Family Secrets

Summary

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48 Hours – "Family Secrets" (August 21, 2025)

Host: CBS News
Summary by [AI]

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Episode Overview

“Family Secrets” delves into the chilling Sutton family murder case from Coral Gables, Florida. The episode traces the 2004 attack that left Susan Sutton dead and her husband, John Sutton, severely wounded and blinded. Through a tapestry of first-person accounts, investigative details, and courtroom drama, CBS reporters walk listeners through the unraveling of dark family dynamics and motives, ultimately leading to the conviction of the couple’s son, Christopher Sutton, for orchestrating the crime.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Crime and Its Immediate Aftermath

[01:10–04:14]

• The Night of the Crime: On August 22, 2004, after a family gathering, the Sutton home was invaded. Susan was killed in her bed; John was shot but survived against all odds, suffering permanent blindness.
  • Quote: “John Sutton should have died for all intents and purposes, but did not.” – Mary Marie (Susan’s sister) [03:38]
• Evidence of Targeted Attack: Nothing was stolen; valuables remained untouched, supporting the theory of a premeditated hit rather than burglary.
  • Quote: “It was clear this was no burglary. It was a premeditated effort to make sure that they were dead.” – Karen Kagan, Prosecutor [04:09]

2. The Sutton Family Background

[04:35–07:25]

• John and Susan Sutton: Successful, loving parents who adopted both Christopher and Melissa. Susan had left her nursing career to focus on motherhood.
  • Quote: “That was the happiest day of her life… she loved them unconditionally.” – Mary Marie [07:09]
• Family Dynamics: Outwardly stable and prosperous, but harbored underlying tensions, especially concerning Christopher.

3. Initial Suspects and Shifting Focus

[07:25–10:18]

• Law Partner Teddy Montoto: Initially investigated due to his marksmanship, proximity, and the revelation of an affair with Susan. Ultimately cleared; his polygraph failure was due to concealing the affair.
  • Quote: “That was a pretty big surprise…I wasn't very happy with it.” – John Sutton on learning of the affair [09:45, 09:51]
• Enemies From Work: John’s legal work brought threats, but none proved credible.

4. Emergence of Christopher Sutton as a Suspect

[10:18–12:32]

• Christopher’s Troubled Past: Reports surfaced about violent threats towards his parents, including a prior incident involving a plan (written in a note) to kill them for inheritance.
  • Quote: “It was a plan to kill his parents for the inheritance.” – Mary Marie [14:48]
  • Quote: “You threatened your mother at gunpoint…?” – Detective [14:18], with contextual denials
• Family’s Drastic Measures: John and Susan ultimately obtained a restraining order and sent Christopher to a behavior modification school in Samoa (Paradise Cove), where he was allegedly abused.

5. The Investigation – Motives & Alibis

[12:32–24:24]

• Alibis: Security footage established Christopher and his girlfriend Juliet at the movies during the attack. However, detectives deemed his proffered alibi suspicious.
  • Quote: “He offered up an alibi before she even asked for one? That's really weird…” – Detective Rosanna Cordero [21:38–21:43]
• Phone Records: Reveal hundreds of calls between Christopher and Garrett Kopp, who was soon connected to the murder weapon.
• Garrett Kopp's Arrest & Confession: After intense interrogation, Kopp confessed, implicating Christopher as the mastermind.
  • Quote: “He said, look, you're gonna have to protect me. I did it, but I did it because Christopher threatened to kill me and my son.” – Garrett Kopp’s confession, paraphrased by Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue [23:25]

6. Building the Case: Associates and Motive

[24:24–29:38]

• Juliet Driscoll’s Interrogation: Christopher’s fiancée details his long-standing resentment and repeated threats about hiring a hitman.
  • Quote: “He said he could find somebody to kill his parents… it would be easy.” – Juliet Driscoll [25:52]
• Triggering Events: Major arguments over money, entitlement, and the recent legal settlement reinforced Christopher’s motive.

