Death Row

Gary Wayne Sutton | Blue Hole & Clear Fork Double Murder

Gary Wayne Sutton is the East Tennessee death row inmate convicted in two separate cases for the 1992 killings of siblings Tommy Griffin and Connie Branam, a Smoky Mountains double murder now scheduled for execution on December 3, 2026.

Gary Wayne Sutton Mug Shot

American Murderer

Gary Wayne Sutton | Blue Hole &

Clear Fork Double Murder

Last Update November 20, 2025

  • Full Name: Gary Wayne Sutton
  • State: Tennessee
  • Counties of Conviction:
  • Blount County – first-degree premeditated murder of Tommy Mayford Griffin (death sentence) vLex+1
  • Sevier County – first-degree murder of Connie Griffin Branam + arson of her car (life + 2 years) GovInfo+2Tennessee Courts+2
  • Current Status: On Tennessee’s death row at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution; execution reset for December 3, 2026 after a prior 2022 date was reprieved during protocol problems. https://www.waff.com+3Tennessee Courts+3TBA+3
  • Co-Defendant: James Henderson Dellinger – uncle; also sentenced to death in Tommy’s case; died of apparent natural causes on death row in January 2023. Tennessee State Government+2https://www.wvlt.tv+2
  • Crime Dates:
  • February 21–24, 1992 – events surrounding Tommy Griffin and his body’s discovery at “Blue Hole” on Little River (Blount County). vLex+2Reddit+2
  • February 22–28, 1992 – disappearance of Connie Branam and discovery of her burned car and remains in the Clear Fork area of Sevier County. Tennessee Courts+2Murderpedia+2
  • Victims:
  • 👉 Tommy Mayford Griffin, 24
  • 👉 Connie Griffin Branam, mid-30s vLex+2Murderpedia+2
  • Alleged Motive: State never established a clear motive; Tennessee Supreme Court noted Sutton and Dellinger were friends with Griffin and that the case was entirely circumstantial. vLex+2Tennessee Courts+2

Classification & Characteristics

This is a double homicide of siblings tied together by a rural East Tennessee geography:

  • a shotgun killing at Blue Hole on the Little River in Blount County, and
  • a burned body in a car in the Clear Fork woods of Sevier County. vLex+2Murderpedia+2

The state’s theory: Sutton and his uncle, James Dellinger, turned on Griffin after a night of drinking, shot him at the riverbank, then killed Griffin’s sister Connie days later as she searched for her brother—burning her in her own car to destroy evidence. Murderpedia+3vLex+3Tennessee Courts+3

The controversies are what have made Sutton’s case a modern flashpoint:

Timeline of the Gary Wayne Sutton Case →

  • February 21, 1992 – Howie’s Hideaway & Hunt Road
  • Sutton, Dellinger, and Tommy Griffin spend hours drinking and playing pool at Howie’s on Highway 321 in Maryville; witnesses see no hostility. Later that evening, multiple motorists report a struggle around a dark Camaro on Alcoa Highway; Griffin, shirtless and shoeless, ends up arrested for public intoxication after telling an officer his “friends” put him out of the car. vLex+2Reddit+2
  • Late night, February 21 – Bailout & gunshots at Blue Hole
  • Around 11:25 p.m., Dellinger and Sutton bail Griffin out of the Blount County Jail; jail staff hear one of them say they need to get him back to Sevier County. Roughly 30 minutes later, residents near a river access known as Blue Hole hear two shotgun blasts from down by the Little River. Reddit+2vLex+2
  • February 22, 1992 – Connie starts searching & the Clear Fork fire
  • Griffin’s sister, Connie Branam, drives into Blount County to look for him. Witnesses at a Townsend grocery see her talking with two men in a white Dodge pickup matching Dellinger’s truck; later, at Howie’s, staff see Connie with Sutton and Dellinger, still drinking and asking about Tommy. That night, a couple sees a fire burning in the Clear Fork woods in Sevier County. Murderpedia+3Tennessee Courts+3Reddit+3
  • February 24, 1992 – Tommy Griffin’s body is found
  • Hikers discover Griffin’s body face-down on the bank at Blue Hole. A 12-gauge shotgun wound to the back of his neck is identified as the cause of death. Spent shells found at the scene are later matched to ammunition found at Dellinger’s property. CaseLaw+3vLex+3Justia Law+3
  • February 28, 1992 – Connie Branam’s body is found
  • Branam’s burned car is located in a remote Clear Fork area of Sevier County. Her remains are inside; the fire is ruled arson, and a rifle casing inside the vehicle is linked to a firearm from Dellinger’s trailer. Because the body was so badly burned, the exact time and cause of death are less clear. vLex+3Murderpedia+3Tennessee Courts+3
  • 1993 – Sevier County trial (Branam)
  • A jury in Sevier County convicts Sutton of first-degree murder and felonious burning in Connie’s case, imposing life imprisonment plus 2 years. GovInfo+1
  • Mid-1990s – Blount County trial (Griffin)
  • In a separate Blount County trial focused on Tommy Griffin’s death, a jury convicts Sutton and Dellinger of first-degree premeditated murder and sentences both to death. vLex+2Justia Law+2
  • May 7, 2002 – Direct appeal, State v. Dellinger, 79 S.W.3d 458 (Tenn.)
  • Tennessee Supreme Court affirms both men’s convictions and death sentences in Griffin’s case, summarizing the Blue Hole and Clear Fork evidence, and noting that the murders appeared motiveless and the proof was circumstantial. vLex+2WBIR+2
  • 2006 – State post-conviction (Sutton v. State)
  • Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals rejects Sutton’s post-conviction claims in Branam’s case, including complaints about counsel and failure to develop alternate-suspect leads. Justia Law+1
  • 2014–2015 – Federal habeas, Sutton v. Carpenter (E.D. Tenn. & Sixth Cir.)
  • Federal courts deny habeas relief, including challenges based on ineffective assistance and alleged suppression of favorable evidence, though the Sixth Circuit acknowledges how Martinez/Trevino opens limited gateways for ineffective-assistance claims. Justia Law+2Justia Law+2
  • 2014–2017 – IQ and intellectual disability litigation
  • Sutton pursues an “IQ appeal” under evolving Atkins/Hall caselaw; Tennessee courts deny relief, leaving his death sentence in place. KENS 5+2arson268.rssing.com+2
  • 2019–2025 – New attacks on forensics & motion to reopen
  • New filings emphasize that the state’s key timing witness, Dr. Charles Harlan, was under investigation for misconduct and later lost his license, and that the case rests on circumstantial and contested science. In 2025, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals denies Sutton’s motion to reopen post-conviction. Justice for Gary Sut+3Tennessee Courts+3Tennessee Courts+3
  • January 16, 2023 – Co-defendant dies on death row
  • Dellinger dies of apparent natural causes at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. Tennessee State Government+2https://www.wvlt.tv+2
  • September 30, 2025 – Execution date reset
  • Tennessee Supreme Court resets Sutton’s execution for December 3, 2026, after the state suspended executions to revise its lethal-injection protocol. Axios+4Tennessee Courts+4TBA+4

Case Summary

In February 1992, Gary Wayne Sutton and his uncle James Dellinger spent a Friday drinking and playing pool with 24-year-old Tommy Griffin at Howie’s Hideaway Lounge in Maryville. After an altercation on the roadside, Griffin was arrested for public intoxication, then bailed out later that night by Dellinger – with Sutton beside him. Within an hour, neighbors near a spot called Blue Hole on Little River heard shotgun blasts; three days later, Griffin’s body was found there, shot in the back of the neck. vLex+2Reddit+2

Griffin’s sister, Connie Branam, went looking for him the next day with the same two men. Witnesses saw the trio at a grocery parking lot and back at Howie’s before they disappeared. That evening, a couple saw a fire burning in woods near Clear Fork; days later, Branam’s burned car – and her body – were discovered at that site. Ballistics linked shell casings at both crime scenes to weapons associated with Dellinger. GovInfo+3Tennessee Courts+3Murderpedia+3

In separate trials, Sutton was convicted in Sevier County of Connie’s murder (life) and in Blount County of Tommy’s murder (death). Tennessee’s appellate courts, federal courts, and the U.S. Supreme Court have all left his convictions and death sentence intact, even as later investigations attack the forensics, highlight alternative suspects, and question whether an intellectually disabled man is about to be executed on a circumstantial case. WZTV+6vLex+6Justia Law+6

