Dog's skill an issue in case
A cadaver dog is important to proving the prosecution's theory that a Durham man killed his wife.
Jan. 23, 2004
Petrick won't face death penalty
Robert James Petrick will not face the death penalty in his trial on charges that he killed his wife, cellist Janine Sutphen , a prosecutor said Thursday. Assistant District Attorney Mitchell Garrell told Superior Court Judge J.B. Allen Jr. that he would not prosecute the first-degree murder case as a capital murder.
Oct. 17, 2003
Autopsy says cellist was asphyxiated
Durham cellist Janine Sutphen's decomposed body showed no evidence of injuries, leading a medical examiner to conclude she was asphyxiated, according to an autopsy report released Thursday. The report by Dr. Thomas Clark III, an assistant state medical examiner, says he reached that determination after excluding all other injuries and after being unable to find any suitable specimens to undergo toxicology tests, which can show the presence of alcohol or poisons.
Sept. 5, 2003
Affidavit show items seized in Sutphen case
A computer system, rope and a green mattress were seized from murder suspect Robert Petrick's townhouse two weeks after his missing wife's body was found in Falls Lake, according to an affidavit filed Friday. The affidavit says Investigator Terry Mikels wanted to search the couple's townhouse at 1304 Seaton Road on June 9 after Janine Sutphen's body was found May 29. She was wrapped in "numerous layers of materials, some of which had been identified by family members" as belonging to Sutphen and kept in her home.
July 19, 2003
Sutphen's life celebrated
Six months after her mysterious disappearance, the friends and family of Janine Sutphen gathered to celebrate the life she so zestfully lived. The body of the Durham Symphony cellist was found May 30 in Falls Lake. Her husband, Robert James Petrick, was charged with murder the next day.
June 9, 2003
Grand jury indicts dead cellist's husband
A Durham County grand jury Monday indicted Robert James Petrick on the charge of murdering his wife, Janine Sutphen, and prosecutors said they might seek the death penalty. Superior Court Judge J.B. Allen Jr. appointed two lawyers, Mark Edwards and Robert Trenkle, to represent Petrick, 49, and scheduled the next court date for July 8. Sutphen's body was found Thursday in Falls Lake, four months after Petrick reported that Sutphen, 57, left for a Durham Symphony rehearsal and never returned.
June 3, 2003
Sutphen's friends seek explanation
As friends and family prepare for Janine Sutphen's funeral, they await a bail hearing this week for clues about what evidence police have against her husband. Robert James Petrick, 49, will be arraigned on a murder charge Monday, when an indictment is expected to be handed up after a grand jury hears evidence about the death of Sutphen, 57, the Durham Symphony cellist whose body was found Thursday floating in Falls Lake.
June 1, 2003
Body is cellist's; spouse charged
Robert James Petrick was charged Friday with the murder of his wife, Janine Sutphen, hours after an autopsy confirmed that a body found bound and floating in Falls Lake was that of the missing Durham Symphony cellist.
May 31, 2003
Body found in Falls Lake
Durham police are looking into the possibility that the corpse might be that of a missing cellist.
May 30, 2003
Bail lowered for husband of Sutphen
A judge reduced the bail of Robert James Petrick on Tuesday after a Durham prosecutor declined to disclose any connection between Petrick's fraud charges and the disappearance of his wife, Janine Sutphen.
Feb. 12, 2003
Details of past emerge
Family describes husband's troubles.
Feb. 9, 2003
Check case going to trial
Missing woman's husband charged.
Feb. 8, 2003
Conflicts cited in husband's story
Police find inconsistencies in statements made by a missing cellist's spouse.
Feb. 6, 2003
Grounds searched for woman
A sheriff's deputy and a cadaver-sniffing dog searched the Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship's seven-acre property Tuesday but found no sign of missing church member Janine Sutphen, authorities said.
Feb. 5, 2003
Search for woman continues
Sheriff's deputies continued searching a South Durham lake Monday for the body of Janine Sutphen, but they didn't find any clues to the whereabouts of the Durham cellist.
Feb. 4, 2003
Woman says she warned Sutphen
She told cellist of husband's past.
Feb. 2, 2003
Employer couldn't reach Sutphen
The Durham woman had been without a job, then found one that was a good fit. Then, suddenly, she vanished.
Feb. 1, 2003
Missing woman's sons keep faith
Three men hope for Janine Sutphen's safe return, but Durham police are approaching the case as a homicide.
Jan. 31, 2003