7. Arrest, Trial, and Testimonies

[29:38–36:25]

• Arrest and Emotional Fallout: John Sutton ultimately comes to accept Christopher’s culpability after evidence mounts.
  • Quote: “Do you still love Christopher? I would have to say that I do not. And it's hard…” – John Sutton [35:54]
• Trial Dynamics: Testimony from Garrett Kopp, Juliet Driscoll, and even an old acquaintance (Jose Peon) converge on Christopher’s intent and actions.
  • Quote: “He asked me if I knew of any hitman that would kill his parents.” – Jose Peon recounts [32:25]
  • Quote: “She was a bitch… because she wouldn’t give him what he wanted.” – Juliet Driscoll, on Christopher’s attitude toward his mother [33:52]
• Christopher’s Defense: He paints himself as the victim of false accusations and claims Kopp acted alone during a drug-fueled robbery gone wrong.
  • Quote: “It's my word against Garrett's word.” – Christopher [37:49]
  • Quote: “When I more matured, I realized it wasn't something they did to me maliciously… I benefited from the program [Paradise Cove].” – Christopher [39:05, 39:15]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [03:38] Mary Marie: “Susan Sutton was assassinated in her bed. Didn’t have a chance. And John Sutton should have died for all intents and purposes, but did not.”
• [09:45] John Sutton: “That was a pretty big surprise. I wasn't very happy with it. Very, very upset.” (On Susan’s affair)
• [14:48] Mary Marie: “It was a plan to kill his parents for the inheritance.”
• [23:25] Garrett Kopp via Prosecutor: “He said, look, you're gonna have to protect me. I did it, but I did it because Christopher threatened to kill me and my son.”
• [25:52] Juliet Driscoll: “He said he could find somebody to kill his parents… it would be easy. I listened to it for six years.”
• [33:52] Juliet Driscoll: “She was a bitch… because she wouldn't give him what he wanted and what he deserved.”
• [35:54] John Sutton: “Do you still love Christopher? I would have to say that I do not. And it's hard.”
• [37:49] Christopher Sutton: “It's my word against Garrett's word. It's what it all boils down to.”
• [39:05] Christopher Sutton: “When I more matured, I realized it wasn't something they did to me maliciously. They did what they thought was in my best interest.”
• [41:13] John Sutton: “Regardless of the result, this is a bad case. I lost Susan. I lost Christopher. Long before that, I lost my eyesight.”

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Timestamps of Major Segments

• [01:10–03:38] – The Attack and Its Immediate Aftermath
• [03:38–07:25] – Background of the Sutton Family
• [07:25–10:18] – Focus on Law Partner as Suspect
• [10:18–12:32] – Christopher’s History and Rising Suspicion
• [12:32–23:07] – Investigation: Alibis, Suspicion, and the Breakthrough
• [23:07–29:18] – Interrogations, Confessions, and Arrests
• [29:38–36:25] – Trial, Testimony, and Emotional Climax
• [37:41–40:21] – Christopher’s Testimony and Emotional Reactions
• [40:42–41:02] – Verdict & Sentencing
• [41:13–44:34] – Aftermath: Sutton Family Fallout and John's Recovery

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Conclusion & Aftermath

At the heart of “Family Secrets” lies a case of staggering betrayal and loss. Christopher Sutton is convicted of first-degree murder, sentenced to life in prison without parole. The episode closes with John Sutton adapting to blindness, resuming his law practice, and admitting with heartbreak that he no longer loves his son. Melissa, Christopher’s sister, cuts contact, and Juliet Driscoll reflects on a family destroyed, asserting:
“They did everything they could to give him every opportunity that he deserved, and he just didn't take advantage of it.” [42:11]

John Sutton remains determined, finding purpose in hope for medical breakthroughs and perseverance in the face of unimaginable tragedy:
“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.” [43:53]

The episode stands as a profound commentary on family, trauma, entitlement, and the far-reaching ripples of violence.

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End of Summary

Transcript

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[John Sutton]

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[Christopher Sutton]

On.

[John Sutton]

Sunday, August 22, 2004, two 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 Montoto. We had a birthday cake.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

John and Susan lived in a very fancy neighborhood.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

Carl Gables.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

John was a local attorney. The firm had had a very successful week. The firm got a settlement over a million dollars.

[John Sutton]

After dinner was over we were watching the Olympics and swimming and diving. Everything was fine. That evening everybody was relaxed.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

John and Susan's son Christ and his girlfriend Julia Driscoll had plans to go to the movies.

[John Sutton]

So they left shortly thereafter. My law partner Teddy Montoto left approximately 10 o'. Clock. I decided to go in to bed.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Susan retired to one bedroom, John to the other. Susan oftentimes slept in the second room because her husband John snored settling into the evening un that at that time, about four blocks away, there was a man who had driven up Glock 9 millimeter semi automatic pistol on his waistband with one intention. He was there on a mission. A mission to murder John and Susan.

