On a cold winter day in Everett, Washington, the life of David M. Sutton, Jr., a 36-year-old male antique store owner, was tragically cut short. On January 27, 1980, Sutton was discovered in his shop, the victim of a fatal gunshot wound to the head. The scene was not just a homicide; it was also a robbery, with a staggering $80,000 in silver dollars stolen from his establishment.
This violent act left the community in shock and marked the beginning of a long and complex investigation.
For a decade, the case of David Sutton's murder remained cold, a painful and unanswered question for his family and local law enforcement. The initial investigation yielded few leads, and the trail of the killer seemed to have vanished along with the stolen silver dollars. The brutal nature of the crime, targeting a local business owner in his place of work, created a sense of unease, but without a suspect, justice remained elusive.
A significant breakthrough finally came in August of 1990, ten years after the murder. Investigators identified a prime suspect: Charles T. Sinclair, a man who would come to be known as the 'Coin Shop Killer.' Sinclair was already in custody in Alaska for the murders of two coin shop workers in Billings, Montana. As authorities delved into Sinclair's background, they uncovered a disturbing pattern of violence that stretched across the United States and Canada. His method was chillingly consistent: he would befriend coin shop owners, learn their routines, and then rob and murder them, leaving no witnesses behind.
The investigation revealed that David Sutton was just one of at least eleven victims linked to Sinclair. His criminal activities were extensive, including another homicide in Washington, and crimes in Indiana, California, and other states. Everett police detectives prepared to travel to question Sinclair about Sutton's death, hoping to finally close the long-unsolved case. However, before they could, Sinclair died in custody in October 1990, taking with him any potential confessions or further details about his reign of terror. While his death left many questions unanswered, the identification of Sinclair as the likely perpetrator brought a sense of resolution to the murder of David Sutton and exposed a prolific and ruthless serial killer.
