Marine's '92 killing probed
Investigators from the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service have joined forces in an effort to solve the 1992 killing of a Marine in Gloucester County.
Investigators from the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service have joined forces in an effort to solve the 1992 killing of a Marine in Gloucester County.
Relatives found Gunnery Sgt. James Sutton, 41, who was assigned to the Fourth Marine Corps District in Philadelphia, shot to death on Nov. 14, 1992, in their home on Arrowood Place in the High Hills Farms section of Logan Township.
Detective Joan Krucinski of the Prosecutor's Office and NCIS Special Agent Kaylyn Deuker are working on the case.
"While many years have passed since Sgt. Sutton's murder, time and technology can help in the investigation of cold cases," Krucinski said in a statement.
"The passage of time can help, in that relationships change over the years, and people with information sometimes become more willing to share knowledge than when first interviewed," Krucinski said.
Sutton was wounded 14 times with a 9mm automatic weapon as he sat on the sofa in his recreation room.
The decorated Vietnam veteran and Marine recruiter was discovered by his wife and 7-year-old daughter shortly before 1 a.m. Investigators believe he was killed about midnight.
Neighbors who were watching the Riddick Bowe-Evander Holyfield heavyweight boxing match on TV that night heard no shots. There was no sign of forced entry, and nothing was missing from the house, authorities said.
"I never knew James, but to me he is a real person, and he deserves our best effort to find the person responsible for his death," Deuker said. "The motto of the NCIS cold case unit comes from a quote by Voltaire: 'To the living we owe respect. To the dead we owe the truth.' We intend to determine the truth about what happened to James Sutton."
The NCIS investigates cases involving Marines and Navy personnel. Its cold-case unit has solved 61 homicides since it was formed in 1995, the Prosecutor's Office said.
Anyone with information can contact Krucinski at 856- 384-5609 or e-mail her at kkrucinski@co.gloucester.nj.us. Tips can be e-mailed to the Major Crimes Unit at mcu@co.gloucester.nj.us.