[John Sutton]

Next thing you know, I saw someone come in.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

He took out his Glock.

[John Sutton]

I heard a bang. A big bang.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

I was being shot and the bullets even broke 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 to the master bedroom, fired more times at John, emptying the gun.

[John Sutton]

I knew that I had been shot in the head. I needed assistance and I went For a telephone.

[Narrator/Host]

Call. Gamblers 911.

[John Sutton]

Somebody came in and shot me.

[Narrator/Host]

I need police and I need an ambulance.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

01:86, Susan Sutton was assassinated in her bed. Didn't have a chance. And John Sutton should have died for all intents and purposes, but did not. My name is Karen Kagan. I was a prosecutor on homicide duty. And I went into that house. I was able to see the bullet holes and the blood on the floor and the blood in the bathroom. Most remarkably, nothing else in that house was disturbed. There was beautiful jewelry on the vanity, undisturbed. It was clear this was no burglary. It was a premeditated effort to make sure that they were dead.

[John Sutton]

I could not imagine that anyone would want to kill us.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

The question was, who done it?

[John Sutton]

Everybody says it was somewhat of a miracle that I survived. I lost a tremendous amount of blood.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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.

[John Sutton]

They apparently gave me last rites. They thought that I was gone.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

When you got to the hospital to see your father, tell me what you saw.

[Narrator/Host]

Almost unrecognizable person.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Melissa Sutton was 18, a freshman in college. Her mother was dead. Her father had been shot multiple times, Twice in the head.

[Narrator/Host]

The fact that I knew his hands and I knew his ears and his skin tone, I could tell that this kind of disfigured person was my dad.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

She knew him, but he had a harder time recognizing her. You cannot see me now. You don't even see a shadow.

[John Sutton]

No.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

John Sutton woke up in intensive care, blind.

[John Sutton]

The magnitude of my injury, the facial pain and the loss of the eyesight was just so huge.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

You must have been racking your brain thinking, who could have possibly have done this?

[John Sutton]

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, big mess.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

And John still hadn't heard what happened to his wife.

[John Sutton]

I remember asking Melissa, how's mom doing? She had been told by the police not to tell me about Susan. Later on, I was told that she passed away.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Melissa, what kind of woman was your mom?

[Narrator/Host]

Intelligent, confident.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

Oh, you got mommy.

[Narrator/Host]

The kind of person who's in their 40s but wants to take violin classes and calculus classes because she just wants to be better.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

And more than anything, 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.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

That was the happiest day of her life. It was absolutely the happiest day of her life.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Susan's sister, Mary Marie.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

I heard her on the telephone. I could hear her screaming from Florida. How happy she was and how thrilled she was.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Almost seven years later, they adopted Melissa.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

She loved those children.

[Narrator/Host]

Hi, Christopher.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

And she loved them unconditionally.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Now those children were planning their mother's funeral while police scour the crime scene, seeing Susan Sutton's jewelry and John Sutton's wallet untouched on a dresser.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

Take the wallet. Easy cash at least. But nothing was taken. This person had a mission.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Miami Dade Detective Rosanna Cordero hoped John, even with a serious head injury, could help her.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

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 sure.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

So with that kind of spotty memory, the information he provided wasn't very helpful.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

No, it wasn't.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

She thought she'd have more luck with Teddy Montoto, 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.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

I was the one who told him that Susan had died. And he was very emotional about it.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

And then Teddy said something surprising.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

He was a marksman, and he'd been.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Shooting a gun earlier that day.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

He's a competitive shooter. That's something that he did as a hobby. That raised our eyebrows.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Detective Cordero immediately sent Teddy's gun in for testing. And she pushed him for more information about his late night phone call with Susan.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

He was not forthcoming with me.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

She suspected Teddy was hiding something.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

He's asked to submit to a polygraph, which he does, and he fails, especially in regards to his relationship with Susan.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

The interrogation continued until Teddy finally revealed his secret.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

He did, in fact, confess to having a sexual relationship with Susan.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Did that make him a suspect in your mind?

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

It did. Obviously, he has a motive. A motive at least to kill John. Maybe not necessarily Susan, but love triangles can drive people to do very extreme behavior.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But Teddy's gun didn't match the murder weapon, 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.

[John Sutton]

That was a pretty big surprise.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

How did you deal with that betrayal?

