The Misery Machine - The Case of Damian Sutton

Starting point is 00:00:00 Damian Ryland Sutton was born on June 4, 2011 at St. John's Hospital in Warren, Michigan. He was the first child of parents Nikki and Timothy Sutton. Damien had short blonde hair and the biggest blue eyes framed with thick lashes. He had a soft smile and a slight dimple in one cheek. He was described as full of energy and very active. Like many young boys his age, he loved running through the house. Damien was a smart, strong, and tough little boy. He enjoyed the drums, rock music, and superheroes.

Starting point is 00:00:37 He loved his Elmo doll and would make his other toys give it kisses. His dad called him Little Bossman and said that Damien saved his life. Having his son helped him turn his life around, he said, Before Damien was born, there was nothing good in my life. I was making wrong decisions constantly. I was in and out of trouble. I had nothing going for me. His mother called him the purest soul she had ever met.

Starting point is 00:01:06 She said he was her best friend and the best part of her. Nikki and Timothy got married in 2010. They lived with Nikki's mom, Tara Thompson, when Damien was born. Tara said Nikki cried the first time she had to leave her baby to go to work. Tara would babysit and take him to the park. He was outgoing and he easily made friends with the other kids. stressed by the responsibilities of being new parents, the couple's relationship struggled and Timothy eventually moved out.

Starting point is 00:01:34 Nikki left as well after an argument with her mother. She and Damien lived with her father for a short time, but soon she needed to find a new place to live. Nikki had recently started a new job at an Irish pub in Romeo, Michigan, but she wasn't making enough money to cover all the expenses of a single mother. Her mother had a solution. Tara had recently started working at a small cell phone business. Her boss, Ronald de Mambro, said he would help Nikki and Damien get back on their feet. Ronald lived with his parents in a large home in a nice suburban neighborhood.

Starting point is 00:02:04 A four-bedroom home on Grand Oaks Court had plenty of room. She and Damien could share the third floor with Ronald. There's just one catch. Ronald's parents wouldn't let a random lady with a baby, as they called it, move in with them. Nikki would have to pretend to be Ronald's girlfriend. Hoping it would give her the chance to save enough money, for her own place, Nikki agreed. She said, mothers do what they have to for their children.

Starting point is 00:02:31 She felt like this was something she had to do. So she told his parents, Kit and Ronald Sr., that she was their son's girlfriend. July of 2013, she and Damien moved into their Washington township home. Ronald had prior criminal history that included DV and driving while impaired. He never shared his history with Nikki. However, his parents were well aware of it. In 2009, he became angry and violent in their home. In 2010, he again became angry and violent after taking prescription medication.

Starting point is 00:03:05 He assaulted his father and threatened him with a gun. Either kid nor Ronald Sr. told Nikki about these incidents. They never warned her that Ronald might not be safe for babysitting a young child. Ronald's 10-year-old niece Miranda sometimes spent time at the house. She said that her uncle was mean to Damien. She saw him shake Damien sometimes. Randa saw him slap a little boy. She said Ronald told her that he hated Damien and wished that he would die. She never told Nikki, perhaps because she was afraid of her uncle. Unaware of the potential danger Ronald posed,

Starting point is 00:03:41 Nikki left Damien with him while she went to work. Damien had a few accidents while Ronald was babysitting, but she thought it was just because he wasn't used to watching such a young child. One time, B. had a rug burn. another time a scratch on his collarbone. He was hit with a basketball. He fell down four or five carpeted steps and got a mark on his face. But he was a tough and acted little boy, and none of the injuries seemed serious.

Starting point is 00:04:08 Nikki told Ronald to be more careful, but she didn't suspect anything was wrong. One morning during mid-August, Damien was watching an episode of SpongeBob while eating at the kitchen aisle counter. He was seated on a bar stool on top of two telephone books, a sort of. of homemade booster seat. Nikki was home. She and Ronald were in the living room nearby, but out of sight. They heard Damien fall, and Nikki rushed to his aid. She said that he cried for 12 to 13 seconds, but afterwards, he seemed normal.

Starting point is 00:04:39 She said the tumble was no big deal in her words, and that it didn't require any medical treatment. If he had been seriously hurt, she said she would have taken him to the hospital right away. She and Ronald said he was acting normal after the incident. Sometime around August 14th, Ronald told Nicky that he had a breakdown and Damien was dead. Nikki was confused and understandably upset. If he asked why he would say such a terrible thing, Ronald said he was just making a sick joke. Nicky was disturbed, but Damian was fine, so she let it go.

