Former Traverse City Reserve Officer Lyle Sutton violated a personal protective order.
Sutton reportedly called his ex-girlfriend almost two-hundred times between September and October 2005....
"Hope you said your prayers because you may be going to hell tonight...", were some of the death threats that Sutton's ex-girlfriend received.
Police said that part of the difficulty in catching Sutton, was due to Sutton's previous law enforcement training.
ALSO SEE:
VIOLATION OF PROTECTIVE ORDER: SLASHED EX-GIRLFRIEND'S TIRES
VIOLATION OF PROTECTIVE ORDER: BROKE INTO EX-GIRLFRIEND'S HOUSE
Ex-reserve officer jailed on stalking charges
Week in Review
Traverse City Record Eagle, MI
Oct 29, 2006
http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/oct/29week.htm
BEULAH — A former Traverse City Police reserve officer is in the Benzie County Jail on aggravated stalking charges for allegedly harassing a former girlfriend.
Lyle Sutton, 59, is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend by calling her hundreds of times a month since they broke up in April 2005, said Tom Whale, a detective with the Benzie County Sheriff's Department.
Traverse City Police Sgt. Brian Heffner said Sutton left the city's reserve police program around 1994.
Sutton has been convicted twice since April 2005 for violating a personal protection order his ex-girlfriend obtained against him, Whale said.
Sutton had been unable to post his $100,000 bond and remained in Benzie County Jail Thursday morning. He could be sentenced to up to five years in prison if convicted.
Ex-officer is in jail on charges he stalked woman
Traverse City Record Eagle, MI
By VICTOR SKINNER
10/26/2006
http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/oct/26stalk.htm
BEULAH — A former Traverse City Police reserve officer is in the Benzie County Jail on aggravated stalking charges for allegedly harassing a former girlfriend.
Lyle Sutton, 59, is accused of stalking his ex-girlfriend by calling her hundreds of times a month since they broke up in April 2005, said Tom Whale, a detective with the Benzie County Sheriff's Department.
Sutton allegedly used voice distortion devices to leave death threats and provocative messages on the woman's phone.
"There were periods that he would call her every one to five minutes for hours on end," Whale said. "For the month of September until now, we have identified 194 calls."
Sutton eluded detectives for months by allegedly using several different phones and by blocking the phone numbers when he called. Whale used four warrants to search the records of two of the phones Sutton allegedly owned after another woman received unblocked calls from the phones.
Traverse City Police Sgt. Brian Heffner said Sutton left the city's reserve police program around 1994.
Sutton has been convicted twice since April 2005 for violating a personal protection order his ex-girlfriend obtained against him, Whale said. The first for breaking into her home and rearranging her belongings and the second time for slashing her tires, Whale said.
Sutton had been unable to post his $100,000 bond and remained in Benzie County Jail Thursday morning. He could be sentenced to up to five years in prison if convicted.
Ex T.C. cop arrested for stalking in Benzie County
oldies1015
By: Chuck Randall Wed. Oct. 25 2006
http://oldies1015.com/news.php?news_id=6078
Former reserve Police Officer with the Traverse City Police Department is arrested for stalking his ex Benzie County girl friend. Lyle Sutton is accused of making close to 200-calls to the ex-girl friend, who broke up with Sutton in April of 2005, in the last month that included daily death threats.
Benzie Detectives say that Sutton has also violated two personal protection orders, slashed the woman’s tires and broke in to her home. Sutton was jailed for those incidents. Sutton is facing an aggravated stalking charge which carries a 5-year sentence if he's convicted.
Stalking Arrest
9and10news
Posted: 10/24/2006
http://www.9and10news.com/category/story/?id=108175
Sutton has been threatening to kill her in phone messages - Hope you said your prayers because you may be going to hell tonight.
Almost 200 phone calls to his ex-girlfriend within the past month are part the reason police say a Traverse City man is in jail. Detectives with the Benzie County Sheriff Department say Lyle Sutton started stalking his ex-girlfriend after they broke up in April of 2005.
Since the break-up police say Sutton has violated two personal protection orders filed by his ex-girlfriend. Sutton also served time in jail after admitting to police he broke into her house and slashed her car tires.