[John Sutton]

I wasn't very happy with it. Very, very upset.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

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.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Police investigated every one of them, but they all had alibis.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

It was that point that I started interviewing some of John's closest friends.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Lead detective Larry Bellew says there was one name that kept coming up, and.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

They said, you need to look at Christopher Sutton. I said, christopher Sutton, the son? Absolutely.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Bellew thought it odd that fingers were being pointed at John and Susan's son Christopher, then 25 years old. For months since 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.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

Christopher that he would like to have his parents dead.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

He actually choked his mother one time, saying that he could kill her.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

The son, who once seemed so devoted, was now their prime suspect.

[Christopher Sutton]

I didn't do it. I never had anything to do with it.

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[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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[Narrator/Host]

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[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

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[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

The Polynesian Islands of Samoa in the South Pacific Ocean, nearly 7,000 miles 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.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

We learned that Christopher Sutton had been sent away to a behavioral school by.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

His parents when he was just 16. John and Susan sent Their son here, Christopher, they say, had been getting into lots of trouble.

[John Sutton]

We were told that there was oppositional defiant disorder or conduct defiant disorder, those sort of things.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

He was in and out of more than half a dozen schools.

[John Sutton]

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.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Skipping school, though, was the least of their problems. Susan's sister Mary, he and some other.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Kids broke into a teacher's house and trashed the inside of the house and spray painted the inside of the house.

[John Sutton]

He was arrested. We were sued.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

$50,000 in damage, perhaps more. Were you an out of control teenager?

[Christopher Sutton]

Out of control? I mean, like, I definitely wanted to do my own thing. I was definitely into body piercings and tattoos, things my parents absolutely hated. I really wasn't doing anything that was horribly wrong.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But Mary says if Christopher didn't get his way, he could get extremely angry.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Christopher had a rifle. It was not loaded. He pointed it at Susan and Melissa and he told them that it was loaded and he was going to shoot them.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

You threatened your mother at gunpoint, you threatened to kill her?

[Narrator/Host]

No, no, no. His parents to me always seemed a little bit harsh on him.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher's friend Eric Polk says the Suttons tended to overreact and it was rough on him, perhaps. But when Christopher was 16, things really escalated.

[John Sutton]

Susan called me and said, we've got a problem.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

In Christopher's room, Susan found a note.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

It was a plan to kill his parents for the inheritance.

[John Sutton]

I saw it, I read was there.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

How did he react when this happened?

[John Sutton]

It wasn't his fault. He was just kidding. He wasn't serious.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But the Suttons were. They were frightened and they wanted Christopher out of the house. You got a restraining order against your Sutton 16 year old son?

[John Sutton]

Correct.

[Narrator/Host]

He was a valued member of our household.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Eric invited Christopher to live with his family. The judge agreed.

[Narrator/Host]

He went to school when he was.

[Christopher Sutton]

Supposed to go to school and he didn't cause any problems living with us.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

And then three weeks later, it was a Friday night, I believe two men came to get him.

[Christopher Sutton]

They were trying to wrestle him across my lawn.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher was shipped off to Samoa, a place called Paradise Cove. But this was no 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.

[John Sutton]

You would go to like the box for a day.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

The box?

[Narrator/Host]

Yeah, like the isolation box.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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, they would.

[John Sutton]

Tie them with duct tape. They took them to some compound that was in the mountains, left them hogtied there.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

A year into Paradise Cove, Christopher sent a video message home to his parents.

[Narrator/Host]

Hi, mom and Dad. I wanted to tell you that 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 to get me out of your.

[John Sutton]

Hair, you guys still dislike me for.

[Narrator/Host]

Some reason, because even though my wishes aren't to be here, I don't care. They don't come true.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

John, Susan and Melissa traveled to Samoa to see for themselves what it was like. Was he happy to see you?

[John Sutton]

Absolutely.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher said he tried telling them about abuse.

[John Sutton]

Did I believe it?

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

No, you didn't believe it?

[John Sutton]

I didn't believe it. Can't imagine that that's what was happening.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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.

[John Sutton]

He was, shall we say, fighting the program.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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?

[Narrator/Host]

I was thinking that Chris might have been behind it.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

You can understand how he may have wanted to exact revenge against his parents for his time at Paradise Cove 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.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

I said, don't live with Christopher. I think Christopher had something to do with this. He was very angry with me about that.