🕊️Victims of Gary Wayne Sutton

  • Tommy Mayford Griffin (24)
  • Tommy Griffin was a young man from the Townsend area whose Friday night at a Maryville bar turned into a fatal weekend. Witnesses described him drinking and playing pool with Dellinger and Sutton before an argument spilled onto Alcoa Highway, leading to his arrest for public intoxication. Within hours of being bailed out by the same two men, he was dead—shot at close range and left near the Little River’s Blue Hole, a popular local spot that suddenly became a crime scene. vLex+2Reddit+2
  • Connie Griffin Branam (mid-30s)
  • Connie was Tommy’s sister and, by all accounts, the family member who refused to sit and wait. On February 22 she drove into Blount County to find him, asking questions in a Townsend grocery and then at Howie’s, where staff remembered her with Sutton and Dellinger. She never made it home. Her burned car was later discovered in remote Clear Fork woods; her remains were inside, and investigators concluded someone set the fire to hide what had been done. vLex+3Tennessee Courts+3Murderpedia+3

→ FAQs

Who is Gary Wayne Sutton?

He is a Tennessee death row inmate from East Tennessee, convicted in separate trials of killing 24-year-old Tommy Griffin (shot at Blue Hole in Blount County) and Griffin’s sister, Connie Branam (found in a burned car in Clear Fork, Sevier County), in February 1992. https://www.wvlt.tv+3vLex+3Murderpedia+3

What exactly was he convicted of?

A Sevier County jury convicted Sutton of first-degree murder and arson in Connie’s case and sentenced him to life plus two years. A Blount County jury later convicted him, with his uncle James Dellinger, of first-degree premeditated murder for Tommy’s death and sentenced him to death. Casemine+3GovInfo+3vLex+3

When is Gary Sutton scheduled to be executed?

After a previous 2022 date was halted during Tennessee’s lethal-injection review, the Tennessee Supreme Court reset his execution for December 3, 2026, making him part of the same 2026 execution cluster as Tony Carruthers, Anthony Hines, and Christa Pike. Axios+4Tennessee Courts+4TBA+4

Why is there controversy over his case?

Sutton’s supporters point to the lack of direct physical evidence, the absence of a clear motive, reliance on testimony from disgraced medical examiner Dr. Charles Harlan to pin down time of death, and long-running concerns about Sutton’s intellectual functioning. State and federal courts have so far upheld his convictions and sentence despite those challenges. Justia Law+6Tennessee Courts+6Tennessee Courts+6

Gary Wayne Sutton | Blue Hole & Clear Fork Double Murder

Gary Wayne Sutton | Blue Hole & Clear Fork Double Murder | Death Row 2026

👉 The Story

Blue Hole, Clear Fork, and a Circle of Friends

On a cold Friday in February 1992, Tommy Griffin walked into Howie’s Hideaway Lounge with two men he considered friends: his uncle’s acquaintance, James Dellinger, and Dellinger’s nephew, Gary Sutton. They drank beer, played pool, and – according to bar staff – showed no sign of trouble. vLex+2Reddit+2

Somewhere between the bar and home, that night went sideways. Motorists on Alcoa Highway reported seeing three men struggling around a dark Camaro on the shoulder. A short time later, a shirtless, shoeless Griffin was found stumbling along the road and arrested for public intoxication; he would not name the “friends” who had left him there. Reddit+2CaseLaw+2

At the Blount County Jail, Griffin sat sobering up until around 11:25 p.m., when Dellinger came back with Sutton, paid Griffin’s bond in cash, and walked out with him. A half hour later, people near Blue Hole heard two sharp blasts roll up from the river. Reddit+2vLex+2

Three days later, Griffin’s body was found on the riverbank—face-down in the mud, shot at the base of the skull with a 12-gauge. Empty shells on the ground would later be linked to ammunition at Dellinger’s home. vLex+2CaseLaw+2

His sister Connie Branam never believed he’d just wandered off. The next day she headed into Blount County to look for him. At a Townsend grocery store, people saw her talking to two men in a white Dodge pickup, matching Dellinger’s truck. Later, she turned up at Howie’s with the same pair, still asking about her brother. Witnesses remembered the three of them drinking together that afternoon. Tennessee Courts+2Justia Law+2

That night, miles away in Sevier County, a couple looked across the dark trees and saw an odd orange flicker in the Clear Fork woods—a fire where there shouldn’t have been one. They drove past again the next morning and watched a white pickup truck with two men leave the area at speed. Tennessee Courts+2Murderpedia+2

By the end of the month, a burned car was found down that same track. Inside were the remains of Connie Branam. The vehicle had been deliberately set on fire; a shell casing in the car was matched to a rifle from Dellinger’s trailer. Murderpedia+2Tennessee Courts+2

The state’s story was simple in outline and murky in motive: two men from Townsend, drunk and angry, turned on Griffin and later silenced his sister to erase a witness and burn the trail. There were no eyewitnesses to either killing, and no direct forensic link tying Sutton physically to the bodies. The case against him rests on the pattern: he was with Griffin before the Blue Hole gunshots, with Connie before the Clear Fork fire, and moved through that weekend’s geography in lockstep with Dellinger. Tennessee Courts+4vLex+4Murderpedia+4

At trial, even the state acknowledged it couldn’t explain exactly why these siblings were killed. The Tennessee Supreme Court later wrote that Sutton and Dellinger were Griffin’s friends and that no clear motive had been established; still, it upheld the death sentences based on the circumstantial web. vLex+1

Years later, the focus shifted from the riverbank and the burned car to the autopsy table. Local medical examiner Dr. Wolfe initially testified that decomposition suggested Griffin had been dead a shorter time – supporting defense arguments that he might have been killed after Connie vanished. Prosecutors then brought in Dr. Charles Harlan, a once-powerful state medical examiner, who told jurors Griffin had likely been shot the night he left the jail. That timeline neatly fit the state’s theory. Harlan hadn’t examined the body himself; he relied on slides and records. News Channel 5 Nashville (WTVF)+2Justia Law+2

What jurors didn’t know: Harlan would later be stripped of his license after multiple cases involving false or unsupported testimony. Today, even some prosecutors concede that his credibility has collapsed. Tennessee Courts+2CityNews Ottawa+2

Sutton’s supporters now gather under banners like “Justice for Gary Wayne Sutton”, arguing the state built a death sentence on a disgraced expert, a missing motive, and the thinnest sort of circumstantial chain. They point to his limited intellectual functioning and to witnesses who say their statements were misunderstood or that they now see the timeline differently. WZTV+4Justice for Gary Sut+4Justice for Gary Sut+4

Courts, so far, have listened and then said no. Tennessee’s appellate courts and the Sixth Circuit have declined to overturn the verdicts or the death sentence. A recent attempt to reopen his post-conviction petition was denied in 2025. At the same time, Tennessee has restarted its execution machinery, assigning Sutton a date at the far end of its 2026 calendar. TBA+4Tennessee Courts+4Justia Law+4

Unless something changes—on the science, the law, or the governor’s desk – Blue Hole and Clear Fork will be the bookends on a case that started with three friends at a bar and may end with a December execution three decades later.

Legal Status | Paper Trail | Gary Wayne Sutton

Direct Appeal – State v. Dellinger, 79 S.W.3d 458 (Tenn. 2002)

State Post-Conviction (Branam case) – Sutton v. State (Tenn. Crim. App. 2006)

State Reply on Forensics – 2019 Response to Motion (Tenn. Sup. Ct.)

Federal Habeas (District Court) – Sutton v. Carpenter, No. 3:07-cv-00030 (E.D. Tenn. 2015)

Federal Habeas (Appeal) – Sutton v. Carpenter, No. 11-6180 (6th Cir. 2015)

SCOTUS – Sutton v. Tennessee, No. 17-9409 (certiorari denied)

Latest State Order – Tennessee Supreme Court (Sept. 30, 2025)

2025 TCCA Order – Motion to Reopen Denied

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Beyond the Gavel | Dig Deeper

Roll Card

  • Name: Gary Wayne Sutton
  • Jurisdiction: State of Tennessee – Blount & Sevier Counties
  • Facility: Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Nashville
  • Sentence:
    • Death – first-degree premeditated murder of Tommy Griffin (Blount County)
    • Life + 2 years – first-degree murder & arson of Connie Branam (Sevier County) vLex+2GovInfo+2
  • Execution Date: December 3, 2026 (reset after 2022 reprieve and protocol review). https://www.wvlt.tv+3Tennessee Courts+3TBA+3
  • Method: Default is lethal injection under Tennessee’s revised protocol; electrocution remains an alternative under certain conditions. Tennessee Courts+2TBA+2
  • Key Issues for Courtwatchers:
    • Circumstantial case with no clear motive
    • Reliance on testimony from discredited medical examiner Dr. Charles Harlan
    • Claims of intellectual disability and innocence
    • Co-defendant Dellinger dying on death row before his own execution date

Docket Map | Proceedings (Condensed)

  1. 1993 – Sevier County Conviction (Branam) – Sutton convicted of first-degree murder and arson; sentenced to life + 2 years. GovInfo+1
  2. Mid-1990s – Blount County Conviction (Griffin) – Sutton and Dellinger convicted of first-degree premeditated murder; both sentenced to death. vLex+1
  3. Direct Appeal – State v. Dellinger, 79 S.W.3d 458 (Tenn. 2002) – Convictions and death sentences affirmed.
  4. Post-Conviction (Sevier) – Sutton v. State (Tenn. Crim. App. 2006) – Relief denied; life sentence and Branam verdict left intact.
  5. Federal Habeas – Sutton v. Carpenter (E.D. Tenn. 2015; 6th Cir. 2015) – District court and Sixth Circuit both deny habeas relief.
  6. SCOTUS – Petition No. 17-9409 (cert denied) – U.S. Supreme Court declines to review.
  7. IQ / Intellectual Disability Litigation (2010s) – IQ-based appeal and related litigation rejected by Tennessee courts. KENS 5+2arson268.rssing.com+2
  8. 2019 – State Response on Harlan Misconduct – Attorney General filing addressing claims about Dr. Harlan’s later disgrace and its relevance.
  9. 2023 – Co-Defendant Dellinger Dies on Death Row – TDOC and multiple outlets report Dellinger’s natural-causes death at Riverbend. Tennessee State Government+2https://www.wvlt.tv+2
  10. Nov 10, 2025 – TCCA Order Denying Motion to Reopen – Motion to reopen Sutton’s post-conviction petition denied.
  11. Sept 30, 2025 – Execution Date Reset to Dec 3, 2026 – Tennessee Supreme Court resets Sutton’s execution.

Case File Extras | What the Record Shows

  • No Clear Motive: The Tennessee Supreme Court itself noted that Sutton and Dellinger were Griffin’s friends and that no clear motive for the killing was shown at trial, even as it upheld the death sentences. Tennessee Courts+1
  • Circumstantial Web: There is no confession, no eyewitness to the murders, and no fingerprints or DNA tying Sutton directly to either crime scene. The case relies on overlapping timelines, gun/ammo matches to Dellinger, and Sutton’s presence with each victim shortly before death. Justice for Gary Sut+3vLex+3Murderpedia+3
  • Discredited Expert: The timeline of Tommy’s death—and whether Connie might have been killed first—turned on testimony from Dr. Charles Harlan, a medical examiner who never personally examined the body and who was later stripped of his license after a pattern of misconduct. WZTV+3News Channel 5 Nashville (WTVF)+3Tennessee Courts+3
  • Alternative Narratives: Defense filings and advocacy sites point to other potential suspects, questions about burned-car logistics, and witnesses who say their statements were misunderstood or incomplete. KESQ+3Justia Law+3Justice for Gary Sut+3
  • Innocence & Disability Campaigns: A public campaign under “Justice for Gary Wayne Sutton” frames him as an intellectually disabled man wrongfully sentenced to die, while local TV investigations question whether Tennessee may be preparing to execute someone on a flawed forensic foundation. Courts, for now, have declined to overturn his case. CityNews Ottawa+4Justice for Gary Sut+4Action Network+4

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