WEBVTT 00:00:02.465 --> 00:00:04.968 The affluent Atlanta suburb of Buckhead 00:00:05.010 --> 00:00:07.470 is devastated 00:00:07.512 --> 00:00:10.640 by a brutal early-morning execution. 00:00:10.682 --> 00:00:14.352 You had a very prominent woman met 00:00:14.394 --> 00:00:18.148 with the dark barrel of a handgun 00:00:18.189 --> 00:00:21.735 pointed directly at her face. 00:00:21.776 --> 00:00:23.820 There was a nine-millimeter shell casing 00:00:23.862 --> 00:00:26.031 outside the threshold of the door. 00:00:26.072 --> 00:00:28.450 This was an orchestrated hit, 00:00:28.491 --> 00:00:30.201 no ifs, ands, or buts about it. 00:00:30.243 --> 00:00:32.996 The community is paralyzed with fear. 00:00:33.038 --> 00:00:34.914 When this happened, 00:00:34.956 --> 00:00:37.417 it shook people to the core. 00:00:37.459 --> 00:00:39.794 As the hunt for justice uncovers 00:00:39.836 --> 00:00:43.048 illicit lies and twisted motives. 00:00:43.089 --> 00:00:45.467 There were allegations of infidelity 00:00:45.508 --> 00:00:47.719 or adultery in the marriage. 00:00:47.761 --> 00:00:49.846 He admitted to being a murderer. 00:00:49.888 --> 00:00:52.515 Is that the kind of person you would believe? 00:00:52.557 --> 00:00:55.852 Yet the killer manages to stay 00:00:55.894 --> 00:00:57.604 just out of reach. 00:00:57.645 --> 00:01:01.566 He vanished, just like a puff of smoke. 00:01:01.608 --> 00:01:05.403 Someone spots him on a beach, calls the FBI. 00:01:05.403 --> 00:01:08.865 He said, "I've been waiting for you boys for a long time." 00:01:30.178 --> 00:01:33.348 Atlanta, Georgia goes by a number of names: 00:01:33.389 --> 00:01:37.060 the A, The City in the Woods, 00:01:37.102 --> 00:01:39.771 Hotlanta, and the Black Mecca. 00:01:40.063 --> 00:01:41.439 In the 1980s, 00:01:41.481 --> 00:01:44.651 it's at the crossroads of its antebellum past 00:01:44.692 --> 00:01:47.403 and a future filled with promise. 00:01:47.445 --> 00:01:49.155 Atlanta back then was called 00:01:49.197 --> 00:01:51.324 "A city too busy to hate." 00:01:51.366 --> 00:01:53.118 No, it wasn't. 00:01:53.159 --> 00:01:55.453 Segregation was still very much 00:01:55.495 --> 00:01:56.955 a part of the landscape. 00:01:56.996 --> 00:01:58.665 Atlanta was the kind of the city where 00:01:58.706 --> 00:02:00.792 the residences were broken up into Black and white. 00:02:00.834 --> 00:02:03.128 Southwest Atlanta was Black. 00:02:03.169 --> 00:02:06.297 Most white people lived in pretty much Midtown Atlanta. 00:02:06.297 --> 00:02:07.132 Most white people lived in pretty much Midtown Atlanta. 00:02:07.173 --> 00:02:10.051 They lived in Buckhead. 00:02:11.636 --> 00:02:16.057 Buckhead was where the hoity toity, the rich, 00:02:16.099 --> 00:02:18.184 and the famous lived. 00:02:18.226 --> 00:02:19.727 You could not live over there 00:02:19.769 --> 00:02:22.730 unless you were making millions of dollars. 00:02:22.772 --> 00:02:26.484 Buckhead was the Palm Beach of Atlanta, 00:02:26.526 --> 00:02:29.279 And defying social conventions of the time 00:02:29.362 --> 00:02:33.575 are Jim and Lita Sullivan, a wealthy interracial couple 00:02:33.616 --> 00:02:37.537 who live among the exclusive elite of Buckhead. 00:02:37.579 --> 00:02:39.914 So James Sullivan was able to make his wealth 00:02:39.956 --> 00:02:42.125 by inheriting 00:02:42.208 --> 00:02:46.421 a very, very profitable liquor distributorship. 00:02:46.462 --> 00:02:48.464 Sullivan sold that business 00:02:48.506 --> 00:02:51.759 for between $5 and $7 million. 00:02:51.801 --> 00:02:55.763 In 1976, Lita graduated from Spelman, 00:02:55.805 --> 00:02:58.016 took a job working in a boutique, 00:02:58.057 --> 00:03:00.977 and that's where she met James. 00:03:00.977 --> 00:03:07.275 Within a year, he proposed, and they were married. 00:03:07.317 --> 00:03:09.861 Lita Sullivan had a lot going for her. 00:03:09.903 --> 00:03:11.696 She was well educated, 00:03:11.738 --> 00:03:14.407 she was well connected in terms of her family. 00:03:14.449 --> 00:03:16.492 Her father served on the Georgia Board 00:03:16.534 --> 00:03:17.952 of Transportation. 00:03:17.994 --> 00:03:20.830 Her mother was in the legislature. 00:03:20.872 --> 00:03:23.791 Lita Sullivan was the star of her family. 00:03:28.296 --> 00:03:30.924 The promise of this picture-perfect life 00:03:30.965 --> 00:03:32.675 is shattered, however, 00:03:32.717 --> 00:03:36.554 when fate knocks at the front door. 00:03:36.596 --> 00:03:39.224 At approximately 8:00 a.m., Atlanta police department 00:03:39.265 --> 00:03:43.269 received a call of a person shot in Buckhead, 00:03:43.311 --> 00:03:46.231 just off West Paces Ferry Road. 00:03:46.272 --> 00:03:48.608 The police discovered that the Black female 00:03:48.650 --> 00:03:52.153 deceased on the floor was in fact Lita Sullivan. 00:03:53.738 --> 00:03:58.117 She was lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to her head. 00:03:59.702 --> 00:04:01.955 There was nothing disturbed in the house 00:04:01.996 --> 00:04:05.166 whatsoever other than that, inside that foyer there. 00:04:05.208 --> 00:04:07.877 There was nothing obviously missing. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:10.546 It was highly likely that it wasn't a robbery. 