[John Sutton]

I didn't suspect him. And of course, I wouldn't have wanted it to be Christopher. I mean, that's the worst thing.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But Mary is sure Christopher was behind the shooting of his father and the murder of his mother.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Christopher isn't like you and me. Christopher's not like other people. There's something missing. The night before the funeral is when I was convinced that Christopher had something to do with it.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

She says Christopher talked about what happened.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

He sat there and he said, susan was shot more than one time. He was describing how the person came into the house and went down the hallway.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

So Christopher was familiar with details about this shooting that had not yet been released.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Yes, the Blood drained from my body. I looked at Christopher and I thought, you killed her. You did it.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But Christopher was nowhere near his parents house when they were attacked. He and his girlfriend were at the movies, seen here on the theater's security cameras. If Christopher didn't shoot his parents, who did?

[Narrator/Host]

I cried.

[Christopher Sutton]

I couldn't believe it. You know, I was in shock. It doesn't even seem real that it could have even happened.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher Sutton says he was horrified when he found out about his mother and father.

[Juliet Driscoll]

He started bawling his eyes out. He seemed like he was devastated.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher's then fiance, Juliet Driscoll, says she was reeling herself.

[Juliet Driscoll]

I was in shock. At that point, your entire world just blew up.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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.

[Juliet Driscoll]

Susan kind of taught me about like, makeup and clothes and all that sort.

[Narrator/Host]

Of stuff.

[Juliet Driscoll]

You know, John was always just like, really supportive of me.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

John even gave Juliet a job in his law office. And for the most part, John and Susan financially supported her and Christopher.

[Juliet Driscoll]

They only wanted what was best for us. Who could have done this? Was it random? Wasn't it random?

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Who did you think had done it?

[Christopher Sutton]

I had no idea.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

I said, christopher, can I speak to you for a moment? He said, absolutely.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Detective Rosanna Cordero met Christopher at the crime scene shortly after he'd been told about the shooting.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

I remember he had a couple of tears come down his face.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But before she could even offer condolences, he said something to her that just didn't seem right.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

He said to me, we had dinner here at the house, but we left around nine and we went to the movies. Do you want my ticket stubs?

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

So he was offering you an alibi?

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

Yes. That's really weird. It's unusual.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

You offered up an alibi before she even asked for one?

[Christopher Sutton]

Absolutely.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Why?

[Christopher Sutton]

Because of Teddy's interrogation.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Teddy Montoto, 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 Cordero where he was during the shooting.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

And I recovered the surveillance tape of Christopher walking out of the movie theater.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Here he is with Juliet, leaving the theater a little before midnight. But something caught Cordero's eye.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

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.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Lead detective Larry Bellew ordered Christopher's phone records.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

We saw a particular number that came.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Up several times, 331 times to be Exact in the weeks leading up to and right after the murder, we identified.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

That number as belonging to an individual by the name of Garrett Kopp.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

A man named Garrett Koppel 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 Bellew immediately called the arresting officer.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

Now, please tell me you still have that gun. He did, and it turned out to be a match.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

It was the same gun used in the Sutton shooting. 21 year old Garrett Cobb was brought in for questioning.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

I had to get something out of him. Denial, denial, denial.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

It was a tense interrogation.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

He continued to deny, deny.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

After six hours of questioning, he finally broke. Garrett Cobb confessed.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

What was the plan?

[Narrator/Host]

Going there soon?

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

He said, look, you're gonna have to protect me. I did it, but I did it because Christopher threatened to kill me and my son.

[Narrator/Host]

Who did he want you to shoot?

[John Sutton]

Garrett.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Garrett told police the plan to kill the Suttons was all Christopher's idea.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

Who got you the gun to use?

[John Sutton]

Chris.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

He actually drew a sketch as to how he got in the house.

[Narrator/Host]

Slime glass door on the back patio.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

Was that door unlocked when you got there?

[Narrator/Host]

Yep. Did Chris tell you he left it unlocked? Yeah.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Garrett went straight to the bedrooms where he said Christopher told him he'd find the Suttons.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

Shot John Sutton, shot Susan Sutton.

[Narrator/Host]

Do you recall how many times you shot her?

