by Robin James
“Over a million dollars,” she said. “C.J. left most of that to my mom. But he set up a trust for Gary and Toby. They accused my mom of unduly influencing C.J. at the end of his life.”
“May I approach?” Elise asked. She held a single document in her hand. She gave it to Dev.
“Do you recognize that document?” Elise asked.
“I do,” Dev said. “It’s the paper my stepbrothers filed in probate court to try to take my mom’s money away from her. Like I said, they claimed my mom tried to brainwash C.J. into cutting them out. That wasn’t true.”
“Objection, Your Honor,” I said. “The state of C.J. Sutter’s estate is not at issue in this case. He’s not a victim. He died of natural causes almost three years ago now. Additionally, the settlement documents regarding this probate matter have already been introduced.”
“She’s right, Ms. Weaver. What’s the point of all of this?”
“Understood, Your Honor,” Elise said. “If you’ll allow me another question along this line, I think the relevancy will become apparent.”
Denholm waved a dismissive hand. “Ask your question.”
“Ms. Francis,” Elise said. “In the weeks and months leading up to your mother’s murder, did you have occasion to talk to her about her relationship with your stepbrothers?”
“I did,” she said. “My mother was in fear of her life.”
Blood rushed to my head. I caught myself shaking it to clear it. Had I heard what I thought I just heard? I had briefed Dev Francis after charges were brought against Mickey. I’d done so for all the victims’ families. At no time had Dev expressed anything other than relief that we’d caught the man who killed her mother.
“Why was that, Ms. Francis?” Elise asked.
“My mother told me she …”
“Objection!” I practically shouted the word. Hojo stood up and shouted it with me.
“Your Honor,” I said. “Defense counsel is eliciting hearsay testimony from this witness to the extent she’s asking what her mother might have told her.”
“Approach,” Denholm said. I grabbed a notepad and charged to the bench. Denholm leaned down and covered the microphone with his hand.
“Out with it, Ms. Weaver,” he said.
“This conversation with Patty Sutter and the witness goes to Patty’s state of mind. Ms. Francis just said her mother was in fear. I can’t think of a better example of a hearsay exception under the rule if I were writing it for a textbook, Your Honor.”
“Ms. Brent?” he said.
“If she’s about to say what I think she’s about to say, a statement by Patty Sutter is about to be offered for the truth of the matter asserted.”
“I disagree,” Denholm said before Elise could counter. “The witness herself said the conversation centered on her mother’s fears. I’ll allow it. Your objection is noted for the record, Ms. Brent. Let’s proceed.”
I clenched my fists as I went back to the table.
“Ms. Francis,” Elise said. “Let me go back to my question. I asked you what you knew about your mother’s relationship with her stepsons in the weeks leading up to her death. Do you want me to have the court recorder read back your answer?”
“No, ma’am,” Dev said. “I remember what I said. I remember what my mother told me. She was in fear for her life.”
“Why?”
“The probate stuff had been settled. My stepbrothers each got about a hundred thousand dollars. They signed off on it. But they were still unhappy. They were still trying to make my mom’s life miserable. Calling her names. Not letting her see C.J.’s new grandson when he was born. Harassing her on social media. My mom ran into one of Toby’s kids at the grocery store. She told me they told her they were going to appeal the settlement. They were going to drag her back into court. They were going to tie up her funds and throw her out of her own house. They told her she’d never find peace in Waynetown so she’d better just get out or else.”
“Or else what?” Elise asked.
“It wasn’t clear. But my mom was scared. She was thinking about putting the house up for sale. That’s why Mark O'Brien moved in with her. They’d gotten close after he helped her with the court stuff. Actually, I called him right away when my mom broke down and told me all this crap about my stepbrothers. Mark said she didn’t have anything to worry about, that you can’t appeal a settlement, only a court judgment, or something like that. Anyway, he said he promised me he’d handle my stepbrothers and that I shouldn’t worry.”
“Handle them how?” Elise asked.
