
after he'd been told about the shooting. I remember he had a couple of tears come
down his face. >> But before she could even offer condolences, he said something to her
that just didn't seem right. >> He said to me, "We had dinner here at the house, but we left around 9:00 and
we went to the movies. [music] Do you want my ticket stubs?" >> So, he was offering you an alibi?
>> Yes. That's really weird. It's unusual. [music] >> You offered up an alibi before she even
asked for one. >> Absolutely. >> Why? because of Teddy's [music] interrogation. >> Teddy Monto, the man who was secretly
having an affair with Susan, had already told Christopher about his police interrogation. Christopher says he
assumed he was next. So, he told Cordiero where he was during the shooting. >> And I recovered the surveillance tape of
Christopher walking out of the movie theater. >> Here he is with Juliet leaving the
theater a little before midnight. But something caught Cordderero's eye. The first thing he does as he's walking out,
he's not even out of the theater, is he gets on his cell phone. >> Lee Detective Larry Bellow ordered
Christopher's phone records. We saw a particular number that came up several times.
>> 331 times to be exact. In the weeks leading up to and right [music] after the murder,
>> we identified that number as belonging to a individual by the name of Garrett
Cobb. A man named Garrett Cobb had been arrested less than 24 hours after the shooting for assaulting someone with a
gun in another part of Miami. He was now out on bail. Detective Belleu immediately called the arresting
officer. >> Now, please tell me you still have that gun. >> He did, >> and it turned out to be a match.
>> It was the same gun used in the Sutton shooting. 21-year-old Garrett Cobb was brought in
for questioning. >> I had to get something out of him. Denial. Denial, denial. >> It was a tense interrogation.
>> He continued to deny. Deny. >> After 6 hours of questioning, >> he finally broke.
>> Garrett Cobb confessed. >> What was the plan? >> Go in that room. >> He said, "Look, you're going to have to
protect me. I did it, but I did it because Christopher threatened to kill me and my
son." >> Who did he want you to shoot? Garrett? Garrett told police the plan to kill the
Sutton was all Christopher's idea. >> Who got you the gun to use? >> Yes. >> He actually drew a sketch as to how he
got in the house. >> Spying glass door on the back patio. >> Was that door unlocked when you got
there? >> Yep. >> Did Chris tell you he left it unlocked? >> Yep. >> Garrett went straight to the bedrooms
where he said Christopher told him he'd find the Sutton. >> Shot John Sutton. shot Susan [music]
Sutton. >> Do you recall how many times you shot her? >> No, sir. >> Garrett says Susan was under the covers
when he fired. >> There was actually bullet [music] holes through the comforter. So, what he told
me matched. I knew he had had done this. >> Garrett Cobb was arrested. >> I did not have enough for a warrant for
Christopher. >> Police needed more than Garrett's word that Christopher put him up to it. The
next person I knew that probably had direct knowledge of all this was his fiance.
>> Juliet Driscoll was brought in for questioning. >> I knew nothing. I knew absolutely
nothing. >> She denied knowledge of anything. >> The fact that people could even think
that I would know something like that. >> And she continued to deny for hours, 13
hours, none of which was taped by police. >> Like that I would let something like
that happen to John and Susan. She says police yelled and threatened her with arrest.
>> No, she was never under arrest. I I never threatened her with that. [music] >> But Juliet says she felt pressured and
told them what she did know, that Christopher had a deep seat of resentment towards his parents for
sending him to Samoa. >> He believed that he was entitled to have whatever he wanted. If he wanted this
car, he should be able to have this car. if he wanted the condo, he should be able to have the condo because I deserve
this. They sent me to Samoa. They deserve to pay for what they did. >> And for the most part, the Sutton did
pay. >> They paid rent. They [music] paid car payments. They paid bills. They took us
on vacations. >> But he wanted more. >> But he wanted more. He said he could find somebody to kill
his parents. >> That he could find a hitman to take out his parents >> and it would be easy. I listened to it
for six years. He said it for years and years and years. >> Did he talk to you about what your lives
would be like after his parents were gone when he would inherit the estate? >> Mhm.
>> What did he say? >> Things would be good cuz we wouldn't have to worry about money.
>> Juliet says she never told anyone because she didn't believe Christopher was serious.
>> It was like the boy who cried wolf. You know, you hear something so [music] many
times and you just you you don't think about it. >> And then shortly before the murder,
>> there was a fight. >> Over what? >> It was over a bill not being paid. >> Susan Sutton refused to pay
Christopher's car insurance bill. >> The only times he would really like get like really angry would be when they
wouldn't give him what he wanted. >> Juliet told police Christopher was furious. He knew his father had just
received a million dollar plus legal settlement. >> And with that information, I had enough
at that point to get a warrant for Christopher's son. >> But Christopher was nowhere to be found.
>> I got a call from one of the detectives. >> I'd like to come by and talk to you.
>> She said, "Don't let anybody in the house. >> Don't answer the door till I get there.
>> Don't pick up the phone." >> He must have been like, "What the heck? >> I'm coming over to see you. Stay where
you are." Did I think Christopher would come back to try to finish it off? Yeah.
Detective Cordderero was dreading what she was about to do. Tell John Sutton his son was behind the shooting.
>> I know. I told him that [music] what I'm about to say is going to be hard for you
to accept, but trust me, every road leads back to Christopher. >> I was just at that point so shell
shocked. >> For almost 2 weeks, Christopher was on the run before police found him.
>> Cops arrested 25-year-old Christopher Sutton. >> John Sutton didn't want to believe it,
but what he was hearing was starting to make sense. when I was told that Garrett
was the shooter. And of course, I put that together. Garrett and Christopher were like twins.
>> But I don't know if you could actually prove this case to a jury without having
Garrett cop. >> But if prosecutors Kathleen Hog and Karen Kagan wanted Garrett to testify,
it was going to cost them. The death penalty was taken off the table. Garrett would get a deal. Just 30 years for
shooting John and Susan. Garrett Cop is a a drug addict, a little thug. >> Christopher's attorney, Bruce Flecher.
>> He needed a way out to help himself and he told the detectives about Chris Sutton. He basically uh kept his ass out
of the electric chair. >> Garrett is now saying that Christopher promised him $100,000 to kill the
Sutton. >> Did you ask Garrick Cop to kill your parents? >> Absolutely not. So Garrick Cop is a
liar. >> Absolutely. >> I believe we can win this case. >> He's about to get his opportunity.
>> All right. >> As the trial begins, John Sutton sits far from his son. >> Miss Kagan, opening statement. You may
proceed. >> Prosecutors immediately tell the jury how close Christopher was to admitted
hitman Garrick Cobb. >> They were friends for years. Over the years, they were dope smoking buddies.
>> Christopher did nothing but sell drugs the whole time he got back from Samoa all the time, taking money from his
father. >> The plan was for Garrett Cop to go in the Sutton's home and do the shooting
and then he would get paid when the defendant got his money. >> Uh yeah, you can bring Mr. Cop back out.
>> In Shackles, Garrett Cobb takes the stand. >> Where was Mr. Sutton when you shot at
him initially? on the bed. >> Who was the person with whom you were in a plan to shoot John and Susan Sutton?
>> Chris. Chris Sutton. >> Christopher's defense needs to prove Garrett is lying. They zero in on the
tough interrogation by police. >> They got aggressive with you, didn't they? >> Somewhat. Got pushy a little bit. Leaned
up against me. >> Yeah, like this. >> Yeah, >> that's what they're saying. Garrett.
Garrett. Something like that. >> You need to tell us something, Garrett, cuz they're going to fry your ass in the
electric chair. >> Excuse me. >> Garrett would have said Mother Teresa did it to get himself a deal. To get
himself out of the death penalty, to get him out get himself out of that situation.
>> Sir, you can come forward, please. >> But incredibly, it wasn't the first time
prosecutors say Christopher had tried to execute such a plan. >> Would you tell the members of the jury
uh your first and last name? >> Jose Pon. P O N. Jose Pion is an ex-con with a murder conviction on his juvenile
rap sheet. Pion met Christopher in 1999 about a year after he returned from Samoa.
>> He asked me if I knew of any hitman that would uh kill his parents. >> Was he joking or did he seem serious?
>> He seemed serious. Uh he said that his parents were um worth about $500,000 to
a million dollars and they had some property and um life insurance. I mean like I don't know where I mean like I
don't know where he came up with that stuff. >> He's a liar too. >> Yeah. About the about that. Absolutely.
>> Then Detective Bellow tells the jury about what he believes is a defining moment in the case. After arresting
Christopher, he showed him Juliet's statement [music] incriminating him. >> Well, I showed him the comments about
we're going to be better off after they're gone. At that point, he almost immediately dropped his head to the
table, started crying, and said, "I'm >> to the detective." Christopher's reaction appeared to be an admission of
guilt. But Christopher says he only cried because he believed police were setting him up.
>> You know, they forced somebody to lie. It's it's it's it's hard to swallow. >> Mr. Driscoll, if you'll come forward,
stand in front of >> But would the woman who once planned to marry Christopher now offer testimony
that could put him away for life? And what did he express to you was his opinion about his mother?