[John Sutton]

No, sir.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Garrett says Susan was under the covers when he fired.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

There was actually bullet holes through the comforter. So what he told me matched. I knew he had done this.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Garrett Cobb was arrested.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

I did not have enough for a warrant for Christopher.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Police needed more than Garrett's word that Christopher put him up to it.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

The next person I knew that probably had direct knowledge of all this was his fiance.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Juliet Driscoll was brought in for questioning.

[Juliet Driscoll]

I knew nothing. I knew absolutely nothing.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

She denied knowledge of anything.

[Juliet Driscoll]

The fact that people could even think that I would know something like that.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

And she continued to deny for hours.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

13 hours, none of which was taped.

[Juliet Driscoll]

By police, that I would let something like that happen to John and Susan.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

She says police yelled and threatened her with arrest.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

No, she was never under arrest. I never threatened her with that.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But Juliet says she felt pressured and told them what she did know. That Christopher had a deep seated resentment towards his parents for sending him to Samoa.

[Juliet Driscoll]

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.

[Narrator/Host]

They deserve to pay for what they did.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

And for the most part, the Suttons did pay.

[Juliet Driscoll]

They paid rent, they paid car payments. They paid bills.

[Narrator/Host]

They took us on vacations.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But he wanted more.

[Juliet Driscoll]

But he wanted more. He said he could find somebody to.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Kill his parents, that he could find a hitman to take out his parents.

[Juliet Driscoll]

And it would be easy. I listened to it for six years. He said it for years and years and years.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Did he talk to you about what your lives would be like after his parents were gone, when he would inherit the estate?

[Narrator/Host]

Mm.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

What did he say?

[Juliet Driscoll]

Things would be good. Cause we wouldn't have to worry about money.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Juliette says she never told anyone because she didn't believe Christopher was serious.

[Juliet Driscoll]

It was like the boy who cried wolf. You know, you hear something so many times and you just. You don't think about it.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

And then shortly before the murder, there was a fight. Over what?

[Juliet Driscoll]

It was over a bill not being paid.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Susan Sutton refused to pay Christopher's car insurance bill.

[Juliet Driscoll]

The only times he would really, like, get, like, really angry would be when they wouldn't give him what he wanted.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Juliet told police Christopher was furious. He knew his father had just received a million dollar plus legal settlement.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

And with that information, I had enough at that point to get a warrant for Christopher Sutton.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But Christopher was nowhere to be found.

[John Sutton]

I got a call from one of the detectives.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

I'd like to come by and talk to you.

[John Sutton]

She said, don't let anybody in the house.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

Don't answer the door till I get there.

[John Sutton]

Don't pick up the phone.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

He must have been like, what the heck?

[John Sutton]

I'm coming over to see you. Stay where you are.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

Did I think Christopher would come back to try to finish it off? Yeah.

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[Narrator/Host]

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[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

Hi again, TV's quirkiest crime solver.

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[Narrator/Host]

It's on the case. I like my outlet theories with a heavy dose of evidence and ready to go toe to Toe with a cavalcade of guest stars. Are you saying that this is now a murder investigation? It's starting to look that way.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

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[Narrator/Host]

That sounds like fun.

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[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Detective Cordero was dreading what she was about to do. Tell John Sutton his son was behind the shooting.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

I know I told him that what I'm about to say is going to be hard for you to accept. But trust me, every road leads back to Christopher.

[John Sutton]

I was just at that point so shell shocked.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

For almost two 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.

[John Sutton]

When I was told that Garrett was the shooter, and of course I put that together, Garrett and Christopher were like twins.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

But I don't know if you could actually prove this case to a jury without having Garrett Cobb.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But if prosecutors, Kathleen Hogue 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.

[John Sutton]

Garrett Kopp is a drug addict, a little thug.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher's attorney, Bruce Fleischer, he needed a.

[John Sutton]

Way out to help himself. And he told the detectives about Chris Sutton. He basically kept his ass out of the electric chair.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Garrett is now saying that Christopher promised him $100,000 to kill the Suttons. Did you ask Garrett Cobb to kill your parents?

[Christopher Sutton]

Absolutely not.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

So Garrett Copp is a liar.

[Christopher Sutton]

Oh, absolutely.

[John Sutton]

I believe we can win this case.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

He's about to get his opportunity. All right. As the trial begins, John Sutton sits up far from his son.

[Narrator/Host]

Ms. Kagan, opening statement.

[John Sutton]

You may proceed.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Prosecutors immediately tell the jury how close Christopher was to admitted hitman Garrett Cobb.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

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 Kopp to go in the Sutton's home and do the shooting. And then he would get paid when the defendant got his money.