“I don’t know,” Dev said. “Take them to court or something. I just wanted my mom to sell that house and come live near me. I’d been begging her to do that. The Sutters ... I mean, other than Grandma George, the rest of them just weren’t very nice to her.”
“Ms. Francis, how well did you know Chris and Jenny Sutter?”
Dev squirmed in her seat. It seemed an odd reaction. I made a note of it.
“I knew them. He was Uncle Chris. She was Aunt Jenny. I was thirteen when my mom married C.J. We lived in that house. They always lived in the house just down the road from us.”
“And you knew Skylar Sutter as well?”
“She was a cousin by marriage, yes. But she and her brother were a little younger than me, so I can’t say we really hung out a lot. And they were ... well ... I got the impression that most of them were more loyal to C.J.’s ex-wife, Doreen. That’s Gary and Toby’s mom. It was tough. See, C.J. had a drinking problem. I know it caused a lot of disharmony between his first wife and his kids. I always had the impression they resented that C.J. got sober and married my mom. Like, we got the best of him and they didn’t. They’d call him A.A.C.J. Patty got to marry A.A.C.J. while Doreen got a drunk. It was cruel. But I get that. I understand it. He was a different dad to me than he was to them. A different husband to my mom than he was to Doreen.”
“I see,” Elise said. “Did you consider yourself close to Chris and Jenny?”
She looked down. “Not ... not close emotionally. But they were always around because of proximity.”
“What about Kevin Sutter, the victim in the third house? Were you close with him?”
“No,” she said. “Of course I knew Kevin. His dad and C.J. were first cousins, I think is how it goes. I was closer with his sister, Nikki.”
“Ms. Francis,” Elise said. “If I can refer back to the will contest your stepbrothers filed, beyond undue influence, what was the other basis for the challenge?”
“They ... um ... they said my mom and C.J. were legally separated at the time he died.”
“Is that true?”
“It wasn’t. I mean, yes. My mom filed for separation from C.J. something like five years ago. But they worked it out. When C.J. got sick, she moved back in and took care of him.”
“Why did your mother separate from C.J. Sutter in the first place?”
“Objection,” I said. “Your Honor, we have gone so far afield of relevance. This is not divorce court. This is not probate court. Again, C.J. Sutter was not a victim in these killings. The state of his marriage has no bearing …”
“Overruled,” Denholm said. “I’d like to hear the witness answer.”
“Your Honor,” I started.
“Overruled,” he said again.
I sat back down. Hojo had written a note expressing my sentiments. What in the actual hell was Denholm doing?
“I don’t ... it was ... very personal,” Dev said. “Do I have to answer that?”
“You do,” Elise said sharply.
“They just started growing apart. My mom felt C.J. was sweeping things under the rug and wanted him to stand up for himself within the family.”
“Stand up for what?” Elise asked.
“He just ... Grandpa Lou always ran the business how he wanted to. C.J. didn’t feel like they were equal partners, even though they were on paper. When Kevin took Grandpa Lou’s share, it was the same old same old. My dad felt ignored a lot of the time. My d
ad, C.J., he was giving a lot of money to his brother, Chris, and his sister who moved away from Waynetown. He bought them out years ago. My mom felt it was too much money because they never lifted a finger to help. Then, when C.J. and Kevin sold that business for all that money, it just brought out the worst in everybody. They wanted more and more. Not just my stepbrothers. Chris, too. Aunt Claudia. It was just ugly. Hateful.”
“I see,” Elise said.
“Toxic,” Dev said. “And it’s why I left Waynetown. I didn’t want to be around it. I knew it was going to end badly. I knew it.”
She cried.
“It’s all right, Ms. Francis,” Elise said. “I have no further questions.”
I looked down at the note I’d written Hojo when this all started. Elise Weaver was looking to make a mess. She’d succeeded.
“Ms. Francis,” I started. “You said your mother told you she was afraid of your stepbrothers. They never hurt her physically, did they?”