Starting point is 00:05:13 On August 21st, Nikki had to go to work and Ronald again agreed to watch Damien. Nikki said Damien seemed fine that afternoon and he was acting like his typical energetic self. He watched her get ready and put on her makeup. She left, she gave him a kiss, said, I love you, mommy, before Nikki left around 3.40 p.m. After that, Ronald was alone with Damien. Ronald Sr. was home, but he was outside working in the yard. The phone rang, and Donald claimed that he put Damien in his playpen and ordered to answer the call. He said that Damien was alert and acting perfectly fine. At 453 p.m., records show that Ronald's brother Jason called him. Jason said Ronald sounded frantic on the phone, though he did not reveal

Starting point is 00:05:58 what they talked about publicly. About 18 minutes later, the call ended. When Ronald returned to the playpen, Damien wasn't moving and he was gasping for breath. When Ronald picked Damien up, the little boy went limp in his arms. Ronald ran outside to get his father. His father came in and stay with Damien while Ronald called 911 at 512 p.m. My girlfriend's child is not breathing. Not breathing? Yeah, he's not breathing, right? When asked about his emergency, Ronald said,

Starting point is 00:06:32 My girlfriend's child is not breathing. The dispatcher tried to confirm his statement. Ronald said to his father, he's not breathing, right? His father answered, he's breathing, but Ronald cut him off. He said, he's breathing. He's like hiccuping. He might have asthma.

Starting point is 00:06:49 He might have something in his throat, my dad says. As Ronald gave the Grand Oaks court address, his dad continued to talk in the background, but his words were unclear. Ronald told the dispatcher, We need help immediately. When police and paramedics arrived, Damien was still unresponsive.

Starting point is 00:07:07 They took him to the nearby Henry Ford Hospital, but doctors there soon realized he had very serious head injuries. They rushed him to the Children's Hospital in Detroit. Ronald called Nikki and told her that Damien had an asthma attack and had to go to the hospital. Immediately, she knew something didn't make sense because Damien didn't have asthma. She started screaming. Ronald and his father picked Nikki up from work and drove her to the hospital. In the car, she said to Ronald, you did this.

Starting point is 00:07:35 She said he apologized. She said she was disgusted and wanted to hurt him. Doctors told Nikki that Damien had shaken baby syndrome. They said it was the most severe case. that they had ever seen. By 8 p.m., Detective Eric Erler was questioning Ronald. Police recorded the interview and would later use it at his trial. Ronald talked to the detective voluntarily.

Starting point is 00:07:58 He talked a lot. Told Detective Erler multiple stories about what happened to Damien. First, he said that Damien had asthma. The detective insisted that something must have happened. He blamed it on the fall from the kitchen stool. Said the fall had happened that morning or maybe a few days before. He also mentioned the fall day. down the stairs that happened two weeks prior.

Starting point is 00:08:18 He talked about two incidents where they were playing catch and the ball hit Damien in the face. He also told the detective about a time when he was carrying Damien like a football and accidentally dropped him. He called it a football fumble. During the interview, he eventually admitted he was frustrated with Damien. Toddler was whining, fussing, and crying uncontrollably. He also admitted he shook Damien for 30 seconds. Later changed his story and said he only shook him for 10 seconds.

Starting point is 00:08:48 Said he thought it would make him laugh because that is what happened on other occasions when he shook him. Told the detective that the last thing Damien said was sorry. While Ronald was being interviewed, Damien was at the hospital fighting for his life. Timothy joined Nikki at the Children's Hospital. Doctors told the couple that Damien showed signs of shaken baby syndrome. Timothy couldn't understand Ronald's actions. He said, Was he mad or was it just because he wanted to?

Starting point is 00:09:18 That's what I want to know. How did a 27-year-old man get so agitated by a two-year-old boy to do this to him? Damien's brain was bleeding. His injuries caused his brain to swell so much that was pushing against his skull. In order to give him a chance to heal, doctors needed to perform emergency brain surgery. During the surgery, a portion of skull was removed from the right side of his head. Damian was placed into a medically induced coma. Timothy said the doctors told him it's going to be a really touchy situation.

Starting point is 00:09:50 Nobody's sure what's going to happen. Damian's hospitalization touched the hearts of many people. There was a candlelight vigil at a local park on August 23rd. People gathered and prayed for his recovery. A family friend created a social media page for Damian and posted updates about his condition. Early on August 24th, a post of the page, said the pressure in Damien's brain was at 31. They needed to get down below 15. Doctors administered medication and were able to get it down to four. Everyone was hopeful.