>> She was a [ __ ] because he felt that she wouldn't give him what he wanted and
what he deserved >> and that being money. >> Yes. >> And she tells the jury how angry he was
about Samoa. >> He would say they deserve to die. >> Good afternoon, Mr. Driscoll. But on
cross-examination, Juliet says she only told the police incriminating information about Christopher after they
threatened her with arrest. >> She was threatened with a death penalty. She was threatened with going down. But
she's a liar, too. In in part, yeah. >> But Juliet says everything she told the police was in the end true. She insists
though that she never knew Christopher would actually try and kill his parents. I did not know at all that he was behind
this. No, >> you didn't believe he was going to do it, did you? >> And then in a moment, the defense team
was hoping for Juliet, a prosecution witness, raised doubt about Christopher's guilt before the jury.
>> 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. >> But by now, John Sutton has a pretty good idea. After hearing the evidence,
he's convinced his son is responsible and he takes the stand. >> That I had two bullets go in here and
two which went out over here. >> Prosecutors asked John about his troubled relationship with his son after
Samoa. >> Did your son ever complain to you about money? >> Yeah. >> And the complaints continued after the
shooting, too. Coming home from the hospital, John says Christopher wanted control over the finances.
>> I didn't want him in the bank account. >> A father helping prosecutors convict his
own son, the boy he had raised for 25 years. >> Do you still love [music] Christopher?
I would have to say that I do not. And it's hard. I can't connect the dots between what he
was doing [music] at age five and what happened after age 13. >> Your father told me that he no longer
loves you. I can't control how he feels. >> How does it make you feel? >> It hurts. I mean, it definitely hurts
that he no longer loves me. I I've always considered him my father and you know, like, you know, and that and I
always will. Now it's up to Christopher to convince the jury of that love and [music] his
innocence. >> Do you swear for me that the evidence you're about to give will be the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? >> I do. >> It's the moment Christopher Sutton has
been waiting for. >> I think anyone who is innocent or wrongfully accused would would want to
get up there and and speak their mind. It's my word against Garrett's word. It's what it all boils down to.
>> He paints Garrick Cop as an insatiable drug fiend. >> Constant constant drug habit. I mean, I did drugs
all day. >> Christopher claims Garrett broke into his parents' home in a desperate bid to
steal marijuana. All day long, a hopped up Garrett [music] had been calling him for drugs.
>> I I kind of told him, "No, no, no, no." Christopher says he kept drugs boxed up
in the closet of his old bedroom where his mother often slept and Garrett knew it.
>> How much marijuana did you store in these boxes in in the top box? About 2 lb. And what was the value of that?
>> 7,000 bucks. >> Once inside, Christopher claims Garrett panicked when he saw John and Susan
awake and shot them. Is it possible that this was a robbery gone bad? >> No. No.
>> It was an assassination. >> But Christopher says he had no reason to want his parents dead. He got over his
anger about being sent to Samoa long ago. >> When I more matured and realized it
wasn't something they did to me maliciously, they did what they thought was in my best interest.
>> He even tells the jury Paradise Cove turned out to be good for him. You benefited from the program?
>> Yes. >> But then in an unexpected moment, he becomes highly emotional when discussing
his alleged mistreatment there. >> How were you feeling physically during that time?
>> I was what I was what they called in denial. >> You need a break? >> Yeah. Ladies [snorts] and gentlemen,
>> Christopher's surprising breakdown on the stand is evidence. Prosecutors say that he's still haunted by his
experience. [music] >> His only emotional reaction was about himself, was not about what had happened
to his parents. Hopefully that made an impact on the jury. >> Not a tear for his mother.
Not a tear. >> Every one of those bullets was Christopher saying to his parents, "I
hate you. I hate you. I hate you. You owe me. >> He's greedy and he's lazy and he
believes that he's entitled. >> Is there enough evidence in this case to convict my client of this crime? And the
answer is no. Because what is the evidence? Forced statements. Cop statement is a
total lie. He's the killer. >> It's now up to the jury. >> All right, everyone. Uh we understand
the jury has reached a verdict. >> After a day and a half of deliberations, >> we the jury find the defendant
Christopher Patrick Sutton guilty of first-degree murder is charged. >> You were stunned at the verdict.
>> Absolutely. I definitely thought I was going to be acquitted. >> Before sentencing, an emotional John
Sutton addresses the court. >> Regardless of the result, this is a bad case. I lost Susan.
I lost Christopher long before that. I lost my eyesight. >> He doesn't ask for leniency. A few feet
away, another father sat grieving his loss. Garrett's dad, Mitchell. And you question [music] yourself as to
you're a father of a murderer. [snorts] I thought I taught him right from wrong.
I'm just sorry it happened to the hands of my son. Christopher is sentenced to life in
prison with no possibility of parole. His sister Melissa says she'll never speak
to him again. You know, my parents were the best parents. And the fact that one child did something awful does not mean
that they didn't like love him unconditionally. They [music] did everything they could to give him
every opportunity that he deserved and and [music] he just didn't take advantage of it. But the whole trial
kind of [snorts] opened the wound back up. you know, the loss of my mom, the blindness of my dad, and the loss of my
brother. [snorts] >> Do you think about your family >> all the time? Absolutely. You know,
>> I remember all the good times. I remember all the bad times, too. I mean, like, it hurts me to to to hear them,
you know, think that I had anything to do with this. It's It's unfortunate. >> As for their father, John's focus right
now is getting his eyesight back. At Scapens's Eye Research Institute in Massachusetts, work on optic nerve
regeneration is promising. >> Put your chin down a little more. >> And at Massachusetts Eye and Ear
Infirmary. >> Here we go. And I'm looking right at your optic nerve. >> Dr. Joseph Rizzo is ready to start
discussing electronic technology [music] implanting a device around the back of the eye.
>> Our job is to try to make you as functional as you can be. While he waits for a breakthrough, John
Sutton remarkably continues to practice law. He memorizes his briefs ex >> and with the help of an aid, he's
winning cases much like he used to. And he has a new love interest. The world of darkness [music] he now
lives in is slowly brightening with each passing day. >> It's really almost like I'm another
[music] person. There's so many changes in my life. It would be completely understandable
if you felt sorry for yourself sometimes. Do you? >> Doesn't [music] do any good. I don't
believe in feeling sorry for myself because then you're just wallowing in disaster. I just decided that I wasn't
going to sit around for the rest of my life and get bored. So, I [music] have done everything that
I can possibly do without hesitation. Heat. Heat. [music] [music] [music] >> [music]
[music] >> This is a murder case that began with a nightmare and a woman who had visions of
violence. To me, it was a dream. But I woke up and it just startled me. I usually have very strange dreams. When
I wake up in the morning, I remember bits and pieces and within half an hour it's completely gone.
I said, "I'm worried about Kelly. I think Kelly's hurt. >> Kelly Brennan was a nurse at one of the
local hospitals. Well thought of at the hospital. Kelly was beautiful. When she came in
the room, it was like glamorous. She was patient oriented, wasn't afraid to take charge. We called her the
sergeant. >> Tell me what happened. What did you dream about, Kelly? Everything was black
and she was arguing with somebody and I saw the sign for Mark's Landing. >> On February 15th, 2010, Kelly Brennan
went missing. >> She didn't show up for work. There was like a unsettling panic that we didn't
know what what happened to Kelly. >> Something was not right. It was not adding up. And that's why we called the
police. >> 911. What's the problem there? >> I think there's been a murder. We sent people down to start to look at
Mark's landing and in that area to see if they could find Kelly and actually put a aviation unit up in the air.
Helicopter had had spotted what they believed to be a a person laying in the wooded area. Shortly later, we were able
to uh identify that it was Kelly Brennan. >> If you follow me, Peter, right back in
here toward the scrub. >> Wow. Back in the bush. >> And this is where Kelly ended her life.
>> Right here. Most of the injuries are are directed direct at her head. So there's a frenzied attack with many
blows being struck. There's a lot of anger and rage in that once the body's found and it's where she says it is.
>> Mark's landing. I said, "I can see Mark's landing." >> Of course, then she becomes your prime
suspect. >> In the dream is just like I told them. She was arguing with somebody.
>> My name is Todd Deritany. I was a criminal defense lawyer. And one day, Sheila Trot came into my office and told
me that she was accused of murder. Sheila was trying to convey to me that she didn't commit any murder and that
she merely had a dream, a vision about this that came to her, like she was clairvoyant.
>> If it hadn't been for me, they wouldn't have gone to Mark's Landing looking for
her. I told the truth, and I'm continuing to tell the truth. I did not kill Kelly Brennan. You don't believe
that she has some supernatural ability that all these facts came to her in a dream?
>> No, I don't think she's clairvoyant. I think she's a killer. >> I'm Peter Vans. Tonight on 48 hours,
a vision of murder. It's hard to imagine this picturesque seashore marks landing on Florida's
space coast as a beachside grave. >> Is this the spot where Kelly Brennan was lying on the ground?
>> He noticed her legs sticking out from the bushes a little bit and kind of the
lower part of her torso. It was on the morning of February 16th, 2010 that chopper pilot John Copala of the Brevard
County Sheriff's Department spotted a body. >> We landed. I got out of the helicopter,
ran over to her. I saw a lot of trauma to her head. It's It's a very sad moment to see somebody dead like that.