Now detectives are examining Sutton's cell phone records. Police say Sutton would call his ex-girlfriend dozens of times a day and make death threats. Detectives say part of the reason it has been difficult for them to catch Sutton is because he is a former reserve officer with the Traverse City Police Department.
TRAGIC TWIST to the domestic violence in Sutton's life:
Lyle Sutton's sister, Shari Marvin was a victim of domestic violence. On February 25, 2010, Sheri was murdered by her abusive husband, Michael Marvin.
Sister's murder shows value of family
BY ALEX PIAZZA
The Record Eagle
Fri Dec 31, 2010, 06:14 AM EST
http://record-eagle.com/local/x43235165/Sisters-murder-shows-value-of-family
TRAVERSE CITY — Family comes first for Lyle Sutton.
The Traverse City resident plans to organize a family reunion next summer. He often calls relatives just to check up on them. And family falls even higher on his priority list after a local man killed his sister.
"You can't take family for granted," Sutton said. "If somebody is mad at their mom or dad, they better make up because there's no second chances. When it's done, it's done."
His sister, Shari Marvin, fell victim Feb. 25 to a domestic dispute turned murder. Michael Marvin, 48, repeatedly stabbed Shari, his wife, with a kitchen knife after an argument over infidelity in their Garfield Township apartment. She died from internal hemorrhaging caused by stab wounds.
Prosecutors charged Marvin with an open count of murder after he drunkenly told deputies he stabbed his wife. Marvin called 911 after the stabbing and waited outside the apartment until deputies arrived. Authorities entered the apartment and found Shari Marvin face-up on a bed with blood on her hands and clothing.
Deputies then found Marvin in the bathroom, cutting his neck with a knife. He was taken to Munson Medical Center for a reported suicide attempt.
Jurors in November found Marvin guilty of second-degree murder. Two weeks later, 13th Circuit Court Judge Thomas G. Power sentenced Marvin to 15 to 25 years in prison.
Sutton was pleased that jurors convicted Marvin, but said he wanted a harsher punishment for the man who killed his sister.
"I would have liked to see him get 25 to life," Sutton said.
Sutton sat through weeks of testimony, during which he heard an array of stories on how his sister died. Marvin also chose to defend himself, and his lack of experience was evident as testimony and cross-examination extended the trial by several days. He asked Power to remove two defense attorneys — Philip Settles and Paul Jarboe — because he believed he'd have a better shot at winning the case by himself.
"I thought the whole thing was fairly strange," said Jarboe, who accompanied Marvin at trial and helped him when he requested assistance. "I think everybody involved tried to convince him that it made more sense for an attorney to handle the trial."
But for a man with no prior legal experience, Jarboe and Power said they were surprised by how Marvin handled himself in court.
"Marvin actually did a pretty good job," Power said. "He is very smart and he spent a lot of time getting ready. He made some decisions that a lawyer would have undoubtedly done differently."
His trial preparation also was unusual, as corrections officers prevented him from using a writing utensil to take notes in his cell because of an apparent suicide attempt. And because of that and other attempts to harm himself, deputies outfitted him in a white helmet and multiple sets of restraint straps during his initial court hearings.
Family retains pain of murder trial
'It was heart-wrenching ... very, very difficult,' brother says
BY ALEX PIAZZA
The Record Eagle
Thu Nov 04, 2010, 07:13 AM EDT
http://record-eagle.com/local/x1048514913/Family-retains-pain-of-murder-trial
Lyle Sutton, left, and Tedd Strieter, both of Traverse City, sit with a photo of their sister, Shari Marvin, on Wednesday. Record-Eagle/Keith King
Shari Marvin
Michael Marvin
TRAVERSE CITY — Lyle Sutton sat through weeks of testimony and heard an array of stories on how his sister died.
He gripped his cane in 13th Circuit Court as Grand Traverse County prosecutors displayed pictures of his sister, Shari Marvin, prone in bed with multiple stab wounds to her chest.