Starting point is 00:10:23 Nicky said, Miracles happen. I want to see Damien smile again. During the night, the pressure in his brain spiked. Mickey stayed by his bedside. On August 25th, Damien's body stopped responding to his medication. Machines were keeping his body alive and the doctor suspected his brain had been permanently injured. On August 26, a family member relayed the following update, and I quote, the doctors have done all that they can for Damien. The small breaths that you might have heard he is taking are a sign that the ventilators are no longer aiding him as much as they need to be. He isn't breathing on his own in tandem with the machines. This would be good. He is breathing in addition to, which shows he needs more than he's getting and the stress is increasing

Starting point is 00:11:11 the pressure on his brain. The CT scans show 80% brain damage. At this point, they need to make a decision, much like they had to do when they chose the surgery. If they do not wean him off the meds, they will be unable to assess the damage. Damien needs to be awake for them to be able to help him anymore. Leaving him on the meds and on the machines can no longer help him any. Damien's body shook as he emerged from the coma.

Starting point is 00:11:39 They gave him pain medicine as he left the comatose. state he would be able to feel pain again and they wanted to spare him as much as they could. His blood pressure was rising and dipping. His brain pressure spiked to 40. His pupils were big and dark at 7 to 8 millimeters wide. They stopped responding to light. On August 27th, it came clear that he could not recover, couldn't breathe on his own. And he decided to take him off the respirator.

Starting point is 00:12:07 She wrapped him in his blue monster's ink blanket and held him. He said, the day Damien passed away, that very day I cradled him in my arms as if he was asleep. He took his last breath, and I knew it was his last breath. I felt my baby boy's soul leave his body. It was the only day in the children's hospital that it had rained. Every other day was sunny. Damian loved the rain. Later, she said, I paid attention to his signs.

Starting point is 00:12:36 When he was in the hospital, he would grasp onto my fingers or twitch around so much when I would speak to him. I had many people from different religions, from churches, come in the hospital room and pray for him. Every one of those people said he was going to make it or he's going to be okay. I believe prayers did come true, even though not the way most people expected them to. She believed Damien would somehow find his way back to her. After Damien's death, Nikki lost the will to live and attempted to self-cancel via an overdose. The day after her unsuccessful attempt, she met Army. veteran Sean Randall at a party. They had a lot in common and became instant friends. A few months later,

Starting point is 00:13:18 her then-boyfriend broke up with her. Not long after, she and Sean started dating. They soon fell in love and decided that they wanted to have a baby together. Nikki had to have a birth control device removed from her arm. They had to go to two places in order to find a doctor who would remove the device because Nikki didn't have insurance. But they didn't care what it cost. They felt strongly that they were to have a baby. Soon, they were pregnant with a little boy. His due date was August 27th, one year after Damien died. Numbers had a lot of meaning for Nikki. She thought it was a sign from her little boy. While Damien was still in the hospital, Ronald turned himself in. He was charged with first-degree CA and given a $500,000 bond. He was still in jail when Damien died,

Starting point is 00:14:06 and his bond was revoked. Once the medical examiner's report was finished, he was charged. He was charged, charged with felony murder along with first-degree CA. In jail, Ronald made hundreds of phone calls to his parents. All of them were recorded. In the calls, he told his mother, it is my fault. I took responsibility for it. I told the detective, I take responsibility for it. It's nobody's fault but mine, to be honest with you. He also apologized to his mother. He said, nothing's going to make it right. Nothing ever will. I'm sorry, I'm putting you through this. In several separate phone calls with his father, Ronald talked about how he shook Damien in his playpen, he said, I thought that would help him settle down, crying, throwing a fit. Another call, he said, I would usually shake him,

Starting point is 00:14:52 and he would smile, he would laugh, he would think it was fun. He also changed the amount of time, he said he shook Damien, he said, I don't know why I said 30 seconds. I told the detective in the statement I meant five to 10 seconds. He also said he told the detective that when he shook the little boy, I wasn't doing anything crazy. I wasn't doing. doing anything full force. Another phone call with his father, he said, I don't know why you guys have any hope. I confessed. They have a slam dunk case. Ronald's trial began on May 13, 2014. Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Fons presided. Jurors were shown footage of Ronald's police interview. They heard the many stories he told. They also heard him admit to shaking

Starting point is 00:15:36 Damien on more than one occasion. According to the prosecution, Ronald changed his story at least 10 times. They also heard clips from the phone conversations that he had with his parents after he was jailed. The defense tried to blame Damien's injuries on his fall from the bar stool in the kitchen. Both Nikki and Ronald said it happened two to three days earlier, but at the trial, Ronald's mother claimed it happened just the day prior. She said Damien had been fussy and hadn't been eating much,