It was 46-year-old Kelly Brennan who had vanished from her home in Indie Atlantic
less than 24 hours earlier. >> There was no saving Kelly Brennan. >> No, unfortunately, no. There was no
saving her. >> She was so alive. She was always, you know, running around doing things and
then to know that she was dead. It was just a total shock. >> Lou Ervy and Kelly were close friends
and nurses at a local hospital. They often kayaked together. >> When you think about Kelly Brennan, what
do you miss the most? >> Her friendship. Working with her was good because she is a good nurse. She
knew her stuff and but also just as a friend. >> Kelly was committed to her patients.
Even after she was diagnosed with an incurable disease, multiple sclerosis, >> it would flare up at times and she would
just keep working and and work right through it, which was another thing I admired about her. Sheila Trot, the
woman at the center of this murder, says Kelly Brennan was her friend as well. What is it about her that you liked?
>> We had the type of friendship where we wouldn't see each other for four or five
years and then something would bring us together. She hosted parties. She liked to be the center of attention. Kelly was
a great girl. There was nothing that she did to deserve that at all. >> So, how did it come to this? Sheila
Trot, suspected of brutally murdering her friend and dumping her body right here among these bushes. Well, it's a
complicated tale of secrets, lies, and intrigue. A story that begins with an eerie dream and ends like a
Shakespearean tragedy. >> Does this case have an affair? >> Yes. >> Sex? >> Sure.
>> Jealousy on both sides. Major Todd Goodyear is the lead investigator >> and a nightmare and visions
and who knows what. Clairvoyance. >> Of course, that's our our suspect saying that she's clairvoyant. For us, that's
somebody that's trying to live with what they've done. >> I woke up and it just startled me and I
said, "I'm worried about Kelly. I think Kelly's hurt." >> In this dream, was Kelly Brennan dead?
>> Did you see her bloodied? >> No. Mm-m. >> Did you see her body at Mark's Landing?
>> Uh-uh. No. >> You did not kill Kelly. >> No. [snorts] No. I would never have hurt
Kelly. No, I never would have hurt Kelly. >> But to truly understand just how strange
this story is, you have to go back in time 20 years. Kelly Brennan, a nursing student, and Sheila Trot were friends.
Sheila was working three jobs to put her husband Daniel through flight school. >> Dan was an upwardly mobile kind of guy.
Liked limelight a little bit. Some of the things we heard was he a little narcissistic. One of those people that
liked to believe he had a little more power than a little more status. >> She was head over heels.
>> Allison Bartlett remembers when her best friend Sheila fell for the tall, handsome, aspiring pilot. I never heard
or saw that spark in her that I did when she talked about Dan and sent photos of
Dan and I could see that they were going to be getting married. >> And what did she tell you about his
personality? >> Fun. Like the same things that she did. I think in a lot of ways she found a
soulmate. >> At least she thought she did. >> At least she thought she did. Sheila and Dan were married on August
26th, 1989. The couple had two sons, Kraton and Graham. Sheila became a real estate
agent, and Daniel Trot achieved his dream of becoming an airline pilot. In 2002, his political career also took off
when he was elected mayor of their small town in the Atlantic. Based on your investigation, were Dan and Sheila Trot
considered a power couple in Indantic? >> I think within town because of his status as being, you know, formerly in
the political circles there and her being a real estate agent and being fairly wellto-d do, I think they were in
that social circle to where they would be well known throughout the community. From the outside, Sheila and Dan seemed
to have the perfect life, but images can be deceiving. What did you see in his behavior? What
happened? >> He began having affairs. I would notice his ring was on the counter. He wasn't
wearing his ring. And then when I would say, "Look at we need to talk. What's going on?" He would swear and cuss at
me. >> That's Sheila's story. 48 hours reached out to Dan Trot about these allegations,
but he refused to comment. By January 2009, Sheila had had enough. >> So, you asked for the divorce. Oh,
absolutely. Yes. I said, "I'm done." >> While her marriage was crumbling, Sheila
and Kelly met for a girl's night out. And it wasn't long before Sheila realized that Kelly's six-year marriage
to restaurant manager Gino Row was on the rocks, too. >> She had made a point of saying that she
wouldn't care if Gino had an affair, which I thought was a really strange thing to say.
Dan Trot moved out and joined a cycling group where Kelly Brennan was a member. And soon they were going out on more
than long bike rides. >> Dan and Kelly were both lying to everybody, saying that they weren't
having an affair. And while this whole thing was going on, I was having my problems with Dan. He was just being
very belligerent. >> Sheila's mother repeated to investigators her daughter's claims of
other affairs. But Major Goodyear says it was Dan's admitted relationship with Kelly that led to murder.
>> She's going to lose Dan. [music] I'm going to kill the thing that he now loves. Or I'm going to take that away
and I'm going to hurt him as bad as he's hurt me. And then you get the third thing. If I can't have him, nobody's
going to have him. >> You've been portrayed as being obsessed with Dan. [laughter] You laugh. You you
that you're saying that's not true. >> Oh, no. He would I'm sure he wishes I was obsessed with him. No, absolutely
not. You couldn't bear the thought of losing him. You couldn't bear the thought of him with another woman.
>> Oh, no. Well, the fact that I set him up with Kelly would, you know, that would
be a little different, but uh >> with Kelly Brennan. >> Yes, absolutely. >> You set them up?
>> Yes, absolutely. >> Wait a second. >> Yeah, she was my ticket out of a bad marriage.
>> But police aren't buying one word of Sheila's story, and they want to question her about Kelly Brennan's
murder. God's honest truth. If I was going to kill anybody for any reason, it would have been him.
[music] That's the place. That's the place that she loves. That's where her heart is
right there. Sheila Trot had a lifelong love affair with the water. >> Yeah, I should have been born with
gills, I suppose. >> Long before she was accused of murder, she spent carefree summers on this
picturesque Canadian island. >> This is where she learned to swim, and this was her favorite place in the whole
world. >> Margaret Buyers says her daughter doesn't belong at the center of this
murder investigation. But back with her family in Canada, used to just love to run through these rocks. If she could
see this right now, she would just be in tears. This is where she belongs. >> It was Sheila's love of the water that
drew her to live on the Florida coast, where she was a diving instructor and went to college.
Now she swims in a sea of suspicion. >> I did not kill Kelly Brennan. She was the best thing that could have ever
happened to me. In fact, Sheila says she orchestrated the relationship between Dan and Kelly one night over dinner to
speed up her own divorce. >> So I said to her, I said, "You know something, Kelly?" I said, "You and Dan
would be great for each other." And she just perked up and she said, "Really?" And I said, "Yeah." I said, "But Kelly,
you're going to have to lose weight." >> But prosecutor Samantha Barrett says Sheila is making up the matchmaker
story. Barrett says that Sheila was simmering with anger and jealousy over the relationship. anger that finally
boiled over when she savagely killed Kelly on this lawn right behind me. >> It was horrific. She was lying in wait
for Kelly when Kelly came out of her house. I believe once she started the attack and she knew Kelly wasn't going
to be able to fight back, that that's when the the rage [music] came to the surface.
Authorities begin building a timeline that prosecutor Jim McMaster says started on the night of February 15th,
2010 when Kelly misses an appointment with her personal trainer >> and they couldn't find her or couldn't
contact her and couldn't find her. >> Kelly's roommate files a missing person's report two hours later.
>> They checked every police department, every hospital, fire, rescue, highway patrol. They went to her residence
[music] and were clueless as to where Kelly Brennan was. >> Meanwhile, according to her sons, Graham
andraton, Sheila arrives home after a 4-hour trip to Walmart. She was dizzy, shaking, and acting [music] strangely.
>> So, our rescue was addressing emergency. >> So, her son's girlfriend calls 911.
>> The paramedics arrived. They couldn't find anything physically wrong with her,
so they left. An hour later, another call to 911. >> My boyfriend's mom just had a seizure
about an hour ago and they said to call back if she's been acting weird or anything and she's acting very strange.
>> She was then transported to the hospital and they ran routine tests and nothing
of medical significance was identified. She was released from the hospital and came home. When they returned from the
hospital in the wee hours of the morning, Sheila begins talking about the dream.
>> She called her younger son Graham into the bedroom. She told him she had a bad
dream. She kept seeing Kelly's face in the dark and that she believed that she hurt Kelly.
>> Worried, Sheila's sons telephone their grandmother. >> Graham just said to me, "Margaret, we
need you. We need you." She drives from her Florida condo to Sheila's house where she finds her
daughter curled up in a fetal position on her bed. >> She was shaking from head to toe. And she said,
"Call the police." I said, "What happened?" She said, "Mom, everything's black. Everything's black and all I can
see is Kelly's face." It was Graham that said to me, "Margaret, I think mom's killed Kelly."
Fearing her daughter was having a nervous breakdown, Margaret Buyers makes yet another 911 call.
>> Um, we just need a policeman, please. >> What's the problem there, please? >> This call would change Sheila's life
forever. >> I think there's been a murder. My daughter I has had a nervous breakdown
and she's saying she's killed somebody. >> Your daughter's telling you she killed
somebody? >> Yes. >> All right. She Did she didn't tell you who she's saying she killed?