[Narrator/Host]

Yeah.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

You can bring Mr. Cobb back up in shackles. Garrett Cobb takes the stand.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Where was Mr. Sutton when you shot at him initially?

[John Sutton]

On the bin.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Who was the person with whom you were in a plan to shoot John and Susan Sutton?

[Narrator/Host]

Chris. Chris Sutton.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher's defense needs to prove Garrett is lying. They zero in on the tough interrogation by police.

[John Sutton]

They got aggressive with you, didn't they? Somewhat. Got pushy a little bit. Leaned up against me.

[Narrator/Host]

Yeah.

[John Sutton]

Like this? Yeah. What are they saying, Garrett? Garrett? Something like that. You need to tell us something, Garrett. Cause they're gonna fry your ass in the electric chair.

[Detective Rosanna Cordero]

Excuse me.

[John Sutton]

Excuse me.

[Christopher Sutton]

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.

[Narrator/Host]

Sir, you can come forward, please.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But incredibly, it wasn't the first time. Prosecutors say Christopher had tried to execute such a plan.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Would you tell the members of the jury your first and last name?

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Jose Peon. P E 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 kill his parents.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Was he joking or did he seem serious?

[John Sutton]

He seemed serious.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

He said that his parents were worth about 500,000 to a million dollars. And they had some property and life insurance.

[Christopher Sutton]

I mean, like, I don't know where. I mean, like, I don't know where he came up with that stuff.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

He's a liar, too.

[Christopher Sutton]

Yeah, about that. Absolutely.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Then Detective Bellew tells the jury about what he believes is a defining moment in the case. After arresting Christopher, he showed him Juliet's statement incriminating him.

[Prosecutor Kathleen Hogue]

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.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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.

[Christopher Sutton]

You know, they forced somebody to lie. It's hard to swallow.

[Narrator/Host]

Mr. Driscoll, if you'll come forward, stand in front of me.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But would the woman who once planned to marry Christopher now offer testimony that could put him away for life?

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

And what did he express to you was his opinion about his mother?

[Juliet Driscoll]

She was a bitch. Because he felt that she Wouldn't give him what he wanted and what he deserved.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

And that being money. Yes.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

And she tells the jury how angry he was about Samoa.

[Juliet Driscoll]

He would say they deserve to die.

[John Sutton]

Good afternoon, Ms. Driscoll.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But on cross examination, Juliette says she only told the police incriminating information about Christopher after they threatened her with arrest.

[Christopher Sutton]

She was threatened with a death penalty. She was threatened with going down.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But she's a liar, too.

[Christopher Sutton]

In part, yeah.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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.

[Juliet Driscoll]

I did not know at all that he was behind this. No.

[John Sutton]

He didn't believe he was going to do it. Did you?

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

And then, in a moment, the defense team was hoping for Juliet. A prosecution witness raised doubt about Christopher's guilt before the jury.

[Juliet Driscoll]

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.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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.

[John Sutton]

Had two bullets go in here and two which went out over here.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Prosecutors asked John about his troubled relationship with his son after Samoa.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Did your son ever complain to you about money?

[John Sutton]

Yeah.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

And the complaints continued after the shooting, too. Coming home from the hospital, John says Christopher wanted control over the finances.

[John Sutton]

I didn't want him on the bank account.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

A father helping prosecutors convict his own son, the boy he had raised for 25 years. Do you still love Christopher?

[John Sutton]

I would have to say that I do not. And it's hard. I can't connect the dots between what he was doing at age 5 and what happened after age 13.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Your father told me that he no longer loves you.

[Christopher Sutton]

I can't control how he feels.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

How does that make you feel?

[Christopher Sutton]

It hurts. I mean, it definitely hurts that he no longer loves me. And I've always considered him my father and, you know, like, you know, and I always will.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Now it's up to Christopher to convince the jury of that love and his innocence.

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[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

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[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

Do you swear affirm that the evidence.

[John Sutton]

You'Re about to give will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

[Narrator/Host]

I do.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

It's the moment Christopher Sutton has been waiting for.

[Christopher Sutton]

I think anyone who is innocent or wrongfully accused would. Would want to get up there and speak their mind. It's my word against Garrett's word. It's what it all boils down to.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

He paints Garrett Kopp as an insatiable drug fiend.