Starting point is 00:16:04 which was unlike him. He said he seemed lethargic. She first made these claims to a CPS worker two months, after Damien's death. And he thought Kit was lying in an effort to save her son from prison. The chair was brought into the courtroom and measured for the jury. Damien could only have fallen two feet five inches from that chair. Dr. Mary Lou and Jalili, a CA expert from Children's Hospital,

Starting point is 00:16:28 said that if the injuries were caused by an accidental fall, Damien would have had to have fallen from a second story window, not from just two feet off the ground. In her expert opinion, Damien's injuries were not an accident. They were caused intentionally by abusive head trauma that occurred right before he began showing symptoms. The defense attorney wanted to add a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He hoped the jury would choose a lesser charge if they weren't convinced his client had hurt

Starting point is 00:16:57 Damien intentionally. His request to add that lesser charge was denied. Medical examiner Dr. Daniel Spitz also addressed Kit's story. He said that being fussy wasn't a sign of a serious injury. Not eating or drinking anything at all would be a bad sign, but simply being fussy was not consistent with a serious head trauma. He also said that Damien would have shown symptoms very quickly after the injury, not days later.

Starting point is 00:17:24 Dr. Spitt said the autopsy showed that Damien died of blunt force trauma. His death was a homicide. Based on the bruising he saw on the exterior and interior of the scalp, He believed that Damien's head suffered two separate impacts on the right side of the head. The surface of Damien's brain was also bruised. Dr. Spitz said the operation doctors performed did not impede his ability to determine the cause and manner of death. Nikki sat through the first trial even though it gave her nightmares, nightmares that caused her to wake up crying.

Starting point is 00:17:58 At this time, she had married Sean and was going by the name Nikki Randall. She was about six months pregnant with his child. After an hour of deliberation, the jury found Ronald guilty of both felony murder and first-agre C.A. When asked about the verdict, Nikki said, I just believe fate worked out the way it was supposed to. My son is going to change the world, and he has shown me in so many ways he is still here. I don't believe that monster could take his soul away. On June 10, 2014, Ronald was sentenced to life in prison. In July, Timothy sued Ronald, his father.

Starting point is 00:18:34 and his mother for wrongful death. Timothy alleged that Ronald's parents should have warned him, Nikki and Damien, about Ronald's violent past. Eventually, the couple's homeowner's insurance settled with Timothy for an undisclosed amount. Timothy and Nikki thought the worst was finally over, but it was not. A few months later, Ronald appealed his conviction. Ronald's attorney claimed that a Brady violation had occurred. This is a serious accusation with serious consequences.

Starting point is 00:19:04 The prosecution is supposed to turn all the evidence it has over to the defense before trial. If they don't, that is a Brady violation. In this case, 32 autopsy photographs had never been handed over to the defense. Medical examiner's spits had taken hundreds of pictures during the autopsy. He gave the prosecutor 290 of those photos, but left out 32 additional ones. Since the prosecution never had the pictures, they couldn't give them to the defense. In layman's terms, the arguments about these pictures focused on two things. One, was the medical examiner acting as a government official?

Starting point is 00:19:44 Only agents of the government can commit a Brady violation. Two, would the photos have made a difference if the jury had seen them? Ronald's attorneys argued that those pictures would have shown that some of the bruising on Damien's brain and scalp was caused by the surgery and not by the blows to his head. Experts testified on both sides. one saying the pictures would have made a difference, the other saying the issue had already been clearly presented to the jury during the first trial. Judge Fonce was convinced that Dr. Spitz was acting as an agent of the government when he withheld the photos. She thought the photos could have changed the jury's mind. She determined there was a Brady violation.

Starting point is 00:20:24 She overturned Ronald's conviction. Her decision was appealed, but the higher court agreed with her. Ronald would get a new trial. His new trial began on January 16th, 2020. Judge Fons again presided. Nikki was the first witness to testify. She refused to say Ronald's name and refused to look at him. She cried when she told the jury how Damien had died in her arms.