>> She's saying she I don't know. Kelly. >> Kelly? Do you did she tell you where
this happened? >> Well, she's it's down Mark's Landing. >> Mark's Landing. >> It's sort of the defendant's own words
through her mother and and through her sons. I mean, she's basically confessing to the crime in the 911 call.
>> After that explosive call, officers rush to Sheila Trot's home and she continues
rambling about the dream. >> She's making some statements. I believe I hurt someone. I keep seeing Kelly's
face to the point that the Indian Atlantic police believe we may have a homicide on our hands.
>> Then detectives put two and two together. >> Wait a minute. We had a missing person
report last night of Kelly Brennan. >> And when you make that connection, what are you thinking?
>> You're talking to the killer. >> That's when Kelly's body is spotted from the air and cops on the ground rush to
Mark's Landing. Detectives have been at this Indie Atlantic home for some time. All after the body of 46-year-old Kelly
Brennan was found 10 miles away in this sandune area. >> Kelly's body was found [music] exactly
where Sheila dreamt it would be. And so less than 2 days after Kelly Brennan disappeared, Sheila Trot is [music]
arrested for murder. >> I'm going to be in jail for a very long time. Okay. >> Sheil Trot calls her son Kraton. They're
charging me with first-degree murder, >> she says. But it's not true. I didn't do
it. >> Sheila hires defense attorney Todd Darateni. And even though that dream led
to Kelly's body, Deritany insists the prosecution's case isn't so ironclad. >> The police didn't have DNA. They didn't
have fingerprints, witnesses, and they didn't have any blood that matched the Sheila Trot. Looks like you've got at a
minimum a case of reasonable doubt. Absolutely reasonable doubt. It's a dream case.
>> So little physical evidence, prosecutors say because Sheila Trot planned it that
way. >> It's not like she all of a sudden found out that Kelly was having an affair with
Dan Trot and then confronted her immediately and beat her to death. She'd known this had been going on for months
and months and months and she planned it down to the last detail. She's a murderer.
My daughter I has had a nervous breakdown and she's saying she's killed somebody.
>> Did you kill Kelly Brennan? >> No, I didn't kill Kelly Brennan. Absolutely not. Sheila Trot remains
behind bars for 4 and a half years awaiting trial for the brutal murder of her friend Kelly Brennan.
>> She said, "All I want to do is hug my boys." And I understand that cuz all I want to do is hug my girl.
>> Today, you absolutely believe in your daughter's innocence. Correct. >> Absolutely, 110%.
>> As the trial finally begins in September of 2014, >> remain seated. Come to order, please.
For two seconds. Investigators believe they've built a strong but admittedly circumstantial case beginning with that
bizarre dream. >> The defendant began saying that she'd had a dream, that she may have hurt
Kelly and that it happened at Mark's Landing. >> Do you have an eyewitness to this
murder? >> No. >> Do you have a murder weapon? >> No. >> Do you have Sheila Trot's DNA on Kelly
Brennan? >> No. No, I don't believe so. But Major Todd Goodyear does have a theory of the
murder based on blood stains and divots in the grass in front of Kelly's home. >> Peter, this is the house where we
believe that Sheila Trot laid in wait, waited for Kelly Brennan to come out to her vehicle, snuck up behind her at
nightfall, hit her in the back of the head, and then continued to hit her in the head multiple multiple times with
some type of object. We believe a hammer. Goodyear believes Sheila then put Kelly's body inside Kelly's own SUV
where CSIs found her blood on the passenger side floor. He says Sheila then drove Kelly's SUV to Mark's Landing
where she dumped the body. Then she abandoned the SUV at a nearby condo. >> What kind of a murderer could I have
been that I didn't leave fingerprints? I didn't leave hair. I had no bruises. I had no broken nails, no cuts on me or
anything like this. Nothing connects me to this crime whatsoever. >> This was not a physical fight. [music]
This was an ambush where she bashed in this woman's brains with a hammer. Um, she probably didn't have to break a nail
to do that. What the lack of physical evidence means to me is how premeditated the crime actually was. Defense attorney
Todd Deritany couldn't wait to bring this case to trial. >> I was absolutely certain that this was
80% chance I could have won this case working at half speed. It was that good of a case.
>> But as the trial begins, Dariteni won't be able to show how good a case he thought he had.
He's nowhere near the courtroom. >> You're looking for 4x4 two wheel drive. He's selling used cars across town at a
dealership he now owns, Big Boy Motors. He has had his own legal troubles. Florida State Supreme Court has
permanently disbarred him for harming clients by taking their money and then failing to represent them. So, while
Darrett Teni is counting the cash from his car business, Sheila is fighting for her freedom. The prosecution plays that
damning 911 call from [music] Sheila's mother. >> All right. She did. She didn't tell you
who she's saying she killed. >> I don't know. >> Did she tell you where this happened?
>> Mark Landy. >> The man at the center of this alleged love triangle takes the stand.
>> My name is Daniel Trot. Last name is spelled T R O TT. >> It's Sheila's husband and Kelly's
boyfriend at the time of the murder. Clearly annoyed, Dan Trot wishes he could be anywhere but here.
>> Do you recall the date of February 15th of 2010? >> Yeah. >> You have specific memory about that,
Dave? >> I've been spending nearly the last 5 years trying to forget it, but yes, I
suppose I remember a few things. >> Prosecutors need to establish Dan's affair with Kelly as the motive which
pushed Sheila to kill. You're looking forward to seeing her that evening? Absolutely. Very much so.
>> Sheila's new attorneys, public defenders, see an opening. They use Dan Trot to point the finger at a man they
believe had the strongest motive to kill Kelly, her jealous husband, Gino Row, who reacted with violence when he
learned of the affair. >> He physically shows up at your house and confronts you. He physically broke
through the door and came up and essentially assaulted me. Yes. >> Did he have a weapon in his hand when he
barged through the door? >> Yes, he did. >> Describe that weapon. >> Uh, it was some sort of jack.
>> Dan suffered injuries to his [music] face and neck. He says moments later, Kelly followed Gino home where Gino
turned his rage on her. >> He uh attacked her in the garage, essentially was choking her. It was a
rather rather violent encounter. >> Less than two months later, Kelly was murdered.
>> State calls Gino Row. >> Gino Row testifies Sheila Trot was the master manipulator who taunted him into
attacking Dan. >> She would call me from time to time and say, "Hey, this is going on that they
were having an affair." >> How many times was the defendant calling you about this?
>> A lot. Did you believe it at the time? I did not. >> Prosecutors say Sheila used emails to
light Gino's fuse as well. But they also revealed her own deep-seated anger. In one email, she wrote, "He was sitting in
front of you lying to your face." Were you hoping that Gina was going to go over and attack his wife or attack your
husband, putting an end to this affair so you could have Dan back? >> Oh, no. Oh, no. I wasn't upset that Dan
was having an affair with Kelly. I was upset that he was spending the money that he was.
>> Still trying to prove no one was more upset than Gino. [music] Sheila's attorneys want the jury to hear
a voicemail that he left Dan 2 months before Kelly's murder. >> You mother come on. You want to up this
marriage, suck it. I'm going to catch your mother ass. >> But the judge refuses, declaring it
irrelevant. Gino's the only person who knew where Kelly specifically was that evening.
>> It sounds like you think Gino's the killer. >> I'm not going to say who I think it is.
Gino could absolutely do it and Kelly wanted out of that marriage. >> Prosecutors say Gino has a strong alibi.
They say this security video from a drugstore in another town proves Gino couldn't have been at the murder scene.
And Kelly's next door neighbor, Scott Vickers, testifies that he saw a blonde woman, not a man, on Kelly's lawn that
night. >> Um, it was a light colored a light colored outfit, which, you know, that's
or else I wouldn't have been able to to really see, but it was uh some type of light outfit.
>> That light colored outfit, detectives theorize, could be a reason why none of
Kelly's blood was found on Sheila. What do you think about their contention that
you were wearing some sort of hazmat? Like >> that's the most ridiculous thing I've
ever heard. We're next to Disney World. Why didn't they just put me in a Mickey Mouse suit?
>> Are you serious? >> Things are about to get very serious at Sheila Trot's trial. Her two sons are
about to take the stand against her, and what they have to say is another nightmare for their mother.
[music] In a tragedy that seems to know no bounds, Sheila Trot's two sons are about
to testify at her murder trial for the prosecution. >> How are you related to her?
>> She's my mother. >> And do you see her in the courtroom here today? >> Yes. >> Can you? With his mother watching and
listening just 15 ft away. Graham Trot first describes helping her when she seemed to be having a seizure the night
Kelly Brennan was killed. >> I picked her up and put her on the couch cuz she was hitting her head against the
wall. And >> prosecutor Samantha Barrett quickly cuts to the chase, asking him what happened
after his mother came home from the hospital a few hours later. >> She was telling me she was seeing
things. >> What did she say she saw? She saw Kelly's face and she said she thinks
she's hurt and a beach. >> Despite the prosecutor's efforts, >> did you ever hear her say, "I think I
hurt Kelly." >> No. >> Graham won't repeat what he initially told investigators in a recorded
interview. >> She says, "I think I hurt Kelly." And I keep seeing her face and then I hurt
her. And I was like, "Well, that's not good." But what he does reveal next is a bombshell. And it's something he did not
tell law enforcement until shortly before the trial. >> I said, "Do you want to drive down to
this beach that you're seeing and we can see there's nothing there and then we can call it a night and go to sleep."
