Crime & Safety

Highland Park Murder Victim's Family Remembers Loving, Hard-Working Young Man

'Whatever legacy is there is about love,' says Colin Nutter's mom, mourning her son, who was shot earlier this month.

By Jacob Nelson

The week that he was murdered, Colin Nutter worried about Ginger.

Nutter, 20, was back home in Highland Park from Lincoln College, and he could tell that his 15-year-old golden retriever was nearing her end.

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Colin Nutter Homicide: The Story So Far

Colin's worry wore off onto his parents, Angie and Michael Nutter. They got into the habit of carrying Ginger outside to go the bathroom. They even paid for acupuncture in hopes that would improve her health.

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"He was just so concerned about her," Angie explained earlier this week. Ginger, already panting, stood by the sofa in the Nutter's living room, which has grown filled with flowers and photos of Colin since his body was found on June 3.

"It was just something that was in him was to give love," Angie said.

Colin was shot in the back of the head in Highwood during what prosecutors say was a drug deal with three young Highland Park residents. This week, his family shared their memories of Colin in hopes of showing the community who he was and how much he was loved.

'This is the worst of the worst of the worst of the worst that anyone can ever experience,' Angie said. 'Everything that you have given your son, everything is taken away by the one single bullet. It’s so unfair.'

'The only person in the world I could talk to'

Colin had a uniquely close bond with his sister, Sara, who was his only sibling. 

Many siblings fight when they're younger only to grow closer when they leave home. Colin and Sara, on the other hand, got along from the start.

"He was the only person in this world I could talk to 100 percent," Sara said.

Older than Colin by three years, Sara used to read him Dr. Seuss books when they were little and shared a bedroom. As they got older they maintained their bond with jokes and video games like Guitar Hero and Crash Bandicoot.

"We made a deal we wouldn't play Pokemon without the other, so we could be at the same level," Sara said.

Recently, while at home, Colin would make goofy, “Jackass”-like videos with his friends and listen to music. His mom sometimes heard him singing to himself in his room. He was an affectionate son and she was happy to have him home since he’d returned from Lincoln last December.

“Sometimes I'd just be sitting, maybe watching TV or reading, and he'd just come by me and say, ‘Hello mother,’ and he'd just hug me,” Angie said. “You cannot help but love him even more.”

While at Lincoln, Colin had been unsure of what to study in school, and his grades had slipped as a result. But conversations he had with Sara while visiting her at the University of Iowa, combined with a run-in with police as a result of a retail theft charge earlier in his life, encouraged him to pursue a career in social work. 

When he came home, he worked at Arbor Ridge Senior Living, and enjoyed getting paid to help people. He planned to transfer to the College of Lake County in the fall.

“When he finally figured out he wanted to go into social work, his grades changed,” Sara said.

'He trusted people too much'

While living at home, Colin decided he wanted to buy a car, so he started working more. In addition to daily shifts at Arbor Ridge, Colin worked as a shelf-stocker at Jewel.

At some point, he also began selling small amounts of marijuana, his family said. A friend had left Colin with a stash of pot that he began selling to his friends, according to his mom and sister.

“He didn't have a customer relationship,” Sara said, “He just had friendships.”

Angie is even more frank about it.

“Colin is not a drug dealer,” she said.

Investigators believe that it was during one of these exchanges that Colin was killed. They believe he was shot in the back of the head while sitting in the driver’s seat of his Dodge Stratus. According to Lake County State's Attorney Mike Nerheim, the accused — Benjamin Schenk, 20, Philip Vatamaniuc, 17, and Michael Coffee, 17 — met with Nutter early on the day of June 3 to buy marijuana from him. All three suspects are Highland Park residents.

“He trusted people too much,” Sara said. “He always saw the good in people.”

'My life has completely changed'

Early on June 4, Angie called Sara to tell her that Colin was missing, as well as his car and his parents’ car. Sara immediately called and texted Colin. When she got no answer, she went to Facebook to ask if anyone knew anything.

Then she got the call.

“My best friend called me and ... she's crying,” Sara said. “She tells me they found his body.”

Sara spent the rest of the day in bed, unable to eat, sleep, or acknowledge the news she’d just gotten.

The next day, she went home.

“It hasn't been easy,” Sara said. “My life is completely changed.”

Her mother was more explicit.

“This is the worst of the worst of the worst of the worst that anyone can ever experience,” Angie said. “Everything that you have given your son, everything is taken away by the one single bullet. It’s so unfair.”

Building on what's left

It’s been about two weeks since Angie and Sara found out about Colin’s death, and they are actively trying to stay strong and move forward.

Sara has decided she wants to pursue a career in social work, as her brother once hoped to do. She wants to help teens like those charged with her brother’s murder.

“I want to help troubled kids,” she said, “so the same thing doesn’t happen.”

Angie’s life has a new focus as well: preserving her son’s memory.

“There's nothing I can do. … I have to build on what is left,” she said. “Whatever legacy is there is about love.”

Though she’s been trying not to seem smothering, Angie said she’s been especially more affectionate towards Sara lately.

“I try to communicate with her a little more frequently than we used to because you never know what could happen from one day to the next,” she said. “You have to give the love that you have for them because you never know when this is going to end.”

Sara and Angie both feel that they owe it to Colin to maintain as strong and positive an attitude as possible.

“My brother would have wanted me to stay strong,” Sara said.

Angie, who still speaks about Colin in the present tense, says her son is part of her now, and that her actions going forward will be a reflection of his kindness.

“He's always a person who likes to see people smile,” Angie said. “What he's doing now is part of that giving of love, in a different way.”

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