Starting point is 00:20:49 Ronald also testified. He said he might have shaken Damien. He said it was only for five seconds to try to make him laugh. Again, the defense tried to blame his death on the fall from the bar stool. This time, their expert witness was a radiologist named Dr. Dr. Gregory Shukamas. The radiologist said it was possible that Damian fell and showed no signs of injury until days later when he had a seizure. Medical examiner Spitz believed that theory was far-fetched. He said, how do you take a CT scan and say he fell off a stool? I was simply shocked at some of the

Starting point is 00:21:21 things he opined. It was based on assumptions. Medical examiner Spitz said that Dr. Shukamas came to a conclusion without considering any of the circumstances of the case. The defense tried to prove Damien had other injuries to his stomach that could have caused his death. Medical examiner Spitz disagreed. He said, I did not find anything other than a traumatic brain injury. Nikki couldn't bear to sit through the entire trial. She listened to as much of the closing arguments as she could tolerate, but had to leave because she was, and I quote,

Starting point is 00:21:52 enraged in wishing I could take justice into my own hands. I didn't care to hear the defense attorney or their witnesses' nonsense. She went to the courthouse to wait for the verdict, but sat in the back room with her children. She said she went for one reason, to hear the word guilty once more. Thankfully, Nikki got her wish. Ronald was found guilty for a second time. For Nikki, it was not enough. During her impact statement, she called Ronald a demon and a monster.

Starting point is 00:22:22 She said, the demon was already sentenced to life in prison, and yet he was granted a second trial. You know, who has a true life sentence? me, Damien's father, and my family. She wished Michigan would bring back the death penalty for monsters who hurt children. Prison was not enough for her. She said she was looking forward to the demon burning for eternity. She spoke on behalf of Damien and all the babies and children like him, she said, killers get fair trials, but victims don't get fair justice. Enough is enough. Ronald also made a bizarre statement directed to Nikki. He said, we had multiple reliable mediums tell us your son is in heaven and died from an accident in the kitchen.

Starting point is 00:23:02 I understand it was easy to blame me. Give your background and education. I just wish I never would have met you. I hope you find peace one day instead of misguiding your hatred and anger towards me. Ronald was sentenced to life without parole for felony murder and an additional 15 to 25 years for CA. Again, he appealed this conviction. This time in October of 2022, his conviction was upheld. He is currently serving his life sentence at Kinross Correctional Facility in Kinchelow, Michigan.

Starting point is 00:23:34 Damien's short life and death affected the whole community. A fundraiser was held at Younger's Irish Tavern, where Nikki worked, on August 27th. 800 people attended, and their event raised $16,000. The original purpose was to pay for his medical bills, but, once he passed, the money was earmarked for his funeral. However, community members were so moved by his story, they covered most of the funeral costs. The funeral home donated their time and space for his celebration of life. Others donated the vault, casket, and burial plot.

Starting point is 00:24:11 With the funeral paid for, his family said they would donate the money raised to help protect other children. According to Damien's great-a-a-a-lawyubowitz, the family would pay it forward to CA Founding. The public was invited to Damien's wake at Lynch and son's funeral home on August 30th. People came in droves to pay their respects and say goodbye. In the tiny casket, Damien was dressed in his Batman t-shirt. His father had purchased two halves of a heart charm. Timothy wore half of the heart on a necklace. The other half was buried with Damian, clasped in his small hand.

Starting point is 00:24:46 Funeral service was private. Damien was buried at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township, Michigan. Later that day, There's also a public celebration of life event at a local banquet hall. For the next 10 years, Nikki and Sean had five children together. A boy in 2014, a girl in 2015, a set of twins, one girl and one boy in 2018, and a boy in 2023. Nikki still can't bear to be away from her kids. She still doesn't trust them with babysitters except for the most dire of circumstances.

Starting point is 00:25:17 For example, she had a trusted friend watched them in the hospital waiting room while she was having the twins via C-section down the hall. Another friend watched them while she was in court during the trial. In January of this year, she pulled them out of traditional school. Instead, she decided to unschool them. Unschooling is a type of homeschooling that lets the child guide their own learning based on their interests. She said the older two kids want to be a doctor and a veterinarian. On the anniversary of Damien's death in 2023, Nikki posted on social media that she had

Starting point is 00:25:52 finally found some peace. It was the first time in years that she hadn't felt like she needed to drink to numb the pain of the day, she said, this isn't a sad post. This is a I am finally starting to heal post. I have the right people in my life that I want to thank for helping me heal. I still believe with all my heart and soul, Damian Rylan reincarnated into Sage Rilin. My first due date given to me for Sage was August 27th, 2014. Damien took his last breath in my arms on August 27, 2013. She continued, still, I don't want to hear sorry for your loss because I got him back. He's not lost anymore. I am finally starting to feel alive after about an entire decade. If you didn't live those days of me, now you have a better understanding. I died mentally,

Starting point is 00:26:42 physically, and emotionally for years. I am finally starting to revive. Her belief brings new meaning to a short poem posted on Damien's page just a month after he died. It reads, Goodbyes are not forever. Bies are not the end. They simply mean I'll miss you until we meet again.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Damian Sutton

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