>> Sheila agreed, taking her sons Graham and Kraton and Graham's girlfriend on a
Macob field trip to Mark's Landing. And there with Sheila leading the way, the boys 16 and 18 years old at the time saw
Kelly's bludgeon body. >> You could see I mean it was just a lifeless body just lying there.
>> Was your mother with you when you saw that? >> Yes. >> Um what did she say? >> I don't nothing really. She's just in
shock. Why would you take your two teenage sons out to [clears throat] Mark's Landing
and show them where the body was? [snorts] >> The kids took me. >> You led them to that place.
>> I didn't take them right to the body. We walked around and we were just on our
way out when we saw her feed. >> Why is it when your mother came over to the house, you didn't tell her? We just
got back from Mark's Landing where we saw a dead body. >> Uh, you'd have to ask the kids that. I
don't know. It just never really came up. When my mother first came in there, didn't come up, Sheila didn't come up.
>> You'd just been to see a dead body, a woman whose whose skull was crushed. >> Well, when my mom came in, I was in bed
and she woke me up. I don't remember the conversation very well. >> As inexplicable as that [music] seems,
the horror of the night didn't end there for Sheila's sons. She told them she also had visions of a nearby vacant lot.
And that's where Kraton Trot tells the court they made a second damning discovery.
A bag. >> Mom opened it up, went into the purse and saw opened up the wallet and we saw
Kelly's driver's license. >> What did you do next after you saw the bag with uh Kelly Brennan's driver's
license in the wallet? um told her that we didn't want to have anything to do with it, that me and Graham were going
to go to sleep and that she had to deal with it on her own. How important are these boys to your
case? >> Their testimony is absolutely critical. It seemed that they were determined to
do what was really the right thing and tell the truth. >> Sir, you're free to go. After her son's
scathing testimony, Sheila's defense team faces a huge uphill battle. They try to poke holes in the forensic
evidence gathered at Mark's Landing. >> Well, we know that Kelly's body comes out of the car and comes down this way.
And we know that because there's blood transfer found on this pole right here. >> Kelly's blood was on this very post.
>> Right. >> The defense says not so fast. the spots on the fence post. And did you forward
them for forensic testing? >> They were not. >> So, as to whether those items are blood
or a kid's red slurpee, we're left to guess. Right. >> If you would like to put it that way.
>> And the defense tries to tear apart the alleged motive that Sheila was jealous
and murderously angry over her husband's affair with Kelly. Elizabeth McHugh was
Sheila's divorce attorney. She says Sheila seemed fine with the affair. >> She really didn't have a problem with
Kelly because she knew her and so she knew she would be very good with the children and wouldn't really be a
problem in the divorce. >> Okay. >> Motive aside, Sheila's dream about Kelly lying hurt here at Mark's Landing and
that field trip with her two sons here are among the strongest evidence against her. But there is a new twist to this
tale. Sheila says that dream was actually a memory of witnessing Kelly being killed by a strange man.
>> She was arguing with him and I heard him say but Kelly and she said enough and
then she went and bent into the car to do something and I saw him hit her. >> While behind bars awaiting trial, Sheila
says that her memory has come back to her and she's written a detailed account of what happened.
Then you write he dragged her into the grass and kept hitting her. >> Mhm. >> Is that what you saw?
>> Yes. Yes. And I didn't do anything. >> You didn't call police. Why not? >> I don't know.
>> Sheila shared this memory in a letter to a friend. She claims that she had decided to stop at Kelly's house that
night to ask Kelly to stop driving by her house looking for Dan. And at the exact moment she arrived, Sheila saw a
strange man attack Kelly. >> How would you describe this man who was with Kelly?
>> It was too dark. It was too dark. >> This letter, prosecutors say this is a confession. [clears throat]
>> No, it's not a confession letter. That's my account of what happened that evening.
>> But Sheila's new account becomes even more bizarre. Instead of running for her
life or to the nearest police station, she followed the stranger's car all the way to Mark's Landing and watched him
dispose of Kelly's body and belongings. >> Do you understand as you sit across from
me right now that your story is a fantastic story? You follow the killer, >> which doesn't make a lot of sense to
anyone. >> And then you don't tell cops what happened, what unfolded. You don't even
tell your own mother. All these things are consciousness of guilt, are they not?
>> Well, if they're consciousness of guilt, why would we call the police? If I committed this crime and I had killed
her, I would have taken off. I'm not stupid enough to stick around. >> Come to order, please.
>> And Sheila believes this new memory could set her free. But the question is, will the jury get to hear Sheila's
version of what happened the night Kelly Brennan was killed? Is Sheila clairvoyant? Has she had
visions throughout her life? Dreams that have come true? >> I don't think so, Peter.
>> With her daughter's dream now being described as an eyewitness account of Kelly's murder, 48 hours has brought
Margaret [music] a copy of that document Sheila wrote. >> Do you recognize the handwriting on this
letter? >> Yes. >> Whose is it? >> Sheila's. She reads for the first time from its 22 pages.
>> He dragged her into the grass and kept hitting her. I felt the blood rush out
of my arms and legs and I started to shake. >> Are these the writings of an eyewitness
to a murder or the writings of a murderer describing what she has done? >> I think she must have seen it. She
couldn't have done it. Peter, >> I did not murder Kelly. I witnessed it. Now came the moment in court where
Sheila Trot could take the stand and persuade the jury her new story is true. But on the advice of her attorneys,
>> first of all, have you made a decision about whether you wish to testify in your case or not?
>> Yes, sir. >> What is your decision >> not to? Sir, >> that you've chosen not to testify?
>> Yes, sir. Sheila's first lawyer thinks he knows why Sheila didn't testify and
explain that letter. >> Obviously, this was just her confessing to the crime. She needed to get it off
her chest. >> Todd Deratani. [laughter] Todd Deritani is a liar. >> So, the case goes straight to closing
arguments with prosecutors zeroing in on what Sheila did say after Kelly disappeared.
The smoking gun in this case are the defendant's own words telling the police where the dead body
is. >> They play Margaret's damning 911 call one last time. >> And my daughter I has had a nervous
breakdown and she's saying she's killed somebody. >> Your daughter's telling you she killed
somebody? >> Yes. Defense attorneys make no mention of Sheila's new claim she saw Kelly's
killer. Instead, they try to pick apart the state's case. >> You're being asked to believe a 115 lb
person is going to be able to pick up a 146-lb person, probably deceased at this
point. And no pun intended, but there's dead weight. But she's going to pick her
up from the floor, lift her up, and place her in the seat of not of a Honda Civic,
but of an SUV. Place her in there with no neighbors hearing a thing. No neighbors hearing
blow after blow after blow. Does that make any logical sense? They end by pointing the finger at
Kelly's jealous husband. >> She had no ill will, no spite, no evil intent, no premeditation.
You saw the person. You heard from the person that had all those things and how he acted on those feelings. Ladies and
gentlemen, the decision that you need to speak is that Sheila Grand Trot is not guilty.
Thank you. >> Less than 3 hours after beginning their deliberations, jurors reach a verdict.
Margaret can't wait to hear the good news. >> I was dancing. I was dancing in the
elevator. I was so excited cuz I knew I knew and I kept saying we're going to bring our girl home.
>> Instead, >> the defendant, Sheila Graham Trot, is guilty of firstdegree premeditated
murder. >> Guilty of firstdegree murder. >> Sheila Trot was immediately sentenced.
>> It's the sentence of the court. You serve um life in prison as a minimum mandatory sentence.
For Margaret Buyers, who wishes she never made that 911 call, the embers of blame burned deep within her heart.
>> You are a loving mother and grandmother, and you love Sheila dearly. >> Yes. >> Does it tear you up at night to think
>> that I put my own daughter in jail? >> Yes, it sure does. It just tears me up
to think I put my kid in jail for the rest of her life. Absolutely. >> Isn't it time for you to stop telling
these stories and tell the truth? >> Don't let your loved ones suffer thinking that you're innocent when you
did this. >> I told the truth and I'm continuing to tell the truth and I'm going to keep
telling the truth. >> She killed Kelly Brennan. She's a murderer. She's finished
as well. She should be. For Kelly Brennan's mother, the taste of justice is bittersweet.
>> That's a tragedy for that family as well. >> Almost 5 years after her death, Kelly's
friend Lou says her kind spirit lives on. >> When she did come to work, she was always happy and she had her little
corner. It was called Kelly's Corner, a place in the hospital where Kelly gave extra care and attention to her
patients. >> And even after she died, that was a an area of reverence. If you went there,
um, it was it was comforting. >> Why shouldn't this audience believe you're just a clever sociopath, that you
are a killer? You know the difference between right and wrong. Yeah, >> but in the case of Kelly Brennan, you
don't care. >> I do care. I do care. When would her body have been discovered? You said yourself, who led
them to the body? It was us saying that it was at Mark's Landing. They would never have checked at Mark's Landing.
>> But despite leading her sons to Kelly's battered body and being found guilty by
a jury of six, Sheila Trot is unrepentant. The real killer, she insists, still walks free.
