Della Sutorius

Background

Della Faye Hall Hoeffer Beyer Bassett Britteon Sutorius was an American woman who was convicted of murdering her husband in 1996. She was born Della Faye Hall on August 8, 1950, and she died on November 20, 2010.

Dante Britteon Sutorius had lived an unusual life. She had been married and divorced four times before meeting her fifth husband, Darryl Sutorius, through a dating service. Darryl Sutorius was described as a recently divorced doctor. The couple enjoyed the finer things and spent money with abandon, and tensions grew as money began running thin.

According to her sister Donna Hall, Sutorius’s approach to men had long been colored by monetary gain: “She said you find a wealthy man and, when they die, you'd get their money”.

Della Sutorius began fighting with Darryl’s oldest daughter. The couple began seeing a marriage counselor.

Hamilton County, Ohio prosecutor Joe Deters theorized that Della Sutorius had “a serious problem with rejection” after colleagues of her husband reported that shortly before his death, Darryl Sutorius had been considering filing for divorce.

Her ex-husbands alleged that she was violent and had often threatened them. Several of her former husbands said she had threatened to kill them.

The offence

Dr. Darryl Sutorius was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in the basement of the house he shared with his wife, on February 19, 1996. It was clear that the cause of death was a gunshot to the head, but authorities were initially unsure whether his death was homicide or suicide.

Della Sutorius said she did not even know he was home and suspected he had shot himself. The medical examiner saw a different scene.

Prosecutors argued that Sutorius killed her husband and then tried to make it look like suicide so she could collect a nearly $1 million pension plan. Prosecutors also described Sutorius as a black widow spider who shot her husband for his $900,000 in assets.

A jury convicted her and found that she shot Dr. Sutorius once in the head as he slept on a basement couch.

Investigation

Authorities were initially unsure whether Dr. Darryl Sutorius’s death was homicide or suicide.

When police stopped by the house, they found Dr. Sutorius shot dead in a downstairs den. A gunshot to the head was described as the cause of death.

Sutorius’s wife, Della Sutorius, was arrested the same day when investigating police found a supply of cocaine.

Released on bail the next day, she was re-arrested on February 27 when it was determined that she had purchased the weapon that had killed her husband and gunshot residue tests and autopsy results indicated that she had been the one who fired the weapon on the day of Sutorius’s death. The re-arrested charge was aggravated murder with prior calculation.

Investigators said Sutorius bought the gun two days earlier.

Arrest

Della Sutorius was arrested on the same day police investigated the death of Dr. Darryl Sutorius.

She was released on bail the next day and re-arrested on February 27.

Trial

Della Sutorius declined to take the stand in her own defense at her trial.

The jury convicted her on June 7, 1996, after deliberating for fewer than five hours before finding her guilty of aggravated murder.

Prosecutors contended Sutorius killed her husband and then tried to make it look like suicide so she could collect a nearly $1 million pension plan.

Defense attorneys argued that police had failed to prove that Darryl Sutorius’s death was anything but suicide and that the wife’s statements to police had not been preceded by a Miranda warning.

The defense also argued that the emotional impact of certain statements had a significant impact in a case that relied heavily on circumstantial evidence.

Statements and alleged evidence

During the trial before Judge Richard Niehaus, prosecutors contended Sutorius killed her husband and then tried to make it look like suicide. The verdict ended a three-week trial that drew national media attention.

The appeals judges later agreed that, on at least one occasion, the judge failed to exclude improper testimony made by a witness who claimed to have heard Dr. Sutorius discuss how his wife threatened to kill him.

Several quotes attributed to witnesses and prosecutors during the case included:

• Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters said: “a serious problem with rejection”.
• Her third husband, graphic artist Grant Bassett, said: “When I heard that Dr. Sutorius was dead, I thought, 'I'm so . . . lucky to be alive, it's not funny.'”
• Bassett described Sutorius: “She was very striking . . . eye-catching,” and he added: “I thought I was getting into a pretty lady, very meek. Lo and behold, Tasmanian devil.”
• Her sister Donna Hall said: “She said you find a wealthy man and, when they die, you'd get their money”.

Prior threatening incidents mentioned during the case

Sutorius’s third husband alleged that she had repeatedly threatened to kill him during their marriage; after the couple divorced, she was charged with threatening another man, this time a boyfriend, with a gun.

One husband had found knives hidden around the house he shared with her and had been surprised when she told him she “could kill you”.

Her fourth husband told investigators that she was mentally abusive and he feared her to the point of hiding the bullets to his gun to prevent her from being able to use them.

Sentencing

Della Sutorius was sentenced to more than twenty years in prison in June 1996.

A sentencing report described the terms as:

• twenty years for the murder,
• three years because a gun was used in the crime,
• eighteen months on drug charges.

Another sentencing account described that she received life in prison with no chance of parole for 20 years for aggravated murder, three years for using a gun during a crime, and 11/2 years for drug possession. A tin of cocaine had been found in her bedroom.