“Not that I know of,” she said, dabbing at her eyes.
“We spoke at length several months ago, do you remember that?”
“I do,” she said.
“And you never saw fit to tell me that your mother was in fear of anyone, did you?”
“I don’t know if I said that,” she said. “But I told you if something bad happened to my mom, I knew it had to do with money.”
“You no longer live in Waynetown, correct?” I asked.
“That’s correct. I live in Nashville now.”
“And on May 18th, you were in Nashville. You didn’t actually see your mom that day? Or even the day before?”
“No,” she said. “I didn’t see her.”
“Did you speak to her?”
“No,” Dev answered. “The last time I spoke to her was May 16th. We had a long phone conversation. I didn’t ... I wished I’d known then that was the last time I’d ever get to talk to her.”
“You’re not suggesting Gary and Toby Sutter had anything to do with what happened out at that farm, are you?”
“I’m not ... that’s for you guys to figure out,” she said.
I took a chance. “Ms. Francis, when was the last time you spoke with either of your stepbrothers?”
“It’s ... I haven’t seen them since my mom’s funeral. But they’ve sent me letters.”
“You’re in the middle of settling your mother’s estate, isn’t that right?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said.
“Have Gary and Toby Sutter made that difficult for you?”
She looked down. “Toby’s lawyer filed some paperwork with my lawyer. Yes.”
“So your stepbrothers are still trying to get C.J.’s money, aren’t they?”
“It’s my money now,” she said. “My mother left it to me and he left it to her.”
“Have Gary and Toby Sutter filed claims against your mother’s estate?” I asked.
“They have, yes,” she said.
“Thank you,” I said. I hesitated but decided to end Dev’s testimony. In my closing, I would have to imply she was using this trial as a way to get back at Gary and Toby Sutter for filing claims against Patty’s estate. “I have no other questions.”
“Ms. Weaver?” the judge said.
Elise rose but didn’t take to the lectern. “Ms. Francis, you in fact told the police if something happened to my mom, I have no doubt Gary and Toby had something to do with it. Isn’t that true?”
“That’s true,” she answered.
“Would it shock you to learn that neither of your stepbrothers was ever even brought in for questioning?”
“What?” she said.
“Objection,” I said. “Counsel is testifying now.”
“Sustained,” the judge said.
“I have nothing further,” Elise said.
I was fuming. It was a cheap trick. I would call Sam back for rebuttal when I got the chance. No. He’d never brought the Sutter brothers in for questioning because he spoke to them on the phone. He didn’t need them at the station. They had ironclad alibis. They were vacationing with their families in Myrtle Beach during the weekend of the murders.
But now, that little misdirection would get the chance to marinate in the jury’s mind for days. And I stupidly walked right into that one.
Never again.
“Call your next witness, Ms. Weaver,” the judge said.
“We call Nicole Sutter, Your Honor.”
Hojo gave me yet another confused expression. Lord, I thought. Not only was Elise making a mess, she was putting me in the position of having to attack the victims’ family members.
She was good. Brilliant. Dirty. And I had to do better. Right now.
30
Something was wrong. Nikki Sutter wouldn’t look at me as she took the stand. She fidgeted in the witness box as Elise got her notes together and took a sip of water from the bottle on her table.
“Ms. Sutter,” she said, starting her questioning in the pattern she established. “Can you enlighten the jury as to how you’re related to the victims in this case?”
“My brother,” she said. “Kevin was one of the victims. Chris Sutter was our dad’s first cousin. Patty Sutter was married to another of my dad’s first cousins.”
“So you’re familiar with your brother’s home?” she asked.
“I am,” she said. “I grew up there. Kevin lived in our mom and dad’s old house. That whole parcel of property, the Sutter farm. It’s been in the family for years. Lou Sutter, that’s my grandpa, he has the house at the top of the hill. He gave the house where Kevin was living to my dad, Thomas Sutter, when he married our mom. The other two houses were originally owned by Grandpa’s other brothers, Uncle Chet and Uncle Ray. One Sutter or another has always lived in those homes.”