>> I have to live with a lot of guilt for not stopping the attack. Um, now I'm paying the price.
Kelly's family has closure, but they don't have justice cuz I didn't kill Kelly.
>> 48 hours. Don't miss an episode. Heat. Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] [music]
>> It is a case that has haunted the public for more than 13 years. And many feared
that the Gilgo Beach murders may never be solved. >> The officer located a body.
>> It seemed to be wrapped in burlap, which didn't make any sense. The crime scene gets expanded.
I'm called and chief, we found another set of remains. They find another one and another one. We were dealing with a
serial killer. Well, they're available. They're vulnerable and very petite. >> This killer has a type,
>> right? Does he want the petite uh body because he wants to feel more empowered
and more in control? >> I want the world to know like my sister [music] mattered. I want answers. I just
want answers. >> An arrest more than a decade in the making in a serial killer case that's
baffled law enforcement and the public. 59-year-old Rex Huerman plead not guilty. I dropped my phone. I couldn't
believe it. >> So, just who is Rex Herman? An architect who ran a company called RH Consultants
and Associates. >> Rex, hello. How you doing? >> Good to see you. >> When a job that should have been routine
suddenly becomes not routine. >> Yeah. >> I get the phone call. >> Rex Herman is a mystery man. Rex is
capable of presenting himself one way to one person, one way to another person. >> My first memory of Rex was that he was
very big, imposing, scary, angry. He was bullied. He was bigger than everyone else. The kids would gang up on
him. And Rex was very smart, too. >> He's a smart person. [music] Very smart. >> He liked to shock people. He was
interested in power games. Rex loved hunting [music] and he loved guns. >> Going out shooting, hunting. That was
his passion. >> All petite, all bound in burlap bags. >> The burlap on the bodies that points
right at a hunter. >> It was DNA collected from a pizza slice he tossed in a Manhattan trash can that
came back as a match with hair found on the victims. That's where we obtained, you know, his full profile from from the
pizza crust left in the box. >> In terms of speaking to my client, the only thing I [music] can tell you that
he did say as he was in tears was, "I didn't do this." >> Everyone's [music] just trying to put
the pieces together. I want to know what I missed. I think we all want to know what we missed.
Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] >> Not far from this quiet stretch of Gilgo Beach on Long Island, New York,
investigators uncovered the hidden remains of four young women. The mystery of who they were and how
they got here might have stayed a secret if not for a woman named Shannon Gilbert.
In the early morning hours of May 1st, 2010, 23-year-old Shannon working as an escort called 911.
>> State police. >> Yeah, there's somebody after me. The call came from a neighborhood not
far from Gilgo Beach. These >> people are trying to kill me. >> Shannon starts running,
knocking on doors. >> Where are you, Shannon? >> She screams and then nothing. Shannon was gone.
Hello. Hello. >> K9 searched the area exhaustively for Shawn and Gilbert. >> Dominic Veron was chief of detectives at
the Suffach County Police Department. Months passed without a sign of the missing woman. And then in December 2010
near Gilgo Beach, a police officer and his K-9 named Blue found human remains. >> Everyone assumed it was Shannon Gilbert.
>> But it wasn't Shannon. Stunned searchers would go on to discover the remains of
four other women. The women were identified as Moren Brainer Barnes, Melissa Bartholomew, Megan Waterman, and
Amber Costello. Like Shannon, all were in their 20s. All were online escorts, all petite. Three of [music] the four
were wrapped in burlap, the kind you can find in hunting stores. They became known as the Gilgo Four.
It's really, really hard cuz I miss her so much. >> 48 Hours has reported on this case since
2010. Over the years, we've secured exclusive interviews with the family and friends of the Gilgo 4. Missy K will
never forget the wintry day when she got the devastating news. The detectives, they came to my house and just said that
Moren has been positively identified as one of the victims on the Ocean Parkway.
Her sister, Maren Brainer Barnes, a mother of two, [music] was the first to disappear on July 9th, 2007.
>> She was very smart and very creative. >> She liked being a mom. >> She loved being a mom. But life as a
single mom living in Norwich, Connecticut was difficult. Missy didn't know it. But Moren had turned to escort
work and that July went to New York City for a weekend to make money. On her way home, she called Missy from
Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan. >> Attention, please. >> I could hear the commotion from the
train station. From the time that she called me, it was poof. She was gone. She reported Moren missing. Eventually,
officers would tell Missy that after her sister's disappearance, someone had used
Moren's cell phone to make a call from Long Island. It wasn't known then, but those two
locations, Long Island and Midtown Manhattan, would become important clues in the hunt for a serial killer.
Nearly two years to the day that Meen vanished. 24y old Melissa Bartholomew went missing in July of 2009.
Also from Midtown Manhattan. Lyn Bartholomew is Melissa's mother. >> How often do you think about Melissa?
>> Every single minute of the day. It just didn't happen to the girls. I mean, it
destroyed all of our families. >> Melissa moved from Buffalo to New York City to work as a hairdresser. At some
point, she also began working as an escort and then disappeared. About a week after she went missing,
Melissa's then 15-year-old sister, Amanda, started getting calls from Melissa's phone. We agreed not to show
Amanda's face. >> She answers, you know, Melissa, where have you been? And this voice is saying, oh, this isn't
Melissa. Steven Cohen was the family's lawyer at the time. >> He was taunting Amanda and he said, "Do
you know what I did to your sister? I killed Melissa." >> All I can say is he's sick and he's
going to make a mistake and we're going to catch him. >> Those calls from Melissa's own phone may
very well have been that mistake. When police traced them, the calls placed the person they believed to be Melissa's
killer in Midtown Manhattan. The following year, Megan Waterman, the mother of a three-year-old girl,
disappeared from a hotel on Long Island. [music] >> Part of you is like missing or it's just like something's always
off. We spoke with Megan's daughter, Liliana, in 2020. >> I would do anything to bring her back,
but I can't, and it just like frustrates me so bad. >> Megan's family says the 22-year-old was
a creative but troubled young woman [music] who loved fashion and was devoted to her daughter.
>> What would you say to your mom if you could? >> I would just want to tell her that like
I love her. I just want her to know like she has a special place in my heart. No
one can ever replace her. >> Like the other two women, Megan disappeared in the summer on June 6th,
2010. She was working as an escort on Long Island. >> No matter what her job was, she was a
person and she needs justice. >> This haunting video from a Holiday in Express is the last time she was seen
alive moments before she went to meet a client. Cell phone records later placed her phone in a Long Island neighborhood
called Masipiqua Park. Amber Costella was the last of the Gilgo Ford to disappear. She lived here just 7
and 1 half miles from Masipiqua Park. >> She used to say she was 411, but she wasn't. She was like 49, you know? I
mean, she was small. Amber's [music] friend and former roommate Dave Showler spoke with us in 2011.
>> She was an amazing person. She really was. >> He says Amber was addicted to drugs and
used sex work to support her habit. >> But as amazing as she was was as tormented as she was
>> after Amber disappeared. Police say Shaller told them about her clients. He described one of them as looking like an
ogre and having a first generation Chevrolet avalanche. On the night she went missing. Shaller
says a client offered Amber $1,500 for the night, six times her hourly rate. >> This guy was so relentless. He called
several times. He was on the phone with her for quite a while each time. He says
the client got Amber, an experienced escort, to do something she never did, leave without her purse or cell phone
and meet him in his car. >> I walked out the front door with her. She She gave me a hug. She's like, "I
love you." And she left. >> It was nearly midnight. Shaller says that when Amber left this house, she
walked down the street and he never saw her again. Shaller told us that he didn't see the
client's face that night, but suspects he had seen him before. >> So, this is a guy you might have seen.
>> Yeah, this is somebody that I seen. I might be the one of the only people who
knows who he is. >> It would be more than a decade before Shaler's description would lead to a
break in the case and a prime suspect. To see a timeline of how the case unfolded, go to 48 hours.com.
>> The shocking developments in a murder case gone cold. >> My [snorts] coworker called me and she
said, "Did you hear what happened to Rex?" And I'm like, "No." A husband, a father, an architect stood before a
judge charged as a serial killer. >> She says, "It's Rex." I said, "No way." >> This house was a main focus and they
brought out a lot of evidence. >> I just didn't think it was real. >> A Long Island community is still a crime
scene tonight. >> I even thought to myself, it's crazy that there's two Rex Hermans out there.
Mary Shell and Muriel Henriquez worked with Rex Huerman and couldn't wrap their heads around the news.
>> We never thought he would be that kind of person. >> It's shocking. >> In July of 2023, nearly 13 years after
the Gilgo 4 were discovered, Suffach County Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison made the announcement.
Authorities believe Rex Herman is the Long Island serial killer. >> Rex Herman is a demon that walks among
us, >> a predator that ruined families. >> The man he calls a demon, is a 6'4 architect. He's charged with killing
Melissa Bartholomew, Megan Waterman, Amber Costello, and is the prime suspect in the death of Moren Brainer Barnes.
