In the summer of 1979, a dispute over a soured drug deal led to the violent death of 19-year-old John Michael Large. A white male from Tennessee, Large was murdered by his roommate and childhood friend, Nicholas Todd Sutton. The events unfolded at a remote farm in Waynesville, North Carolina, where Sutton had lured Large under the pretense of settling a disagreement concerning $25,000 intended for a cocaine purchase.
According to Sutton's own confession to authorities in 1980, an
argument at the farm escalated into a physical altercation. Sutton claimed that Large had initiated the violence by opening fire, prompting him to retaliate. He admitted to striking Large with a tobacco stick and then using a dog chain to beat and choke him. While Large was incapacitated, Sutton forced a tobacco stick down his throat, which ultimately caused his death. Afterward, Sutton buried his former friend's body in a shallow grave near Mount Sterling, North Carolina.
Guided by Sutton's directions, authorities located and exhumed Large's remains. An autopsy later determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head. A piece of plywood was also found lodged in Large's mouth, which contradicted Sutton's account of using a tobacco stick. Despite this discrepancy, a murder warrant was issued for Sutton in North Carolina.
Sutton's confession to the murder of John Large was part of a larger admission to a series of homicides, which also included the killing of his own grandmother and two other individuals. These revelations led to his conviction for multiple murders and his eventual execution in 2020. No other individuals were ever arrested or suspected in connection with the death of John Michael Large.
