Sutton pleads guilty except insane in murder of girlfriend
PRESCOTT - Zachary Sutton, accused of stabbing to death his girlfriend and then setting her house on fire, pleaded guilty except insane to the charges Friday and was sentenced to more than 40 years in the Arizona State Hospital.
Sutton, 26, was originally indicted on 10 counts, including one count each of first-degree murder, arson, criminal damage, auto theft, tampering with evidence, necrophilia, theft, interfering with a judicial proceeding, and two counts of cruelty to animals.
In January 2011, the body of Carey L. Johnson, 44, was found in the burnt-out bedroom of a house in the 700 block of Campbell Avenue.
A spokesman for the Prescott Police Department said Johnson, Sutton's girlfriend, died from multiple stab wounds before the fire started.
Lt. Andy Reinhardt said detectives arrested Sutton after he admitted "to detectives that he killed her prior to starting the fire."
Sutton's mental fitness to stand trial has been questioned repeatedly, but ultimately, he admitted that he was not sane at the time he committed the crimes.
Sutton has a long history of mental illness, specifically paranoid schizophrenia, his attorney, M. Alex Harris, said. She added that the symptoms could be controlled by medication, but Sutton frequently refused to take that medication.
Harris said "our system has failed again" in Sutton's case, and that he was "turned loose on society" despite psychiatric evaluations that showed he could be a danger to people.
Johnson's mother, Kay Matthews, told Superior Court Judge Tina Ainley that she believed her daughter was trying to help Sutton, and said, "I believe this was a senseless, brutal murder. I pray the court gives him the maximum sentence so Zach never has the opportunity to do this again."
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Johnson's sisters also spoke, and both complained that they felt as if too much emphasis was placed on Sutton and not enough attention was paid to the victims. "This was not about our rights, it was about his rights," one said. They both said he had shown no remorse for the death of Johnson.
Harris said that Sutton "does express regret and remorse" and that "Zach has written me numerous letters taking responsibility."
In a letter to Ainley, Sutton's mother said she was sorry that it took a murder for Sutton to be committed to a mental health facility.
A report written by Dr. Joseph Stewart, who evaluated Sutton's mental competency, said, "As soon as he can be free from a locked facility, this gentleman will simply discontinue his prescribed psychotropic medicines. He will then become quite psychotic and violent...Mr. Sutton will always be a high risk for violence against others in the larger society."
Ainley sentenced him to a term of 44 years in the Arizona State Hospital, echoing his mother's sentiments that "this commitment came at too high a price."
She said that, because the court has to follow procedures and rules in criminal cases, "that doesn't mean the court system ignores victims," and that, while the mental health issues prolonged the case, "this court has never forgotten why we were here."
