Sevier County Trial Records

Gary Wayne Sutton and his uncle, James Dellinger, were arrested and charged in Sevier County, Tennessee, with the murder of Connie Branam on March 5, 1992.

Less than a year later, on February 16, 1993, jury selection in their murder trial began. The following records represent court filings, transcripts, and exhibits maintained in court archives.

Pre-Trial Filings

Pre-Trial Hearing Transcripts

Trial Transcripts

Volume 1

🟠 Motions and Jury Selection

Volume 2

🟠 Motions and Jury Selection

Volume 3

🟠 Motions and Jury Selection

Volume 4

🟠 Motions and Jury Selection

Volume 5

🟠 Motions and Jury Selection

Volume 6

🟠 Motions and Jury Selection

Volume 7

🟠 Motions and Jury Selection

Volume 8

🟠 Motions and Jury Selection

Volume 9

🟠 Opening Statements

🟠 State Witness

💬 John Brown

Volume 10

🟠 State Witnesses

💬 John Brown - Sevier County Sheriff's Office

💬 Terry Lilly - Howie's Hideaway Waitress

💬 Cindy Walker - Alcoa Highway

💬 Kenneth Walker - Alcoa Highway

💬 Sharon Davis - Alcoa Highway

💬 Steven F. Brooks - Alcoa PD

💬 Drew Roberts - Alcoa PD

Volume 11

🟠 State Witnesses

💬 Alvin Henry - Bluff Heights Neighbor

💬 Jennifer Branam - Connie Branam's Daughter

💬 Sandy Branam - Connie Branam's Daughter

💬 Tim Nichols - Sevier County Fire Department

💬 David Duggan - South Central Bell Telephone Company

Volume 12

🟠 State Witnesses

💬 David Duggan - South Central Bell Telephone Company

💬 Herman Lewis - Connie Branam's Uncle

💬 Ray Herrin - Blount County Jail Supervisor

💬 Thomas David DeFoe - Blount County Sheriff's Office

💬 Jason McDonald - Walland Resident

💬 Brenda McKeon - Jason McDonald's Mother

💬 Elaine Mayes - Bluff Heights Neighbor

Volume 13

🟠 State Witnesses

💬 Elaine Mayes - Bluff Heights Neighbor

💬 Nancy Bryant - Townsend Shopping Center Clerk

💬 Jerry Sullivan - Townsend Shopping Center Owner

💬 Jamie Forsythe - Howie's Hideaway Waitress

💬 Terri Lilly - Howie's Hideaway Waitress

💬 Barbara Ann Gordon - House Sitter on Clear Fork

💬 Thomas A. Carter Jr - Fisherman who found Tommy Griffin's Body

Volume 14

🟠 State Witnesses

💬 James Widener - Blount County Sheriff's Office Detective

💬 Larry Munsey - Blount County Sheriff's Office Crime Scene Technician

Volume 15

🟠 State Witnesses

💬 James Gordon - House Sitter on Clear Fork

💬 Gary Clabo - Tennessee State Arson Investigator

💬 Dr. Bill Bass - Forensic Anthropologist

💬 Murray Marks - Forensic Anthropology Grad Student

Volume 16

🟠 State Witnesses

💬 Murray Marks - Forensic Anthropology Grad Student

💬 Larry McMann - Sevier County Sheriff's Office

💬 David Davenport - Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

💬 David I. Carmen - Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

Volume 17

🟠 State Witnesses

💬 David I. Carmen - Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

— The State Rests —

🟠 James Dellinger's Defense Witnesses

💬 Dr. Wayne Stewart - Connie Branam's Primary Care Physician

💬 Dr. Ittoop Maliyekkel - Psychiatrist at Lakeshore

💬 Matthew Coverly - Sevier County Sheriff's Office

💬 Linda Dellinger - James Dellinger's Wife

Volume 18

🟠 James Dellinger's Defense Witnesses

💬 Linda Dellinger - James Dellinger's Wife

💬 Bill Cogdill - Alleged Alternate Suspect

💬 Joyce Tipton - Witness to Bill Cogdill

💬 Angel Gray - Linda Dellinger's Daughter

💬 Carolyn Weaver - Gary Sutton's Girlfriend

Volume 19

🟠 Gary Sutton's Defense Witnesses

💬 Jimmy Sutton - Gary's Brother

