Staten Island electrician pleads guilty to killing his mother in botched-suicide case
60-year-old Carl Sutera pleads guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the strangulation of his 80-year-old mother; 11-year sentence slated for Oct. 29 under a plea deal.
A Staten Island electrician pleaded guilty Monday to first-degree manslaughter in the strangulation death of his mother, ending a case that began after investigators say he claimed she tried to commit suicide.
Carl Sutera, 60, admitted to the manslaughter plea in the January 2024 death of Rosalie Sutera, 80, in a home on Staten Island. Under the plea agreement, he is to be sentenced to 11 years in prison on Oct. 29, according to prosecutors.
The case has drawn attention to a sequence of conflicting accounts from Sutera. The Staten Island Advance reported that the defendant initially told police his mother hit herself on an end table and that the family would not want an autopsy. Days after his arrest on suspicion of murder, Sutera changed his story, saying he found her unconscious with the belt of her robe wrapped around her neck and that he did what he believed was necessary to end her suffering. "I went with my arm," he reportedly told investigators, adding, "It did not take long."
Prosecutors had pursued murder and strangulation charges, but those counts were dropped as part of the plea. The January 2024 death of Rosalie Sutera was described by authorities as that of an elderly great-grandmother. The Staten Island Advance first reported on the early accounts.
The plea resolves the case after weeks of investigation, with investigators seeking to determine the circumstances of the death and Sutera’s involvement. The 11-year sentence reflects the terms of the agreement with prosecutors.
Authorities have not disclosed additional details beyond court filings and statements from prosecutors about the plea. The case underscores ongoing concerns about elder care and family violence, and the way investigators handle sudden, traumatic deaths in suburban New York. The final image provided shows Rosalie Sutera with her late husband, reinforcing the personal dimension of a case that authorities say has now been resolved through a plea.