00:04:10.588 --> 00:04:12.340 When police investigators 00:04:12.423 --> 00:04:15.176 processed the scene, they found the flower box, 00:04:15.218 --> 00:04:19.430 which significantly had a hole that went through it. 00:04:19.472 --> 00:04:21.766 There was a nine-millimeter shell casing 00:04:21.808 --> 00:04:25.311 outside the door, outside the threshold of the door, 00:04:25.353 --> 00:04:27.730 which would suggest that the first round 00:04:27.772 --> 00:04:29.274 was the one that struck her. 00:04:29.315 --> 00:04:31.901 The one that went through the flower box. 00:04:31.943 --> 00:04:35.530 As Atlanta PD begins working the gruesome scene, 00:04:35.571 --> 00:04:41.119 they suddenly hear terrified screams coming from upstairs. 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:44.080 Investigators discover a petrified woman 00:04:44.122 --> 00:04:46.291 hiding in the closet. 00:04:46.374 --> 00:04:47.125 She is Poppy Marable, Lita's best friend. 00:04:47.125 --> 00:04:49.752 She is Poppy Marable, Lita's best friend. 00:04:49.794 --> 00:04:52.005 She said that she was frightened, 00:04:52.046 --> 00:04:53.339 and she stayed upstairs 00:04:53.381 --> 00:04:56.384 until she heard police communication radios. 00:04:56.426 --> 00:04:57.927 Poppy explains to police 00:04:57.969 --> 00:04:59.679 that she had stayed the night 00:04:59.721 --> 00:05:03.683 and that she and Lita were enjoying their morning coffee 00:05:03.725 --> 00:05:06.102 when the doorbell rang. 00:05:06.185 --> 00:05:08.646 Lita actually answered the door 00:05:08.688 --> 00:05:11.190 and greeted the person 00:05:11.232 --> 00:05:14.485 standing on the other side of the threshold, 00:05:14.527 --> 00:05:19.324 who appeared to be a flower delivery man. 00:05:19.365 --> 00:05:25.621 Poppy heard Lita asking him if she could give him a tip. 00:05:25.663 --> 00:05:28.791 She was met with the barrel 00:05:28.833 --> 00:05:33.212 of a nine-millimeter semi-automatic handgun 00:05:33.254 --> 00:05:36.674 pointed directly at her face. 00:05:36.716 --> 00:05:40.970 She screamed in terror, 00:05:41.054 --> 00:05:46.517 and she raised that box up to act as a shield, 00:05:46.559 --> 00:05:48.478 as if a cardboard box 00:05:48.519 --> 00:05:52.815 could prevent the hard steel of a bullet from penetrating. 00:05:55.943 --> 00:06:02.075 One single bullet penetrated the front of her skull 00:06:02.116 --> 00:06:05.870 literally right between her eyes. 00:06:08.122 --> 00:06:10.249 After hearing the gunshot, 00:06:10.291 --> 00:06:12.335 Poppy ran for cover, 00:06:12.377 --> 00:06:16.839 never seeing the gunman's face nor the car he drove. 00:06:16.923 --> 00:06:22.095 Immediately, officers began to search 00:06:22.136 --> 00:06:27.266 the surrounding neighborhoods for this flower delivery man. 00:06:27.308 --> 00:06:30.436 To see if they can locate Lita's killer. 00:06:30.478 --> 00:06:33.731 Investigators begin to canvas the neighborhood 00:06:33.815 --> 00:06:37.235 and interview the man who called 911. 00:06:37.276 --> 00:06:40.029 Police interviewed a next-door neighbor, 00:06:40.071 --> 00:06:41.823 Robert Christenson, 00:06:41.864 --> 00:06:43.741 who at that time just happened 00:06:43.825 --> 00:06:47.578 to be outside getting his morning paper. 00:06:47.620 --> 00:06:50.373 He noticed the flower delivery man 00:06:50.415 --> 00:06:55.211 walking towards Lita Sullivan's front door. 00:06:55.253 --> 00:06:59.257 He heard the scream as well as the shot. 00:07:00.758 --> 00:07:06.639 He actually saw the face of the flower delivery man, 00:07:06.681 --> 00:07:08.516 but the initial description 00:07:08.599 --> 00:07:11.394 from Robert Christenson was pretty vague. 00:07:11.436 --> 00:07:14.522 It was a middle-aged white male, 00:07:14.522 --> 00:07:17.733 about six feet tall, stocky build, 00:07:17.775 --> 00:07:20.862 and that was pretty much about it. 00:07:20.903 --> 00:07:23.614 You know, there wasn't a whole of details. 00:07:23.656 --> 00:07:25.366 Desperately searching for evidence 00:07:25.408 --> 00:07:26.742 at the crime scene, 00:07:26.784 --> 00:07:30.037 detectives uncover a critical clue: 00:07:30.079 --> 00:07:35.334 a stamp on the flower box with the name of the store. 00:07:35.376 --> 00:07:38.421 The florist there, he said there was one suspect 00:07:38.463 --> 00:07:40.798 that came in and purchased the roses. 00:07:40.840 --> 00:07:44.302 And then he went out to the car and he saw, 00:07:44.343 --> 00:07:45.803 he described it was three people, 00:07:45.845 --> 00:07:47.805 and he provided a sketch. 00:07:47.847 --> 00:07:50.308 Armed with a drawing of the suspect, 00:07:50.349 --> 00:07:52.477 police officers immediately search 00:07:52.518 --> 00:07:54.729 their database for a match 00:07:54.770 --> 00:07:58.566 as word of the horrific incident spreads like wildfire 00:07:58.608 --> 00:08:01.444 throughout the tight-knit community. 00:08:01.527 --> 00:08:04.363 When this hit the news in Buckhead, 00:08:04.405 --> 00:08:07.867 people were crying, they were devastated, 00:08:07.909 --> 00:08:11.621 it was like a black cloud over this town. 00:08:11.662 --> 00:08:16.501 When this happened, it shook people to the core 00:08:16.584 --> 00:08:19.462 because many of those women in that area 00:08:19.545 --> 00:08:21.714 regularly got flowers. 00:08:23.549 --> 00:08:25.301 Lita's heartless homicide 00:08:25.343 --> 00:08:26.969 leaves Atlanta's elite 00:08:27.011 --> 00:08:29.639 desperate to restore their shattered utopia 00:08:29.680 --> 00:08:31.807 as detectives direct their focus 00:08:31.849 --> 00:08:35.353 on the one person closest to the victim. 00:08:35.436 --> 00:08:39.232 Investigators start from the innermost circle 00:08:39.273 --> 00:08:43.361 surrounding the victim, and they work outwardly. 00:08:43.402 --> 00:08:47.532 And so they started with James Sullivan. 