>> What has my client told me? He told me he'd do this. >> Huerman was living about 20 minutes from
Gilgo Beach in Masipa Park, the very same town where Megan's phone last connected with the cell tower. And
Huerman worked here at his architectural firm in Midtown Manhattan, just blocks from where Moren disappeared, the same
area where several of the threatening calls to Melissa's little sister were made. The cause of death with regard to
the three victims is homicidal violence. >> A married man, Huerman, lived in this
rundown house and has a daughter and stepson with his second wife, Assa. [music]
Assa, who was born in Iceland, would take the children to see her family there in the summers. It was
during these trips and others police believe that Huerman killed the women. >> You never got any kind of hint of
another life. >> No. >> Totally. >> Uriel Henriquez worked at Huerman's company RH Consultants and Associates
and spoke exclusively to 48 hours. She says she saw nothing alarming about the Rex Huerman she saw daily.
>> A little bit of a nerd in a way. He liked to talk about himself, what he knew. I mean, not a narcissist, but a
little bit of a, you know, I know everything kind of guy. >> Pompus. >> Pompus. >> She remembers him running to and from
job sites, eating fast food on the run. >> Pizza. That was his number one thing.
>> Police say they found nearly 300 guns in a basement vault. When she heard that
police had recovered almost 300 firearms from a vault in Herman's basement, she was surprised only by the number. She
knew him as an avid hunter. Going out, shooting, hunting. That was his passion. >> What was it about hunting he liked?
>> I don't know. I guess he liked the idea of having a prize. >> Stalking prey. >> Stalking prey and winning.
He liked to win, you know. And while she says it never occurred to her that humor
could be dangerous, she does remember a time when his tracking skills unnerved her. It was her 40th birthday [music]
and she had booked a cruise vacation. >> Where are you going? I said, "I'm going,
you know, I'm going to be in the middle of the ocean. You're not going to find me in the middle of the ocean." He said,
"Oh, yes, I can." >> Muriel didn't think much of the comment until the second day of her trip. There
was a white envelope under my door. It was a note from him. The note said, "I told you I could find
you anywhere." >> He had photos from hunting trips. >> Mary Shell worked with Huerman in the
summer of 2010. It was the same summer that both Amber Costello and Megan Waterman vanished.
>> He would talk about, you know, the meat in particular that bear meat could keep
in the freezer for months. Hearing authorities now say that some of the victims were wrapped in a burlap that
hunters often use was chilling. >> The burlap really got to me. Since Humen's arrest, Mary has written about
her experience with him. She's also talked to other former female employees who said they weren't always treated
with respect. He would have one of them uh clean the toilet if he thought the cleaning person hadn't done a good
enough job. >> A woman in the office. >> Yes. He more than once commented on women's bodies if someone perhaps had
gained some weight. You know that kind of that kind of thing. John Perezy grew up with Herman. He says
Herman was bullied as a child. I remember meeting Rex when I was in first or second grade. He was a loner,
not many friends. The children were super mean to him, made fun of him and teased him.
>> But John says he never saw Human fight back. >> He was big enough that if he got upset
and started swinging, he would hurt somebody. But he never did. As Humeman got older, John points out
things didn't get much better. >> He was rejected by many girls. We all go through that awkward stage growing up,
and it seemed like that awkward stage stayed with him longer than usual. Still, he says many in the community
find it hard to believe that Huerman is the notorious serial killer, living a double life for more than a decade.
>> People were saying, "Oh my god, I can't believe we have a serial killer in our
town and we grew up with and we walked amongst the killer." Another classmate of humor men's, actor Billy Baldwin,
took to social media when the news broke, tweeting, "It was mind-boggling." Rex,
>> hello. How you doing? >> The awkward Long Island teenager grew up to be a confident and seemingly
successful architect. Antoine Amira met and interviewed him in 2022. >> Born and raised on Long Island.
>> Okay. been working in Manhattan since 1987. >> There's nothing in my interview that
made me think that this person in front of me uh is a dangerous person. >> Antoine is a hotel food and beverage
manager in New York who loves real estate. He has a YouTube interview show where he handpicks [music]
guests whom he thinks are interesting and accomplished. >> I'm an architect. I'm an architectural
consultant. I'm a troubleshooter. >> Antoine says Huerman was well known for his skill at helping companies and
individuals get building permits. >> When a job that should have been routine suddenly becomes not routine,
>> yeah, >> I get the phone call. >> Gotcha. >> Correct. >> What really stood out for me was he was
very, very, very smart >> and known, says Antoine, for his ability to find loopholes in the rules.
He was pleased when he was doing it >> that he could >> that he that he could outwit the the
system. >> That's it, folks. That was Rex. >> But Antoine says he remembers it was
hard to get Huerman to crack a smile. >> It's selfie time. >> Selfie time. >> Not even during the signature sunglasses
selfies he takes with every guest. >> Two. Three. >> Can you smile? THAT IS >> if police are right, Rex Herman was able
to hide a life as a serial killer. And if he did, his habit of eating pizza on the go would turn out to be his
undoing. For more than a decade after the discovery of the Gilgo 4, Rex Herman's
name never appeared on a suspect list until a new task force was formed with Suffach County Police Commissioner
Rodney Harrison and Suffach County DA Ray Tyranny. In February of 2022, we formed the task
force and then a mere 6 weeks later, Rex Herman was identified for the first time.
>> A suspect in six weeks. So, how did they do it? It turns out that buried in the
original case files were a number of critical clues that the new task force was finally able to connect. Remember
Amber's roommate, Dave Shaller? She's like, "I love you." You know, she gave me a hug and she left.
>> He had told police about one of Amber's clients and his vehicle, >> just a large built man and that he was
driving this this first generation Chevy Avalanche. >> A first generation Chevy Avalanche with
a description of an ogrel-like man and the make and model of his truck. Police took a closer look at Amber's phone
records from 2010. Shaller had told them that before Amber disappeared, there was one particular
client calling incessantly. >> He called several times. He was on the phone with her for quite a while each
time. >> Police back then knew the client was using a burner phone. That's a prepaid
phone that anyone can buy and use anonymously. and they knew that Moren, Melissa, and
Megan had all been in contact with burner numbers right before they disappeared.
In 2012, with the help of the FBI, they determined that most of those calls connected to cell towers inside a small
area of Masipiqua Park. They called it the box. So, how large an area is that box?
>> It's, you know, a couple of blocks within within Masipiqua Park. The new task force began the search for
a large built man who also lived in that small area and owned a Chevy Avalanche at the time of the disappearances.
Was there a aha moment when all of a sudden his name came up? >> Once we were able to attach the
avalanche inside of that massipa box which then attached to Rex Hume, that was a moment where we said, "Okay,
there's something here." The task force now had a prime suspect. And when they looked at Humeman's personal cell phone
records, they found that his phone was in the same area as those burner phones when they were used to contact [music] a
victim in Masipiqua Park or in Midtown Manhattan. >> It was always consistent. Tyranny says this was also true for
those awful calls Melissa's family got from that man using her phone [music] back in 2009.
>> He said, "Do you know what I did to your sister?" And he said, "Well, I killed
Melissa." >> The task force says that it confirmed that Huerman does in fact use burner
phones. Investigators say he had two different burner numbers in 2022. and they say they watched and put money on
one of those accounts here. And according [music] to court papers, the team also documented three email
accounts using fake names, including [music] John Springfield, Thomas Hawk, and Hunter 1903.
And all linked to those burner numbers. And prosecutors say that Humeman was using a burner phone to send these
selfies to solicit and arrange for sexual activity. One of those accounts linked to Huerman,
prosecutors wrote, was used to conduct quote thousands of searches related to sex workers, sadistic torture related
pornography, and child pornography. There was a lot of uh torture uh porn and depictions of women uh being abused
uh being raped and being killed. >> Investigators also say that while they were busy watching Hughmen, Huerman was
trying to watch them conducting searches on the task force and the Gilgo victims.
not only pictures of the victims, pictures of their relatives, their their their sisters, their children. Uh and he
was trying to locate those individuals. >> The circumstantial evidence was building, but investigators also had
physical evidence from the Gilgo 4, including one male hair that was found [music] in the burlap used to quote
restrain and transport Megan Waterman's body. and they wanted to see if they could link it to Huerman.
Police tailed Huerman and when he threw out this pizza box in this trash can here in Midtown Manhattan, they pounced
>> the pizza, which was, you know, obviously very significant. >> Tierney says that Huerman's [music]
DNA that was found on that pizza crust was consistent with the DNA profile from the hair found with Megan [music]
Waterman's body. And that DNA profile is only found in 0.04% of the population. >> That was a remarkable day. It was, you
know, the weekend and, you know, you read, you get the report and you read it and then you read it again and then you
read it a third time and then you read it a fourth time. Uh, and then you start making calls.
>> With the DNA, the search [music] histories, and the burner phone evidence, the team felt it was time.
When we decided to take down the case, we, you know, it was a sudden decision. We did see him contacting a number of
sex workers using a burner phone, which obviously is concerning. >> Playing clothes, officers arrested him
around the corner from his office. >> I don't think he had any clue. I don't think he had any clue that we
were on to him. Police spent 12 days looking through Herman's home, pulling those guns out of
the basement and digging in the backyard. They say it will take some time to comb through what they have now.
And they were tight lipped about what they found. >> Has the search been fruitful?
>> Great question. And answer is yes. >> Can you elaborate on fruitful? You said
yes, it's fruitful. There have been items that we have taken into our possession. That makes it
fruitful. >> And one more big piece of evidence taken into possession, a first generation
Chevy Avalanche. Huerman once used and it was sitting on property he owns in South Carolina when they recovered it.