“I see,” said Elise. “I can’t imagine the kind of shock it must have been for you to hear what happened out at the farm.”
“It was,” she said. “But ... I was always worried something would happen to my brother.”
“Why is that?”
She looked down. “It’s already out now. Kevin had his struggles. Um ... with drugs.”
“That must have been difficult for your family. Do you know when Kevin began using?”
“When we were teenagers,” she said. “He ... I can’t …”
“Take your time,” Elise said. “Just let me know if you need a break.”
“No,” she said. “I’m okay. Kevin was, I think, sixteen when he started smoking pot. He hung around with kind of a rough crowd. He was a rebel.”
“Did that cause friction within your immediate family?”
“It did,” she said.
“Isn’t it true that your brother OD’d on multiple occasions?”
“What?” she said. “Is that something I have to talk about?”
“Your Honor,” I said. “I fail to see the probative value of this line of questioning.”
“The state has opened the door,” Elise said. “In her case in chief, Ms. Brent took great lengths to introduce evidence of Kevin Sutter’s drug problem and made accusations of my client’s alleged role in that. That relationship is very much at issue.”
“Agreed,” Judge Denholm said. “You may answer, Ms. Sutter.”
“Yes,” Nikki said. “Kevin OD’d.”
“At sixteen, he was taken by ambulance to St. Mary’s, was he not?”
“Yes,” she said. “He was ... my mom found him in his bed. He was late for school. He wouldn’t wake up.”
“That’s not the last time an ambulance had to come to your home for Kevin, was it?” she asked.
“No,” Nikki said. “There was another time about a year later that I found him in the garage.”
“What did your brother OD on that time?” Elise asked.
“Heroin,” Nikki said. “By then he’d moved on to heroin. That’s when we were able to get him into rehab.”
“Kevin went to rehab at seventeen?” she asked.
“Yes. My dad f
ound a place in Florida. He stayed there for three months during the summer between his junior and senior year of high school.”
“Did he stay clean?” Elise asked.
“For a few years, yes,” Nikki said. “When he got back, after he graduated, my dad brought him into the store full time. Kevin took classes at community college and worked at the bait shop.”
“But he fell off the wagon again, didn’t he? In fact, you had to call an ambulance again for him, didn’t you?”
“I did,” she said. “That was some years later. I was going to Eastern. I was home on break. I think it was my junior year. So Kevin was twenty-three, twenty-four.”
“Did he stay clean after that?”
“No,” she said. “Not long after that relapse, my father died in a car accident. Kevin kind of spiraled for a while. He left Waynetown. It was a good two years before we got him back.”
“But you didn’t stay, did you?” she asked.
“I stayed for a while. It was ... it was tough with Kevin. He blamed my parents for a lot of his trouble.”
“Why was that?” she asked.
“Just ... he resented them for a lot. For not ... for not being there in the way he thought they should be. And he felt kind of trapped. Like he was never given another option besides running that store.”
“I see,” Elise said. “But your father was dead by then. He could have left whenever he wanted. After all, you did?”
“I just couldn’t be around them anymore,” she said. Nikki was tearing at a tissue.
“Who’s them, Nikki? Who couldn’t you be around?”
“Just ... all of it. My mom and Kevin weren’t in a good place together. I told you, he blamed her for everything. I was stuck in the middle all the time. I loved my brother but …”
“But it takes something from you,” Elise said. “Isn’t that right? Dealing with an addict?”
“I loved my brother,” she said. “But I wanted a different life than the one I had in Waynetown.”
“You got as far away from Waynetown as you could, didn’t you?”
“Objection,” I said. “We’ve moved off Kevin Sutter’s issues. There is no relevance here.”
“Your Honor,” Elise said. “If you’ll permit me just a bit more latitude. You’ll see that Nikki Sutter’s decision to leave Waynetown is very relevant to what transpired on May 18th of this year.”