00:08:47.573 --> 00:08:49.951 And through the investigation, what we learned 00:08:49.992 --> 00:08:54.747 is that a divorce suit was filed and served on Sullivan, 00:08:54.789 --> 00:08:59.710 and there were allegations of infidelity and adultery. 00:08:59.752 --> 00:09:03.005 Police ask what dark secrets 00:09:03.047 --> 00:09:04.590 were brewing beneath this 00:09:04.632 --> 00:09:08.261 once storybook couple's perfect façade?" 00:09:08.344 --> 00:09:10.429 James Sullivan was not well-liked, 00:09:10.471 --> 00:09:12.557 particularly in the Buckhead area. 00:09:12.598 --> 00:09:14.433 They thought of him as new money. 00:09:14.475 --> 00:09:16.936 And that was one of the reasons he wanted to get out of there. 00:09:16.978 --> 00:09:19.939 Just five years after they're married, 00:09:19.981 --> 00:09:24.068 the couple escapes one bastion of exclusivity and lands 00:09:24.110 --> 00:09:27.613 in another by moving to Palm Beach. 00:09:30.366 --> 00:09:33.953 He goes in expecting for everyone to embrace him, 00:09:33.995 --> 00:09:36.581 and it's kind of like the side eye. 00:09:36.622 --> 00:09:40.418 He blamed Lita for him not being accepted. 00:09:40.459 --> 00:09:43.504 He, you know, he said, "It's because I have a Black wife." 00:09:43.546 --> 00:09:44.714 And then she found out 00:09:44.755 --> 00:09:47.550 that he had been seeing another woman. 00:09:47.592 --> 00:09:50.886 And so that's just, you know, heartbreaking. 00:09:50.928 --> 00:09:55.433 In 1987, six years after moving to Palm Beach, 00:09:55.474 --> 00:09:58.436 Lita breaks free of her toxic marriage 00:09:58.477 --> 00:10:02.565 by relocating to Atlanta and filing for divorce. 00:10:02.607 --> 00:10:04.817 There's a lot of animosity 00:10:04.859 --> 00:10:06.652 during these divorce proceedings, 00:10:06.694 --> 00:10:11.490 and you just have to look to him first and foremost. 00:10:11.532 --> 00:10:13.784 As the truth behind the Sullivans' 00:10:13.826 --> 00:10:16.287 enviable exterior is exposed, 00:10:16.329 --> 00:10:18.789 investigators focus their sights 00:10:18.831 --> 00:10:21.250 on Lita's unfaithful husband. 00:10:21.292 --> 00:10:25.588 Where was Jim Sullivan on the day Lita was murdered? 00:10:25.630 --> 00:10:28.924 Jim Sullivan told us that he was in Palm Beach 00:10:28.966 --> 00:10:30.760 on the day of her death. 00:10:30.801 --> 00:10:32.261 He played tennis that day, 00:10:32.303 --> 00:10:34.764 and he had dinner plans for that evening. 00:10:34.805 --> 00:10:38.434 While racing to substantiate Sullivan's alibi, 00:10:38.476 --> 00:10:42.146 investigators are met with a shocking revelation 00:10:42.188 --> 00:10:45.441 that could lead them directly to a Lita's killer. 00:10:45.483 --> 00:10:46.984 An informant stated 00:10:47.068 --> 00:10:49.320 that he was at a bar sitting there with two men, 00:10:49.362 --> 00:10:50.655 and one of them made the comment 00:10:50.696 --> 00:10:52.031 he had killed a Black woman, 00:10:52.073 --> 00:10:54.116 he had shot a Black woman in Atlanta. 00:10:57.495 --> 00:10:58.954 In the beginning, 00:10:58.996 --> 00:11:01.540 the investigation really centered around phone records. 00:11:01.582 --> 00:11:04.377 Law enforcement made note of a collect call 00:11:04.418 --> 00:11:06.504 that he had received shortly after the murder, 00:11:06.545 --> 00:11:10.049 and the call was from an area code of Atlanta area. 00:11:10.132 --> 00:11:13.219 That was a red flag, something we would call a clue. 00:11:13.260 --> 00:11:17.973 He went to a pay phone to tell him, 00:11:18.015 --> 00:11:21.394 "Merry Christmas, your wishes have come true. 00:11:21.435 --> 00:11:26.065 Lita Sullivan is dead." 00:11:38.202 --> 00:11:39.870 The fairytale mecca 00:11:39.912 --> 00:11:43.165 of Atlanta's exclusive Buckhead neighborhood 00:11:43.207 --> 00:11:45.918 is forever altered after one their own, 00:11:45.960 --> 00:11:49.255 Lita Sullivan, is ruthlessly gunned down 00:11:49.296 --> 00:11:52.341 inside the safety of her gated estate. 00:11:52.383 --> 00:11:55.928 When the murder happened, it was literally front page. 00:11:55.970 --> 00:11:57.888 You just don't have murders in Buckhead. 00:11:57.930 --> 00:11:59.432 And then when you have it's a Black woman 00:11:59.473 --> 00:12:00.766 married to a white man 00:12:00.850 --> 00:12:02.685 who was going through a divorce, 00:12:02.727 --> 00:12:05.479 that makes it even worse. 00:12:05.521 --> 00:12:08.107 Investigators are looking into the alibi 00:12:08.149 --> 00:12:10.317 of Lita's husband, Jim, 00:12:10.359 --> 00:12:14.405 when a lead materializes from an inside source. 00:12:14.447 --> 00:12:17.658 An informant stated that he was in a bar 00:12:17.700 --> 00:12:21.912 and he was sitting with Thomas Henley and another man. 00:12:21.954 --> 00:12:26.083 And that Henley said he had a killed a Black woman. 00:12:26.125 --> 00:12:28.377 And that he'd bought the flowers that morning 00:12:28.419 --> 00:12:31.172 and shot a Black woman in Atlanta. 00:12:31.213 --> 00:12:32.923 Law enforcement eagerly 00:12:32.965 --> 00:12:36.343 runs the name Thomas Henley through their felony database 00:12:36.385 --> 00:12:40.181 to see if he has a history of violent prosecutions. 00:12:40.222 --> 00:12:43.058 When I was going back searching records, 00:12:43.100 --> 00:12:45.686 that's when I discovered Thomas Henley 00:12:45.728 --> 00:12:49.315 had been in jail for some violent crimes. 00:12:51.984 --> 00:12:53.861 Once we got that information, 00:12:53.903 --> 00:12:56.947 we had to keep building on that information. 00:12:56.989 --> 00:12:58.699 Atlanta police showed the gentleman 00:12:58.741 --> 00:13:01.285 at the florist a photo lineup. 00:13:01.327 --> 00:13:02.912 He identifies Henley. 00:13:02.953 --> 00:13:05.873 And I think that was probably what was final decision 00:13:05.915 --> 00:13:09.794 for them to go ahead and take a warrant for him. 00:13:09.835 --> 00:13:11.796 Thomas Bruce Henley arrived at the jail 00:13:11.837 --> 00:13:13.964 with a group of lawmen. 00:13:14.006 --> 00:13:16.091 Investigators have their first 00:13:16.133 --> 00:13:17.802 big lead in the case. 00:13:17.843 --> 00:13:20.221 The arrest of Henley will hopefully lead 00:13:20.262 --> 00:13:25.142 to other possible suspects and a motive for the murder. 00:13:25.184 --> 00:13:26.435 The problem was they only had 00:13:26.477 --> 00:13:29.563 circumstantial evidence, basically. 00:13:29.605 --> 00:13:30.815 That's all they had. 00:13:30.856 --> 00:13:32.942 Was the florist, you got nothing else 00:13:32.983 --> 00:13:35.402 but the word of this informant. 00:13:35.444 --> 00:13:36.821 Then you've got to be concerned about well, 00:13:36.862 --> 00:13:38.906 what is the reliability of this informant? 00:13:38.948 --> 00:13:41.867 You know, is he telling us the truth? 00:13:41.909 --> 00:13:45.246 When the case went to court, the judge dismissed it. 00:13:45.287 --> 00:13:47.790 There was just no evidence that he was--he was the one 00:13:47.832 --> 00:13:50.876 that was involved in the murder of Lita Sullivan. 00:13:50.918 --> 00:13:52.753 Henley was ultimately released. 00:13:52.795 --> 00:13:54.296 So then what have you got? 00:13:54.338 --> 00:13:58.884 There was very little to go on. It was just a dead end. 00:13:58.926 --> 00:14:01.929 The pressure mounts as suspects disappear 00:14:02.012 --> 00:14:03.889 and leads evaporate. 00:14:03.973 --> 00:14:07.184 So detectives decide to follow their initial instinct 00:14:07.226 --> 00:14:10.729 and re-examine Lita's husband. 00:14:10.771 --> 00:14:12.481 In the beginning, the investigation 00:14:12.523 --> 00:14:15.025 really centered around James Sullivan's phone records 00:14:15.067 --> 00:14:18.779 to see if James Sullivan was actually physically 00:14:18.821 --> 00:14:22.324 in Palm Beach at the time of Lita's death. 00:14:22.366 --> 00:14:24.285 Jim Sullivan was in Palm Beach 00:14:24.326 --> 00:14:26.370 on the day of her death. 00:14:26.412 --> 00:14:30.708 And he'd even kept a diary, and he had--in his diary, 00:14:30.749 --> 00:14:33.335 he had dinner plans for that evening. 00:14:33.377 --> 00:14:36.297 Through further investigations of other people that knew him, 00:14:36.338 --> 00:14:37.840 he was alibied, he was there, 00:14:37.882 --> 00:14:40.634 he was in Palm Beach, no doubt about it. 00:14:40.676 --> 00:14:43.304 But is it possible for Jim Sullivan 00:14:43.345 --> 00:14:45.556 to be involved in the murder 00:14:45.598 --> 00:14:50.811 even though he's 600 miles away? 00:14:50.895 --> 00:14:52.980 Law enforcement was going through 00:14:53.022 --> 00:14:55.608 Jim Sullivan's phone records, 00:14:55.649 --> 00:14:58.193 and they made note of a collect call 00:14:58.235 --> 00:15:00.654 that he had received at his residence in Palm Beach 00:15:00.696 --> 00:15:02.489 shortly after the murder. 00:15:04.533 --> 00:15:06.619 And the call was from an area code of 404, 00:15:06.660 --> 00:15:10.539 which is in the Atlanta area from a coin phone 00:15:10.581 --> 00:15:12.333 at a rest stop. 00:15:12.374 --> 00:15:16.587 The duration of the call was like 45 seconds. 00:15:16.629 --> 00:15:20.633 That was a red flag, something we would call a clue. 00:15:20.674 --> 00:15:23.469 The suspicious call after the murder 00:15:23.510 --> 00:15:25.346 piques the interest of investigators, 00:15:25.387 --> 00:15:27.723 who continue to scour Sullivan's phone data 00:15:27.765 --> 00:15:29.391 for any other leads. 00:15:29.433 --> 00:15:32.978 Then they uncover an unusual set of calls 00:15:33.020 --> 00:15:35.773 just days before the murder. 00:15:35.814 --> 00:15:38.484 When they looked at the phone records, 00:15:38.525 --> 00:15:41.445 it was when they discovered that 00:15:41.487 --> 00:15:43.447 in the days leading up to Lita's death, 00:15:43.489 --> 00:15:46.450 there were conversations between James Sullivan 00:15:46.492 --> 00:15:49.036 and Poppy Marable's husband Marvin. 00:15:50.621 --> 00:15:53.624 Intrigued by the timing of these phone calls, 00:15:53.666 --> 00:15:55.626 detectives need to determine 00:15:55.668 --> 00:16:00.297 why Jim Sullivan was contacting Marvin Marable. 00:16:00.339 --> 00:16:02.508 No one in their inner circle, 00:16:02.549 --> 00:16:05.469 that being Poppy or any of their other friends, 00:16:05.511 --> 00:16:08.931 realized that there was this level of communication 00:16:08.973 --> 00:16:12.017 between Marvin and James Sullivan. 00:16:12.059 --> 00:16:14.520 And so when his name kind of popped up 00:16:14.603 --> 00:16:16.897 in the investigation, the police looked at him 00:16:16.939 --> 00:16:18.983 very, very carefully. 00:16:20.859 --> 00:16:23.320 I was contacted by the Atlanta Police Department 00:16:23.362 --> 00:16:25.322 Homicide Division. 00:16:25.364 --> 00:16:27.449 They wanted me to come in and talk with them 00:16:27.491 --> 00:16:30.536 regarding the murder of Lita Sullivan. 00:16:30.536 --> 00:16:32.955 So I contacted my attorney. 00:16:32.997 --> 00:16:36.375 We went down to meet with the investigators one afternoon. 00:16:36.417 --> 00:16:39.211 After they introduced themselves, 00:16:39.253 --> 00:16:43.424 they advised me of my rights. 00:16:43.465 --> 00:16:46.760 They read me my rights, right there. 00:16:46.802 --> 00:16:49.138 And I was shocked. 00:16:49.179 --> 00:16:51.849 They kept asking me, "Did you murder Lita Sullivan? 00:16:51.890 --> 00:16:53.642 Do you know who murdered Lita Sullivan?" 00:16:53.684 --> 00:16:56.854 They suspected me of being involved in the murder 00:16:56.895 --> 00:16:59.398 because Jim had called me three days prior. 00:16:59.398 --> 00:17:02.067 They wanted to know about the phone call. 00:17:03.485 --> 00:17:08.824 January 13th, 7:02 a.m., 00:17:08.866 --> 00:17:11.452 I received a message that Jim had left. 00:17:11.493 --> 00:17:13.871 "Marvin, this is Jim, it's urgent." 00:17:13.912 --> 00:17:17.291 And when I returned the call, I spoke with Jim, 00:17:17.332 --> 00:17:20.127 and he seemed very frantic. 00:17:20.169 --> 00:17:22.504 Jim was concerned about the divorce. 00:17:22.546 --> 00:17:24.506 Three days later 00:17:24.548 --> 00:17:27.801 was when I got the phone call that Lita was murdered. 00:17:39.063 --> 00:17:40.981 The upscale community of Buckhead 00:17:41.023 --> 00:17:42.524 in Atlanta, Georgia, 00:17:42.566 --> 00:17:46.320 is horrified when one of its most respected citizens, 00:17:46.361 --> 00:17:51.658 Lita Sullivan, is gunned down in broad daylight. 00:17:51.700 --> 00:17:55.162 This homicide was one of the greatest tragedies 00:17:55.245 --> 00:17:56.747 in Atlanta's criminal history. 00:17:56.789 --> 00:18:01.001 You had a very well-known and prominent woman 00:18:01.043 --> 00:18:04.755 who was murdered in the foyer of her own home. 00:18:04.797 --> 00:18:07.549 Suspicions soar after police learn 00:18:07.591 --> 00:18:10.302 that Lita's husband, Jim Sullivan, 00:18:10.344 --> 00:18:13.055 voiced concerns about their impending divorce 00:18:13.055 --> 00:18:16.600 just three days before Lita's murder. 00:18:16.642 --> 00:18:18.268 We went down to meet 00:18:18.310 --> 00:18:21.438 with the investigators one afternoon to let them know 00:18:21.480 --> 00:18:24.358 Jim was concerned about the divorce trial. 00:18:24.399 --> 00:18:27.778 He petitioned to have the trial in Palm Beach. 00:18:27.820 --> 00:18:30.697 But they granted the trial to be in Atlanta. 00:18:30.739 --> 00:18:33.367 And he was afraid that an Atlanta jury 00:18:33.408 --> 00:18:37.121 would not be sympathetic to him at all. 00:18:37.162 --> 00:18:39.123 I mean, he was a millionaire. 00:18:39.164 --> 00:18:42.709 He could've given her half of his estate, 00:18:42.751 --> 00:18:44.920 still been a millionaire. 00:18:44.962 --> 00:18:47.548 Police contact Lita's divorce attorney, 00:18:47.589 --> 00:18:52.010 who reveals the details of the couple's matrimonial bargain. 00:18:52.094 --> 00:18:56.849 James Sullivan, before he would agree 00:18:56.890 --> 00:18:59.393 to marry Lita McClinton, 00:18:59.434 --> 00:19:04.148 presented Lita with a prenuptial agreement. 00:19:04.189 --> 00:19:08.694 And this agreement capped her ability 00:19:08.735 --> 00:19:11.655 to receive any of the marital assets 00:19:11.697 --> 00:19:15.868 at a maximum of $250,000. 00:19:15.909 --> 00:19:17.870 Investigators wonder, 00:19:17.911 --> 00:19:21.081 for a man worth 20 times that amount, 00:19:21.123 --> 00:19:23.625 is a quarter of a million dollars 00:19:23.667 --> 00:19:26.587 really a motive for murder? 00:19:26.628 --> 00:19:29.590 Lita had filed for divorce, 00:19:29.631 --> 00:19:32.050 she had made allegations of infidelity 00:19:32.092 --> 00:19:34.261 or adultery in the marriage. 00:19:34.303 --> 00:19:36.805 There was a concern that those allegations 00:19:36.889 --> 00:19:40.184 might impact Sullivan's ability 00:19:40.225 --> 00:19:42.978 to enforce the prenuptial agreement. 00:19:43.020 --> 00:19:46.064 And if that prenuptial agreement were not enforced, 00:19:46.106 --> 00:19:52.654 Lita Sullivan stood to receive a substantial portion 00:19:52.696 --> 00:19:56.658 of James Sullivan's estate. 00:19:56.700 --> 00:19:58.911 So for the police, they believed 00:19:58.952 --> 00:20:00.579 that it was no coincidence 00:20:00.621 --> 00:20:03.665 that this murder occurred on the morning 00:20:03.707 --> 00:20:06.001 that Lita was scheduled to go to court 00:20:06.043 --> 00:20:08.879 because of her divorce petition. 00:20:08.921 --> 00:20:11.924 Detectives are convinced Jim Sullivan 00:20:12.007 --> 00:20:15.594 had the means and the motive to murder Lita. 00:20:15.636 --> 00:20:17.512 But a month after her death, 00:20:17.554 --> 00:20:22.017 they still don't have enough evidence to make an arrest. 00:20:24.770 --> 00:20:26.855 I definitely had lost hope. 00:20:26.897 --> 00:20:28.732 You just think the case is going cold, 00:20:28.815 --> 00:20:30.859 and it's going into a file, 00:20:30.901 --> 00:20:33.070 and there's somebody else's story that's more important. 00:20:33.111 --> 00:20:37.407 You know, you get frustrated, you get mad, you lose faith. 00:20:37.449 --> 00:20:39.368 It was just a sad occasion. 00:20:39.409 --> 00:20:43.872 As you can imagine, a parent seeing their lovely daughter 00:20:43.914 --> 00:20:46.541 being murdered by who knows who. 00:20:46.583 --> 00:20:49.628 And, of course, Jim Sullivan, 00:20:49.670 --> 00:20:53.882 we didn't see him anymore. He was in Palm Beach. 00:20:53.924 --> 00:20:57.052 Local investigators are at a loss. 00:20:57.094 --> 00:21:00.389 They know in their gut that Jim Sullivan is to blame 00:21:00.430 --> 00:21:02.516 for his wife Lita's murder. 00:21:02.557 --> 00:21:04.685 But making their case is difficult 00:21:04.726 --> 00:21:08.146 since they don't have the identity of the shooter. 00:21:08.188 --> 00:21:09.398 The state never thought that 00:21:09.439 --> 00:21:11.149 they could prove the case at that point 00:21:11.191 --> 00:21:12.859 without the shooter. 00:21:12.901 --> 00:21:16.613 The statute of limitations was five years for murder for hire. 00:21:16.697 --> 00:21:19.533 So they had to indict by 1992. 00:21:19.574 --> 00:21:21.535 So the FBI decided to go forward 00:21:21.576 --> 00:21:23.745 with the United States Attorney's Office 00:21:23.787 --> 00:21:26.915 and prosecute the case in federal court 00:21:26.957 --> 00:21:28.208 as a murder for hire. 00:21:28.250 --> 00:21:31.128 Five years after Lita's murder, 00:21:31.169 --> 00:21:34.006 and just days before the statute of limitations 00:21:34.047 --> 00:21:38.302 runs out, the FBI brings their new indictment. 00:21:38.343 --> 00:21:40.178 Jim Sullivan, who was still living 00:21:40.220 --> 00:21:41.555 in Palm Beach at the time, 00:21:41.596 --> 00:21:43.557 was charged with the murder here in Atlanta 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:48.645 in federal court and charged with contract killing 00:21:48.687 --> 00:21:51.273 through the use of interstate phone calls. 00:21:51.315 --> 00:21:52.774 It's a last-ditch effort 00:21:52.816 --> 00:21:55.527 to get James Sullivan behind bars 00:21:55.569 --> 00:21:58.280 and find justice for Lita. 00:21:58.322 --> 00:22:00.615 And the trial goes forward in November. 00:22:00.699 --> 00:22:04.119 Jim Sullivan pled not guilty. It was very simple. 00:22:04.161 --> 00:22:06.955 He did not commit the crime. 00:22:06.997 --> 00:22:09.791 Without knowing what was said on the phone calls, 00:22:09.833 --> 00:22:11.835 there was no way that a jury could find behind 00:22:11.877 --> 00:22:13.253 no reasonable doubt 00:22:13.295 --> 00:22:16.256 that these phone calls were interstate phone calls 00:22:16.298 --> 00:22:20.135 made to facilitate murder. 00:22:20.177 --> 00:22:22.012 At the close of the government's case, they say, 00:22:22.054 --> 00:22:23.764 "We have presented enough evidence 00:22:23.805 --> 00:22:25.724 that the jury should be allowed to decide." 00:22:25.766 --> 00:22:27.476 We thought the defense was gonna have to put up a case, 00:22:27.517 --> 00:22:29.353 we thought we would have closing arguments. 00:22:29.394 --> 00:22:30.771 We thought the jury would deliberate, 00:22:30.812 --> 00:22:34.274 and instead the judge finds him not guilty. 00:22:34.316 --> 00:22:36.276 Closed the book, walked off the bench. 00:22:36.318 --> 00:22:38.612 It was astounding, frankly. 00:22:38.653 --> 00:22:40.655 All of a sudden, we all walk out of the courtroom. 00:22:40.697 --> 00:22:42.282 It's over. 00:22:42.324 --> 00:22:44.659 It's like you wanna fall to your knees, you know. 00:22:44.701 --> 00:22:47.788 How can that happen? Is it because of his money? 00:22:47.829 --> 00:22:49.289 Can he buy his way through this 00:22:49.331 --> 00:22:53.001 like so many people are able to do? 00:22:53.043 --> 00:22:55.128 I just felt like poor Lita. 00:22:59.841 --> 00:23:03.428 Lita's parents, JoAnn and Emory McClinton, 00:23:03.470 --> 00:23:08.350 can't rest with Jim Sullivan acting like an innocent man. 00:23:08.392 --> 00:23:10.227 Finally, in 1994, 00:23:10.268 --> 00:23:12.771 Lita's family decides, "We've had enough," 00:23:12.813 --> 00:23:15.565 and they go for a civil judgement. 00:23:15.607 --> 00:23:18.235 The McClinton family sued Jim Sullivan 00:23:18.276 --> 00:23:21.405 for arranging for the killing of Lita. 00:23:21.446 --> 00:23:24.199 So it's a civil case instead of a criminal case. 00:23:24.241 --> 00:23:27.869 And he ended up representing himself in that case. 00:23:27.911 --> 00:23:31.790 The family is awarded $4 million 00:23:31.832 --> 00:23:33.458 for the death of Lita Sullivan. 00:23:33.500 --> 00:23:36.420 The hard part for the McClinton family is, 00:23:36.461 --> 00:23:38.046 they not only lost their daughter, 00:23:38.088 --> 00:23:40.340 they won the civil judgment, 00:23:40.382 --> 00:23:43.802 but there's no way they can put their hands on those funds 00:23:43.844 --> 00:23:45.846 to make him really pay. 00:23:45.887 --> 00:23:48.807 He has the funds hidden somewhere. 00:23:48.849 --> 00:23:53.311 He says he's broke. Where is the money? 00:23:53.353 --> 00:23:55.272 To make matters worse, 00:23:55.313 --> 00:24:00.235 Jim Sullivan suddenly abandons his mansion in Palm Beach 00:24:00.277 --> 00:24:01.820 and disappears. 00:24:01.862 --> 00:24:05.699 He vanished, just like a puff of smoke. 00:24:08.869 --> 00:24:11.830 Law enforcement knows he's in Costa Rica, 00:24:11.872 --> 00:24:14.958 but American laws don't apply in Costa Rica. 00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:18.336 I was so mad when I heard he had fled. 00:24:18.378 --> 00:24:20.797 I didn't know how far the police investigation 00:24:20.839 --> 00:24:22.591 was willing to go. 00:24:22.632 --> 00:24:24.176 An informant came forward. 00:24:24.217 --> 00:24:27.345 She provided detailed information 00:24:27.387 --> 00:24:31.683 that only a person associated with that crime would know. 00:24:31.725 --> 00:24:33.477 The family, they were determined 00:24:33.518 --> 00:24:36.980 that they were not gonna let him get away with it. 00:24:45.489 --> 00:24:47.199 It's been seven years 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:50.535 since Lita Sullivan was brutally gunned down. 00:24:50.577 --> 00:24:53.955 Lita's husband, Jim, has been found liable 00:24:53.997 --> 00:24:56.374 for her death in a civil trial. 00:24:56.416 --> 00:24:59.503 And instead of paying damages to Lita's family, 00:24:59.544 --> 00:25:03.006 Sullivan immediately flees his Florida villa 00:25:03.048 --> 00:25:05.008 and leaves the country. 00:25:07.135 --> 00:25:09.095 You know, when you look at what happened 00:25:09.137 --> 00:25:11.389 to the McClintons, I think the family felt like, 00:25:11.431 --> 00:25:14.059 "At least we have on record somewhere 00:25:14.100 --> 00:25:16.895 "that this man killed our firstborn, 00:25:16.937 --> 00:25:19.397 "killed our daughter, 00:25:19.439 --> 00:25:22.108 "and civilly, he is responsible. 00:25:22.150 --> 00:25:24.986 He owes us $4 million." 00:25:25.028 --> 00:25:28.114 But again, he skirts by again, and I think 00:25:28.156 --> 00:25:30.534 that's what was most frustrating for the family. 00:25:30.575 --> 00:25:33.203 Sullivan hides in plain sight 00:25:33.245 --> 00:25:34.955 when he makes it no secret 00:25:34.996 --> 00:25:37.457 that he's living in Costa Rica. 00:25:40.168 --> 00:25:42.420 There was an old saying in Costa Rica, 00:25:42.462 --> 00:25:45.090 it's the home of the wanted and unwanted, 00:25:45.131 --> 00:25:49.177 and I think he fit into that category. 00:25:49.219 --> 00:25:51.972 With only a civil judgement against him, 00:25:52.013 --> 00:25:54.266 investigators know that Jim Sullivan 00:25:54.307 --> 00:25:58.395 can live like a millionaire with no threat from them. 00:25:58.436 --> 00:26:01.106 Law enforcement knows he's in Costa Rica, 00:26:01.147 --> 00:26:03.066 the McClinton family knows he's in Costa Rica. 00:26:03.108 --> 00:26:05.610 But they're not able to, you know, 00:26:05.694 --> 00:26:07.862 force him to pay the money at that point. 00:26:07.904 --> 00:26:09.823 American laws don't apply in Costa Rica. 00:26:09.864 --> 00:26:11.283 So nothing really much happens. 00:26:16.204 --> 00:26:18.915 The family of Lita Sullivan, 00:26:18.999 --> 00:26:26.089 they were dogged about continuing to keep Lita's name 00:26:26.131 --> 00:26:28.675 and the circumstances of her death 00:26:28.717 --> 00:26:30.885 in the public spotlight, 00:26:30.885 --> 00:26:34.014 and they were not going to let him get away with it. 00:26:34.055 --> 00:26:40.061 Then, in 1996, nine years after the murder, 00:26:40.103 --> 00:26:43.648 the city of Atlanta is changing and so too 00:26:43.690 --> 00:26:47.277 are the highest ranks of Atlanta's law enforcement. 00:26:47.319 --> 00:26:49.613 Paul L Howard Jr. 00:26:49.654 --> 00:26:55.535 was the newly elected district attorney in 1996. 00:26:55.577 --> 00:26:57.370 And he promised that he would do 00:26:57.412 --> 00:26:59.706 everything he could in his power 00:26:59.748 --> 00:27:03.376 legally to bring James Sullivan to justice. 00:27:03.418 --> 00:27:09.257 Shortly after that, the case got a huge break. 00:27:12.594 --> 00:27:16.264 In 1998, there was a television program 00:27:16.306 --> 00:27:19.225 of the Lita Sullivan murder investigation. 00:27:19.267 --> 00:27:20.894 And shortly after that episode, 00:27:20.977 --> 00:27:24.522 an informant came forward that was living in Texas. 00:27:24.564 --> 00:27:28.443 She provided detailed information 00:27:28.485 --> 00:27:33.323 that only a person associated with that crime would know. 00:27:33.365 --> 00:27:36.493 That informant is Belinda Trahan, 00:27:36.534 --> 00:27:40.455 and she tells investigators she has a lot to say 00:27:40.497 --> 00:27:43.500 about the murder of Lita Sullivan 00:27:43.541 --> 00:27:46.586 She had been in a relationship 00:27:46.628 --> 00:27:52.050 with a man named Anthony Tony Harwood 00:27:52.092 --> 00:27:53.885 for a period of about ten years 00:27:53.885 --> 00:27:58.890 while they lived in Albemarle, North Carolina. 00:27:58.973 --> 00:28:00.225 Tony Harwood was just 00:28:00.266 --> 00:28:03.728 a big old country boy from Albemarle. 00:28:03.770 --> 00:28:07.399 He'd been a pulp wooder, cutting wood most of his life. 00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:11.736 He had one previous run-in with law enforcement, 00:28:11.778 --> 00:28:15.990 but other than that, he had no other criminal record. 00:28:16.032 --> 00:28:18.368 Tony Harwood was loud. 00:28:18.410 --> 00:28:21.162 He was arrogant, he was very confrontational. 00:28:21.204 --> 00:28:25.583 He drove a truck for a moving company. 00:28:25.625 --> 00:28:30.046 Belinda and Tony struggled financially. 00:28:30.088 --> 00:28:33.383 Tony would beat Belinda. 00:28:33.425 --> 00:28:38.388 And it took quite a long time in order for Belinda 00:28:38.430 --> 00:28:42.851 to actually separate herself from Tony Harwood. 00:28:42.892 --> 00:28:44.519 Now that she was away from Tony Harwood, 00:28:44.561 --> 00:28:47.105 she was really interested 00:28:47.147 --> 00:28:49.315 in bearing everything that she knew. 00:28:49.357 --> 00:28:52.652 Ten years after leaving Tony Harwood, 00:28:52.652 --> 00:28:56.448 Belinda is finally ready to relieve her guilt 00:28:56.489 --> 00:29:01.828 and reveal what she knows about Lita Sullivan's murder. 00:29:01.870 --> 00:29:04.539 Belinda Trahan told us 00:29:04.581 --> 00:29:07.375 that Tony Harwood came home from one of his trips 00:29:07.417 --> 00:29:10.003 to Atlanta, and he told Belinda 00:29:10.044 --> 00:29:12.589 that he was going to take care of some business for this guy 00:29:12.630 --> 00:29:16.217 that he wanted his wife eliminated. 