[Christopher Sutton]

Constant, constant drug habit. I mean, I did drugs all day.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher claims Garrett broke into his parrot's home in a desperate bid to steal marijuana. All day long, a hopped up Garrett had been calling him for drugs.

[Christopher Sutton]

I kind of told him, no, no, no, no.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher says he kept drugs boxed up in the closet of his old bedroom where his mother often slept. And Garrett knew it.

[John Sutton]

How much marijuana did you store in these boxes?

[Christopher Sutton]

In the top box, about £2.

[John Sutton]

And what was the value of that?

[Christopher Sutton]

7,000 bucks.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

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?

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

No, no, it was an assassination.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But Christopher says he had no reason to want his parents dead. He got over his anger about being sent to Samoa long ago.

[Christopher Sutton]

When I more matured, I realized it wasn't something they did to me maliciously. They did what they thought was in my best interest.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

He even tells the jury Paradise Cove turned out to be good for him.

[John Sutton]

You benefited from the program. Yes.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

But then, in an unexpected moment, he becomes highly emotional when discussing his alleged mistreatment there.

[John Sutton]

How were you feeling physically during that time?

[Narrator/Host]

I was what they called in denial. You need a break. Yep.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher's surprising breakdown on the stand is evidence. Prosecutors say that he's still haunted by his experience.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

His only emotional reaction was about himself. It 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.

[Narrator/Host]

I hate you.

[Mary Marie (Susan's sister)]

You owe me. He's greedy and he's lazy, and he believes that he's entitled.

[John Sutton]

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.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

It's now up to the jury.

[John Sutton]

All right, everyone.

[Narrator/Host]

We understand. The jury has reached a verdict.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

After a day and a half of deliberations, we, the jury, find the defendant.

[John Sutton]

Christopher Patrick Sutton, guilty of first degree murder is charged.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

You were stunned at the verdict?

[Christopher Sutton]

Absolutely. I definitely thought I was going to be acquitted.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Before sentencing, an emotional John Sutton addresses the court.

[John Sutton]

Regardless of the result, this is a bad case. I lost Susan. I lost Christopher. Long before that, I lost my eyesight.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

He doesn't ask for leniency. A few feet away, another father sat grieving his loss. Garrett's dad, Mitchell.

[Narrator/Host]

You question yourself as to you're a father of a murderer. I thought I taught him right from wrong. Just sorry it happened to hands with my son.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Christopher is sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole. His sister Melissa, says she'll never speak to him again.

[Narrator/Host]

You know, my parents were the best parents.

[Juliet Driscoll]

And the fact that one child said something awful does not mean that they.

[Narrator/Host]

Didn'T, like, love him unconditionally. They did everything they could to give him every opportunity that he deserved, and he just didn't take advantage of it. But the whole trial kind of opened the wound back up. You know, the loss of my mom, the blindness of my dad, and the loss of my brother.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Do you think about your family all the time?

[Narrator/Host]

Absolutely.

[Christopher Sutton]

I remember all the good times. I remember all the bad times, too. I mean, it hurts me to hear them think that I had anything to do with this. It's unfortunate.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

As for their father, John's focus right now is getting his eyesight back. At Scapens Eye Research Institute in Massachusetts, work on optic nerve regeneration is promising.

[Narrator/Host]

Put your chin down a little more.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

And at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

[Narrator/Host]

Here we go. Now I'm looking right at your optic nerve.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

Dr. Joseph Rizzo is ready to start discussing electronic technology implanting a device around the back of the eye.

[Narrator/Host]

Our job is to try to make you as functional as you can be.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

While he waits for a breakthrough, John Sutton, remarkably, continues to practice law. He memorizes his briefs. And with the help of an aide, he's winning cases much like he used to. And he has a new love interest. The world of darkness he now lives in is slowly brightening with each passing day.

[John Sutton]

It's really almost like I'm another person. There's so many changes in my life.

[Lead Detective Larry Bellew]

It would be completely understandable if you felt sorry for yourself sometimes, do you?

[John Sutton]

Doesn't 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 have done everything that I can possibly do without hesitation.

[Narrator/Host]

Christopher Sutton's appeal was denied.

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[John Sutton]

Plus it's an all new season of adventures. We have to stop this invasion.

[Narrator/Host]

Get into this ship. This crew is a team. Team. We are going to find our way out of this.

[John Sutton]

Star Trek Strange New worlds. New season now streaming on Paramount plus.