>> We were able to seize that Chevy Avalanche pursuant to a search warrant and we're certainly going to analyze
that. But there were female hairs found on some of the victim's bodies that don't belong to the victims.
So who do they belong to? [music] What do you make of the evidence against Rex Herman? Join the conversation now on
social media. After Rex Herman's arrest, his quiet neighborhood in Masipeka Park was
overrun by investigators and media, focusing intense scrutiny on the ramshackle home and its remaining
residents. his stepson Christopher Sheridan, daughter Victoria Herman, and his wife of more than 25 years,
Assaerup. >> Their life going forward is always going to be the wife or the children of
suspected serial killer. That's what it's going to be from now on. >> Attorney Bob Macedonio represents Assa
Erup, who has since filed for divorce from Herman. He says she was as stunned as anyone by the accusations.
>> She had no idea any of this was going on. The allegations are shocking. Nobody
wants to think that they've been living with sleeping next to a serial killer for the past 25 years.
>> As it turns out, Assa may have inadvertently helped focus the investigation on her husband.
Investigators say they've identified strands of female hair that were found on two of the victims. One hair on
Waterman comes back to his wife or the DNA profiles are consistent and then the DNA profile from Costello is consistent
with the wife. >> Although prosecutors have evidence that Osa was out of town when those murders
occurred. They will have to explain how those hairs got on the victims. Suffach County DA Ray Tierney says it could be
as simple as transfer. You live at home with a spouse. Uh, a little bit of your hair falls on your shoulder as well as
as your spouse's. Then you go out and you interact with a third party and that hair gets on them.
>> Assaup has not been charged or named a suspect [music] in any of the murders.
You don't believe that Rex Humeman's wife was involved in this in any way? >> There's no evidence to indicate that.
No. Along with the public scrutiny of Assa, there's also been support from people that perhaps know all too well
what she's going through. Carrie Rosson, [music] the daughter of serial killer Dennis Raider, who named himself BTK,
tweeted, "Asa and her kids are also victims. >> I can tell that they are going through
hell." And from Melissa Moore, the daughter of Keith Jesperson, a serial killer known as the Happyface Killer,
for taunting authorities with letters signed with a happy face. >> She reached out immediately to myself
and we put her in contact with Assa. >> At a press conference, Macedonia announced Moore set up a GoFundMe page
for Assa, which raised over $50,000. Money he says will largely go to medical bills. Assa is battling breast and skin
cancer and because Rex Huerman was a sole provider for the family, Macedonia says she will soon lose her health
insurance. >> Assa would like me to express her thanks for the support she's received. Um she's
going through a very difficult time. >> Assa's children [music] have also paid a
heavy price. Her daughter Victoria, who worked for her father at the architectural consulting firm, and her
son Christopher are both now unemployed. Assa struggles to support them, says Macedonio, while she's also trying to
figure out how to start over. >> How is she getting through every day, >> honestly?
>> Yeah. >> Minute by minute. She has no one else to turn to at this time. Family and friends
have been hesitant to have her come over because they don't want the media attention. She gets followed wherever
she goes. >> For the moment, she and her children continue to live in the house in
Masipiqua Park, which the family says was excessively damaged during the police search, seen in these photos
provided by Assa's attorney. It's a daily reminder of the unimaginable crimes her estranged husband is charged
with and the investigation that continues into what else he may have done. Rex Huerman, awaiting trial, is locked
inside a Suffach County jail in a 60s square ft cell. He denies killing Melissa Bartholomew,
Megan Waterman, and Amber Costello. Their voices now silent as the sand where they have been ruthlessly
discarded. >> How sure are you, as you're sitting here now, that Rex Cerman is the Long Island
serial killer? So, we're just at the beginning stages of this case, but we would not have brought this indictment
if we weren't confident in our case. >> He took away somebody's mother, somebody's daughter, somebody's sister,
and not just one person, multiple individuals. >> Huerman is currently the prime suspect
for the murder of Moren Brainer Barnes. And for investigators, an obvious question still hangs heavy.
If Human is a killer, are there other victims? >> I mean, isn't there a real concern that
there may be other victims out there? >> Always. Who's to say that there's not more bodies out there that we need to
investigate? >> In 2011, police did find other bodies along Ocean Parkway. [music] After
finding the Gilgo 4, there is victim number five, Jessica Taylor. an escort who went missing in 2003.
Another [music] set of remains police called Jane Doe number six is now identified as Valerie Mack also working
as an escort. Number seven, to investigators surprise, they found a toddler girl.
Number eight, an Asian male dressed in women's clothing. Number nine, a female skull belonging to
Karen Vada, an escort who disappeared in 1996. Number 10, female remains from a victim
cops nicknamed Peaches because of a tattoo on her torso. [music] Although her remains were found six
miles away, police say DNA confirms Peaches is the mother of that toddler. None of those victims has been linked to
Huerman. Is it that you can't connect him yet or you believe he probably isn't the person who killed these other other
individuals? >> I don't know. >> Investigations also spread to Las Vegas in South Carolina where Huerman owns
property with detectives there taking a fresh look at cases of missing women. And then there's Nikki Brass.
>> I remembered him because one, he's massive and how many massive like 6'5 [music]
architects work in Manhattan, live in Master Pico. >> You're going from brown and blonde.
>> Now a hairdresser, Nikki claims she may be one that got away. She told us she
used to work as an escort. And while we cannot substantiate her story, Nikki [music] claims she can't shake her
memory of the night she says she was solicited for sex by Rex [music] and says she fled the restaurant where they
met. >> I had never gone anywhere and like felt fear. My gut was telling me I needed to
get away and I've never had that before. Nikki says what she found most disturbing is that Huerman himself
brought up those bodies bound in burlap by Gilgo Beach. >> He wanted to like really get into it.
Like he asked me how I thought they could get rid of the bodies without being caught in that area. And I said,
"I've never been over there. I've never even seen Gilgo Beach." And his response was, "Well, it's really
dark and desolate. I'm John Ray and I'm the lawyer. >> Nikki is now represented by John Ray, an
attorney who is also representing Shannon Gilbert's family. In December of 2011, investigators
finally found Shannon here in the marsh, not far from Gilgo Beach. But they don't
believe she was murdered. It's an unfortunate incident, but right now we believe that she just ran into the marsh
and unfortunately drowned. >> A former investigator told us that he believes Shannon was high on drugs that
night and says her death was an accident, something John Ray just can't believe. While he doesn't think Shannon
was a victim of Huerman, he does believe she was murdered and points to that 911
call. It absolutely makes no sense that she's found where she is except that someone
else put her there or killed her there. >> While questions remain about Shannon's
last hours, [music] there's no question she's the reason so many families may finally be getting answers they have
long waited for. We spoke to her sister Sheree in 2011. If my sister, you know, didn't make that
911 call, I don't think that these other women would have been recovered either.
>> Now, investigators hope that with an arrest, they can give the victim's families who stood with them a sense of
justice and of peace. I've gotten to know the families and I'm inspired by them and [music] I'm
impressed by their patience. A local legend has it that this place, Gilgo Beach, was named for a skilled
fisherman called Gil. These silver gray waters, once [music] his secret hunting ground.
Today, this beach area is better known for a relentless hunter of human prey. A serial killer whose chilling presence
can still be felt in the ocean air. [music] CBS next Saturday. 48 Hours brings you
[music] backtoback episodes all summer long. Next week, Secrets and Lies. >> He said, "If anybody talks to anybody
about this, I'll kill him." >> Did you want your stepfather dead? >> No. The >> plan was murder. 48 hours prime time
double feature next Saturday on CBS and streaming on Paramount Plus.

"48 Hours" breaks down the murderous elements in these true-crime investigations. Watch the YouTube mini-marathon, which includes "Secrets, Lies and Alibis," "A Vision of Murder" and "The Gilgo Beach Serial Killings."

00:00 Secrets, Lies and Alibis 40:55 A Vision of Murder 1:22:58 The Gilgo Beach Serial Killings

UPDATE: On April, 8, 2026, Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty to killing seven women between 1993 and 2011, and admitted he killed an eighth in a series of murders that came to be known as the Gilgo Beach serial killings.

True crime. Real justice.. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

John and Susan Sutton's tragic murder case reveals family betrayal and a shocking confession from the shooter, leading to Christopher Sutton's arrest.

Key points

The Aftermath. John Sutton survives but is left blind after the attack on his family.
Garrett Cobb Arrested. Garrett Cobb is taken into custody, marking a significant turn in the investigation.
Juliet Driscoll's Questioning. Juliet denies any knowledge of Christopher's plans, leading to intense police pressure.
John Sutton's Heartbreaking Testimony. John Sutton testifies against his son, revealing the depth of his pain and loss.
The Complicated Love Triangle. The investigation uncovers a web of affairs and jealousy involving Sheila, Dan, and Kelly.
Sheila's Confession. Sheila Trot's 911 call reveals her belief that she harmed Kelly Brennan, raising alarms.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You cannot see me now. You don't even see a shadow.

John Sutton describes his blindness after the attack.

4:51WatchApr 11, 2026

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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