💬 Diane Sutton - Jimmy's Wife

💬 Shelly Longmire - Diane Sutton's Sister

💬 Reese Sutton - Gary's Uncle

💬 Leroy Sutton - Gary's Uncle

💬 Amy Franklin - Witness to Gary on 2/23/92

💬 Kent Hatcher - Sevier County Sheriff's Office

💬 Justin Sutton - Gary's Nephew

💬 Gary Sutton - The Defendant

Volume 20

🟠 Gary Sutton's Defense Witnesses

💬 Gary Sutton - The Defendant

🟠 James Dellinger Defense Witness

💬 Ron Drinnon - Howie's Hideaway Witness

Volume 21

🟠 James Dellinger Defense Witness

💬 Ron Drinnon

🟠 Motions

🟠 State Rebuttal Witnesses

💬 Gary Clabo - Tennessee State Arson Investigator

💬 Don Ogle - Sevier County Sheriff

💬 Mark Turner - Sevier County Sheriff's Office

💬 William Martin Barnes - Headlight Manufacturer

🟠 Closing Arguments

🟠 Charge of the Court

Volume 22

🟠 Verdict

🟠 Sentencing

Exhibits and Evidence

NOTE: There is significant overlap in the Sevier County trial exhibits and the Blount County trial exhibits. Some of this exhibits will be stamped as Blount County. Some exhibits are missing from the files I've obtained. The exhibits are in order sorted by which transcript to find them in. I have transcribed them as they appear in the official index of exhibits and included the page number for which they appear.

Volume 3

1. Handwritten note (Daniel) | 259

Volume 9

2. Chart | 885
3. Chart | 891
4. Chart | 895

Volume 10

5. Report | 901
6. Map | 911
7. Diagram | 932
8. Two (2) Photographs | 933
9. Complaint Form | 978
10. Two (2) Photographs of trailers | 998

Volume 11

11. Page 2 of Statement | 1021
12. Chart of 911 Calls | 1028
13. Stipulation |1029

Volume 12

14. Phone records | 1102
15. Phone records | 1103
16. Fire fighter's report |1114
17. Intake card | 1149
18. Page from Journal | 1171
19. Page from journal | 1173

Volume 13

20. Statement of Forsythe | 1260
21. Statement of Forsythe | 1260
22. Photograph of truck | 1280

Volume 14

23. Photograph | 1305
24. Shell casing | 1307
25. Shell casing | 1307
26. Mossberg barrel | 1326
27. Rifle | 1326
28. Three (3) shell casings | 1328
29. .12 gauge shotgun shell | 1328
30. Photograph of fire barrel | 1329
31. Rights waiver | 1358
32. Wadding from Griffin body | 1396

Volume 15

33. Photograph | 1404
34. Board w/6 photographs | 1412
35. Photographs of burned car | 1418
36. Photograph of burned trailer | 1442
37. Photograph of car | 1448

Volume 16

38. Three photos of body in car | 1483
39. Photos of smoked glass in car | 1503
40. Shell casing | 1514
41. Photo of scene | 1519
42. Photo of scene | 1520
43. Admonition and Waiver | 1560
44. Handwritten statement | 1564
45. Page 1 of Tipton interview | 1569

Volume 17

46. Copy of medical records | 1648
47. Records from Lakeshore | 1654
48. Diagram | 1686

Volume 19

49. Statement | 1803
50. Statement | 1803
51. Statement of Linda Dellinger | 1806
52. Photograph of Camaro | 1815
53. Photograph | 1817
54. Photograph | 1817
55. Photograph | 1819
56. Photograph | 1819
57. Headlight | 1821
58. Headlight | 1821
59. Headlight | 1821
60. Headlight | 1821
61. Photograph | 1833
62. Photograph | 1834
63. Photograph | 1835
64. Photograph | 1836
65. Videotape | 1838
66. Jailer's log | 1882
67. Jailer's log | 1884

Volume 21

68. Radio log | 2026
69. Log | 2040

Sentencing Hearing

1. Valentine's Card | 2240
2. Letter | 2148
3. Drawings | 2156
4. Transcript | 2174
5. Presentence Report ( Dellinger) | 2181
6. Presentence Report ( Sutton) | 2181

Post-Trial Filings

Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals