DC, later DS Sutton, investigated four crimes:
The first was in May 2006 when Becky Granger set up Kelly Crabtree on a charge of stealing purses and other valuables from their colleagues in the factory, as well as a few other individuals outside of the workplace. Becky knew Kelly from the days when they were both petty thieves. Becky had fallen on hard times and threw herself on Kelly's mercy for a roof over her head. Kelly was concerned that her former acquaintance would drag her back down into the gutter that she'd worked so hard to climb out of and she didn't like the way in which she flirted with her boyfriend Lloyd Mullaney. Becky stole so many items that factory owner Danny Baldwin insisted on a locker search which showed, to almost everyone's surprise, that the items were in Kelly's. The police were called and Kelly was led away. Sutton interviewed her, telling her that her claims that her locker must have been forced open and that her fingerprints would not be found on any of the goods wouldn't be proof that she wasn't the guilty party. Kelly protested her innocence and it was when Sutton countered that the thief must be someone in Underworld and that they must be an accomplished thief that she guessed who the culprit must be.
Becky was duly brought in and put on a strong performance as the injured party who was hurt by the betrayal of her friend. She was let go and Kelly was charged, later receiving a suspended sentence.
Nine years later, Carla Connor, by then owner of the factory, was under suspicion for the deaths in a fire emanating from her flat at 12 Victoria Court of Kal Nazir and Maddie Heath. The blaze had started when Carla was asleep and Tracy Barlow had entered with the intention of doing her harm and had left a lit candle behind. As no one knew that Tracy had been on the scene, almost everyone blamed Carla for the tragedy and she descended into a self-pitying haze of drink and gambling as a result. Even Tracy's conscience was pricked by this and when Carla threatened suicide, Tracy confessed to her. The police were informed by Nick Tilsley, one of Carla's champions, and Sutton, now a DS, and some of his officers came to the Rovers and arrested Tracy.
As she was interviewed at Weatherfield Police Station in the presence of a solicitor, Tracy's nerve held and she kept her silence, even when Sutton goaded her that Amy Barlow had been in the flat that night and she had almost killed her daughter. With Tracy's past record and her history of animosity towards Carla, Sutton had enough to hold Tracy overnight and try to break her by playing a game of nerves with her. Even after a sleepless night, Tracy maintained her story that she made up her story of being guilty to prevent Carla committing suicide. She also pointed out that back in the January she had saved Carla from death in the Underworld minibus crash and posed the question as to why she would have done that if she wanted rid of the woman. She demanded that she be charged or let go and Sutton had no option but to comply.
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List of appearances[]
2006
2015
2016
2019