Sutton also watched a lengthy video in which Michael Marvin told Grand Traverse sheriff's deputies he stabbed Shari, his wife, after an argument over infidelity.
Jurors convicted Michael Marvin, 48, this week of killing Shari, but Sutton said the images and testimony will stick with him for life.
"It was heart-wrenching ... very, very difficult," he said. "Not a day goes by, every day I think about it."
Sutton and several other family members observed as jurors on Tuesday found Michael Marvin guilty of second-degree murder in the Feb. 25 slaying of Shari Marvin. Marvin's sentencing is Nov. 16.
Tedd Strieter, Shari's brother, acknowledged the difficulty in sitting through a trial that lasted nearly three weeks.
"I couldn't even look at the pictures. I turned my head," Strieter said.
Prosecutors charged Marvin in February with an open count of murder after he told deputies he stabbed his wife in their Garfield Township apartment.
Marvin called authorities after the stabbing and waited outside the apartment until they arrived. Authorities entered the apartment and found Shari Marvin face-up on a bed with blood on her hands and clothing.
Deputies then found Michael Marvin inside the bathroom, cutting his neck with a knife. He was taken to Munson Medical Center for a reported suicide attempt.
"Shari was in the wrong place at the wrong time," Strieter said. "I still don't hate him. But I'll never forgive him for what he did."
Proceedings were delayed because of Marvin's problems with his court-appointed attorneys. He asked Judge Thomas G. Power to remove two defense attorneys — Philip Settles and Paul Jarboe — so he could represent himself. Power agreed, but assigned Jarboe to accompany Marvin at trial and help him if he requested assistance.
"I think it's an almost impossible task for anyone charged with such a serious crime to represent themselves," Jarboe said. "I thought at times he did an adequate job, and other times he had great difficulty with the procedures."
Jarboe, a veteran lawyer, plans to accompany Marvin at his sentencing.
"This is one of the stranger experiences I've had in 28 years," Jarboe said. "It's not something I would want to do again. I found the whole situation very sad."
Strieter and Sutton plan to speak at the sentencing. Both men want to ask Marvin why he killed their sister.
"Why didn't he just turn around and walk away?" Strieter said. "There's no explanation for what happened and there never will be."
Strieter wrote a letter to Shari two days after she died. He did so to help him cope with her death.
"I always thought life had meaning with you in it," he wrote. "But now, I'm feeling pretty empty. I want you back, Shari. I can't ever bring you back, that's impossible, I know that, but I will keep loving you like a brother should."
Strieter and Sutton agree their sister's death strengthened their family bond.
"I promised everybody I was going to keep in touch until the day I die," Sutton said. "Life is definitely too short not to keep in contact, especially with family. I guarantee you that everybody is going to keep in touch because everybody now knows life is just too short."
The family plans to celebrate Thanksgiving together, a holiday they consider one of Shari's favorites.
Tapes may not be heard in murder case
Stabbing death trial will begin in late August
BY ALEX PIAZZA
The Record Eagle
Thu Jul 29, 2010, 07:12 AM EDT
http://record-eagle.com/local/x722286204/Tapes-may-not-be-heard-in-murder-case
TRAVERSE CITY — Lyle Sutton cringed as he gripped his cane and listened to audio tapes of a Traverse City man tell detectives that he murdered his wife, Sutton's sister, in a drunken rage.
Prosecutors on Wednesday played recorded interviews of Michael Marvin, 48, as he told Grand Traverse sheriff's deputies in February that he killed his wife, Shari, 46, after an argument over infidelity in their Garfield Township apartment off LaFranier Road.
"It made my stomach turn," Sutton said. "I was tearing up."
But it's uncertain whether the audio tapes will be admissible during Michael Marvin's 13th Circuit Court trial, slated to begin in late August. Judge Thomas G. Power plans to continue a suppression motion hearing over the tapes next week.
Grand Traverse County authorities charged Michael Marvin in February with an open count of murder. Authorities contend he stabbed his wife seven times with a kitchen knife. Shari Marvin died from internal hemorrhaging caused by the stab wounds.
