Mourners Remember Kevin Sutherland, Killed On D.C. Subway, As Caring, Sensitive

MONROE — More than 225 mourners gathered in the sanctuary of St. Jude’s Church Monday for the funeral of Kevin Joseph Sutherland, the 24-year-old former congressional intern from Connecticut who was stabbed to death in what police say was a botched robbery on a Washington, D.C., subway.

Sutherland was a sensitive young man who loved politics and was committed to the principles of equality and fairness, said his father, Douglas Sutherland. A fan of Pope Francis and a supporter of liberal causes, Sutherland at the time of his death was working for a digital strategy firm that helps Democratic candidates.

Unlike some politically savvy young people in Washington, Sutherland’s love of politics wasn’t part of some overarching goal to secure an impressive title or feed a boundless sense of ambition, his father said. “His political pursuits were driven by his desire to make a difference, to make this a better world,” he said. “It was not about Kevin.”

Above all, he had an unshakable faith in America and signs of that faith were evident at his funeral, from the tiny U.S. flag and quote from John F. Kennedy that adorned the program to the selection of the “Star Spangled Banner” as the recessional.

A year after the Sandy Hook school shootings, which happened just a few miles from the church where Sutherland was christened, he tried to make sense of the tragedy on his blog. “Our union is not perfect,” he wrote. “It is likely we will never achieve absolute perfection but I believe that the heart of American exceptionalism is that we never stop trying.”

In his eulogy to his son, Douglas Sutherland paraphrased a quote from former New York City Mayor John Lindsay: “Life is not fair, but I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it more so.”

The first part of the quote, Douglas Sutherland said, reflects the heartbreaking randomness of Sutherland’s death. “The second part exemplifies the way my son lived,” he added, his voice quavering.

Kevin Sutherland left his hometown of Trumbull to attend American University in Washington. He fell in love with the city, photographing the grand monuments and more ordinary aspects of urban life. “Kevin always seemed to find the hidden beauty in the things around you and in the people he touched, and, in return, those people saw the beauty in Kevin,” Douglas Sutherland said.

In college, he also became active in student government and advocated for liberal causes. He interned for U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, who sat at the front of the church on Monday. State Treasurer Denise Nappier and former Connecticut Democratic party Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo were among the other political dignitaries in attendance.

Sutherland was killed aboard a Red Line Metro train just before 1 p.m. July 4. Jasper Spires, an 18-year-old with a criminal record, has been charged with first-degree murder.

The brutally haphazard nature of the crime was alluded to by Monsignor Dariusz Zielonka, who presided over the Mass. He gave voice to the question on many mourners’ minds: Why?

“Could we do something different, could we prevent this?” Zielonka asked. “These are the questions because we are trying to make sense of a reality that does not make any sense whatsoever. We’re looking for answers and yet the answers are not easily accessible to us.”

Sutherland’s father focused on his son’s life, noting that he had a strong sense of empathy. “Kevin could put himself in other people’s shoes,” he said.

“Today let us mourn our loss but very soon let us celebrate the life that was Kevin Sutherland,” his father said. “Let us honor him by modeling our life after his kind and gentle and patient character and his passion for making this world a better place.”