Judge Richard Niehaus compared Sutorius with a poisonous fish, stating: “It consumes all who come in contact with it. That creature is you,” and he also said she reminded him of a lionfish he saw while scuba diving, “beautiful but with fins that are as sharp as needles and poisonous.”

She declined to comment and said nothing in court. Her lawyer said she would appeal.

In addition to the timeline outcome field, she was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison on June 23, 1996.

Appeals

Della Sutorius appealed her conviction in the spring of 1997, claiming that the trial jury having been allowed to hear hearsay evidence of statements her dead husband had made and that prosecutors had made improper comments to the jury.

The appeal was declined in June 1997.

The Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals ruled that she received a fair trial in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court and should remain behind bars for the murder of Dr. Darryl Sutorius. The appeals court judges decided that any errors during the trial were “harmless in light of the substantial evidence of guilt.”

The appeals judges agreed that, on at least one occasion, the judge failed to exclude improper testimony made by a witness who claimed to have heard Dr. Sutorius discuss how his wife threatened to kill him, but they said there was a great deal of additional, proper testimony that could help jurors reach a fair verdict. The court ruled: “We cannot say that the erroneous admission of hearsay testimony . . . prejudiced Sutorius to the extent that she was denied a fair trial,”

The appeals court found no evidence of misconduct by prosecutors relating to improper comments to jurors about Mrs. Sutorius’s failure to testify at trial.

Outcome

After conviction, Della Sutorius returned to serving her sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville.

In order to defray the costs of prosecuting Sutorius, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s department seized and auctioned off Sutorius’s 11-piece jewelry collection. Despite press coverage of the auction, bidders failed to meet the minimum necessary total for the pieces to sell separately, and the lot was sold for a $5,100 lump sum.

Death

According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, Della Sutorius died of natural causes at the Ohio Reformatory for Women on November 20, 2010, where Sutorius had been serving her life sentence since her conviction. She was 60 years old.

She would have been eligible for parole in 2013.

Other details

Sutorius’s relationships and history included multiple marriages and prior threats:

• Her lawyer was R. Scott Croswell III.
• Defense attorney Elizabeth Agar said the emotional impact of such statements had a significant impact in a case that relied heavily on circumstantial evidence.
• Judge Richard Niehaus presided over the trial.

Accounts of previous marriages and people mentioned during the case included:

• Her first husband, 18-year-old Joseph Hoeffer.
• They had one child and divorced after four years, with the child staying with Hoeffer.
• At 24, she married 23-year-old plumber James Beyer; they divorced him five years later.
• She married graphic artist Grant Bassett in 1990; nine months later, they agreed to divorce.
• Her fourth husband, computer consultant David Britteon.
• She married Darryl Sutorius in 1995, after meeting him through a dating service.

Additional people mentioned included:

• Stockbroker Lawrence Wulker, who told police she threatened him and “threatened my life if she miscarried”.
• Dr. Jim Mills, a fellow surgeon, who said: “From what I could gain, he obviously was not happy with his situation”.
• CourtTV was permitted to televise coverage of the May 1996 trial.
• Crime reporter Aphrodite Jones covered Sutorius’s case in her 2011 book Della’s Web.
• The case was featured in 2005 on the Oxygen Network series Snapped, and on the Investigation Discovery series Deadly Women and Fatal Vows.

Media coverage included claims of the case’s public appeal, including a spokeswoman for the Sally Jessy Raphael talk show stating: “highly dramatic” and that it would be of appeal to daytime television watchers.

A description of her as “The Black Widow” appeared in media references, and one report stated: “Black Widow” Della Sutorius Dies In Ohio Prison. Another report stated: “Black Widow” must stay in Marysville.

Several additional quoted statements appeared in the case narrative:

• Her attorney R. Scott Croswell III said: “She is anxious to face these charges and have them resolved,” and: “She is anxious to face these charges and have them resolved,” (as reported) and also said, “She is anxious to face these charges and have them resolved”.
• Bassett said: “When I heard that Dr. . .
• . . eye-catching,” and: “I thought I was getting into a pretty lady, very meek. Lo and behold, Tasmanian devil.”
• Donna Hall said: “She said you find a wealthy man and, when they die, you'd get their money”.

Timeline

February 19, 1996 — Dr. Darryl Sutorius was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in the basement of the house he shared with Della Sutorius. February 27, 1996 — Della Sutorius was re-arrested after it was determined she had purchased the weapon and gunshot residue tests and autopsy results indicated she fired it. June 7, 1996 — A jury convicted Della Sutorius of aggravated murder. June 23, 1996 — Della Sutorius was sentenced to 23 years to life in prison. March 1996 — A newspaper reported that Della Sutorius was charged with aggravated murder and that she could get life in prison. Spring 1997 — Della Sutorius appealed her conviction, claiming hearsay evidence and improper comments to the jury. June 1997 — The appeal was declined by the Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals. November 20, 2010 — Della Sutorius died of natural causes at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.