Michael Marvin called authorities after the Feb. 25 stabbing and waited outside the apartment until they arrived, deputies said. They walked in and found Shari Marvin face-up on a bed with blood on her hands and clothing.
Deputies then found Michael Marvin inside the bathroom "in the act of cutting his neck area with a knife," court records show. He was taken to Munson Medical Center for a "reported suicide attempt with knife wounds to (the) neck area."
Sheriff's Detective Paul Gomez visited Marvin at the hospital, and the accused murderer admitted his guilt.
"I'm going to plead guilty because I am guilty," said Marvin, whose blood-alcohol level at the time was four times the state's legal limit. "I'm guilty as hell. I know I did it."
Philip Settles, Marvin's attorney, contends his client's elevated level of intoxication prompted him to make such incriminating statements. Settles said Marvin also asserted his right to remain silent, but authorities continued to interrogate him at both the Dennis W. Finch Law Enforcement Center and the Grand Traverse County Jail.
"He did invoke his right to remain silent," Settles said.
Marvin remains in the county jail, where he is required to wear a helmet and restraint straps when he leaves his cell to protect him from self-inflicted injuries.
Judge: Man can stand trial in wife's death
Michael Marvin accused of stabbing Shari Marvin
BY ALEX PIAZZA
The Record Eagle
Fri May 14, 2010, 07:25 AM EDT
http://record-eagle.com/local/x433568185/Judge-Man-can-stand-trial-in-wifes-death
Shari Lee Sutton Marvin
Michael David Marvin appeared in 86th District Court and was ruled competent to stand trial by Judge Thomas Phillips in the stabbing death of his wife.
TRAVERSE CITY — Michael David Marvin stood out among every inmate who stepped into a Traverse City courtroom.
A white helmet covered his head. Multiple sets of restraint straps replaced standard jail shackles. And a pair of Grand Traverse sheriff's deputies accompanied him Thursday into 86th District Court.
Deputies removed his helmet, then Judge Thomas J. Phillips ruled Marvin competent to stand trial in the stabbing death of his wife, Shari Lee Marvin.
"This is not the Mike I know," said Tedd Strieter, Shari's brother. "To see him like this is just incredible. He looks like something out of Star Wars."
Marvin, 47, of Traverse City, is required to wear a helmet and restraint straps whenever he leaves his jail cell, said Grand Traverse sheriff's Capt. Robert Hall.
"Mr. Marvin has attempted to hurt himself on several occasions," Hall said. "(The helmet's) to prevent him from banging his head on the wall or running into the wall."
He underwent a psychiatric evaluation after prosecutors charged him three months ago with an open count of murder. Authorities contend Marvin in February stabbed his wife, 46, multiple times in the chest with a knife after an argument inside their Garfield Township apartment off LaFranier Road.
Psychiatric evaluation results determined Marvin is competent to stand trial, and he's expected to appear for a June 4 preliminary examination. Philip A. Settles, Marvin's attorney, would not comment as he exited the courtroom.
Marvin remains on suicide watch in a Grand Traverse County Jail observation cell, Hall said. Marvin attempted to commit suicide in the jail in March. Authorities transported Marvin to Munson Medical Center after his failed suicide attempt, then to a psychiatric center in Ypsilanti upon his hospital release.
"He's on constant video, and any time he's out of the cell, he's in the company of at least two officers," Hall said.
Lyle Sutton, Shari's other brother, was shocked by Marvin's court appearance.
"I wanted him to look me in the eyes to let him know I'm here," he said. "I didn't see any compassion whatsoever."
Marvin told authorities he and his wife drank alcohol the night of her death. They argued about infidelity, and he "stabbed his wife out of anger," court records show.
"I don't hate Mike, I just hate what he did," Sutton said. "It was done out of rage and jealousy."
Michael Marvin allegedly called authorities shortly after the stabbing, and waited outside the apartment until they arrived. They walked in and found Shari Marvin face-up on a bed with blood on her hands and clothing.
Authorities then found Michael Marvin in the bathroom "in the act of cutting his neck area with a knife," court records show. He was taken to Munson Medical Center for a "reported suicide attempt with knife wounds to (the) neck area."
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