00:29:16.259 --> 00:29:18.428 But he was going to go down there with some other guy, 00:29:18.470 --> 00:29:20.889 John, and some guy named Bartender. 00:29:20.930 --> 00:29:23.641 She didn't know that he was really doing it. 00:29:23.683 --> 00:29:27.312 And they supposedly went down to Atlanta and came back, 00:29:27.353 --> 00:29:29.355 and they said that they couldn't get her 00:29:29.397 --> 00:29:31.274 to come to the door. 00:29:31.316 --> 00:29:35.695 Belinda was the one that suggested flowers 00:29:35.737 --> 00:29:39.657 to present to Lita Sullivan to have her killed. 00:29:39.699 --> 00:29:41.159 When she comes forward, 00:29:41.201 --> 00:29:44.162 it was one of the really critical, critical, 00:29:44.204 --> 00:29:46.372 critical things that occurred during the case. 00:29:46.414 --> 00:29:48.458 The information that we were able to develop 00:29:48.458 --> 00:29:54.923 was that he was paid $25,000 for the hit. 00:29:54.964 --> 00:29:57.175 We secured an arrest warrant for Tony Harwood 00:29:57.217 --> 00:29:58.885 and went to his residence. 00:29:58.927 --> 00:30:00.637 We didn't tell him that he was under arrest 00:30:00.678 --> 00:30:02.013 at that particular time. 00:30:02.055 --> 00:30:03.890 We told him that we wanted to talk to him. 00:30:03.932 --> 00:30:06.184 He got into our car, and he said, 00:30:06.226 --> 00:30:09.562 "I've been waiting for you boys for a long time." 00:30:09.604 --> 00:30:11.022 Those were the first words out of his mouth. 00:30:11.064 --> 00:30:13.274 Weren't any Miranda warnings or anything. 00:30:13.316 --> 00:30:15.610 "I've been waiting for this day for a long time." 00:30:20.573 --> 00:30:22.408 He was a big, tough guy. 00:30:22.450 --> 00:30:24.244 I mean, he had arms on him this big. 00:30:24.285 --> 00:30:26.746 But he just, you know, sitting there crying like a baby. 00:30:26.788 --> 00:30:28.915 In his wallet, after all these years, 00:30:28.957 --> 00:30:30.792 he still had Jim Sullivan's phone number 00:30:30.834 --> 00:30:32.460 on a folded piece of paper. 00:30:32.502 --> 00:30:33.795 Now, why would you have that? 00:30:33.837 --> 00:30:36.172 There's a death penalty trial pending. 00:30:36.214 --> 00:30:39.634 Most wanted man in America. And they can't find him. 00:30:51.020 --> 00:30:52.814 After more than a decade, 00:30:52.856 --> 00:30:55.942 detectives on the murder case of Atlanta socialite 00:30:55.984 --> 00:30:59.445 Lita Sullivan have made an arrest. 00:30:59.487 --> 00:31:03.032 A phone caller from Texas has named her ex-boyfriend 00:31:03.074 --> 00:31:05.159 who's living in North Carolina 00:31:05.243 --> 00:31:07.579 as the person who came to Atlanta 00:31:07.620 --> 00:31:09.581 to commit murder. 00:31:09.622 --> 00:31:11.791 We got ample evidence 00:31:11.833 --> 00:31:13.960 that Tony Harwood was involved in it. 00:31:14.002 --> 00:31:17.964 And we subsequently got that arrest warrant 00:31:18.006 --> 00:31:21.968 and went to North Carolina and arrested him. 00:31:22.010 --> 00:31:23.803 We drove him to the police station, 00:31:23.845 --> 00:31:25.513 gave him his Miranda warnings, 00:31:25.555 --> 00:31:29.058 and he freely and voluntarily told us all the details. 00:31:29.142 --> 00:31:32.103 One time he broke down crying, you know. 00:31:32.145 --> 00:31:33.813 Here was a big, tough guy. 00:31:33.855 --> 00:31:36.441 I mean, he had arms on him this big. 00:31:36.482 --> 00:31:40.236 Tattoo of a panther, I think, was on his shoulder. 00:31:40.278 --> 00:31:43.948 But he just, you know, sitting there crying like a baby. 00:31:43.990 --> 00:31:47.201 Harwood ultimately is able to convince 00:31:47.243 --> 00:31:49.787 the district attorney, Paul Howard, 00:31:49.829 --> 00:31:50.914 to not sentence him to life, 00:31:50.955 --> 00:31:53.249 to not prosecute him for murder, 00:31:53.291 --> 00:31:55.793 but let him plead guilty to a lesser offense 00:31:55.835 --> 00:31:57.837 of voluntary manslaughter, 00:31:57.879 --> 00:31:59.505 where he would get out of jail someday. 00:31:59.547 --> 00:32:01.925 The deal includes Harwood admitting 00:32:01.966 --> 00:32:04.636 he was in fact involved in Lita's murder, 00:32:04.677 --> 00:32:08.932 and that he'll testify against the man who ordered the hit. 00:32:08.932 --> 00:32:10.475 Tony Harwood had pled guilty 00:32:10.516 --> 00:32:13.102 and said, "Yes, I was the hitman, 00:32:13.144 --> 00:32:15.563 and I was paid by Jim Sullivan to do it." 00:32:17.398 --> 00:32:19.233 Harwood pled guilty 00:32:19.275 --> 00:32:23.988 to participating and receiving the money from Sullivan 00:32:24.030 --> 00:32:29.327 to arrange for the murder of his wife. 00:32:29.369 --> 00:32:31.829 If you agree that the prosecution's 00:32:31.871 --> 00:32:34.999 strongest evidence was Tony Harwood 00:32:35.041 --> 00:32:38.544 and that that's the lynchpin of the prosecution, 00:32:38.586 --> 00:32:43.549 you also have to agree he was the most impeachable witness 00:32:43.591 --> 00:32:45.885 you can imagine. 00:32:45.885 --> 00:32:48.262 He admitted to being a murderer. 00:32:48.304 --> 00:32:49.639 He admitted to getting paid 00:32:49.681 --> 00:32:51.849 a relatively nominal amount of money 00:32:51.891 --> 00:32:53.935 and didn't seem to care less. 00:32:53.977 --> 00:32:56.479 "Yeah, sure, I'll kill someone for you." 00:32:56.521 --> 00:32:58.481 He admitted to doing it, you know, 00:32:58.523 --> 00:32:59.649 on the front of the steps of the house, 00:32:59.691 --> 00:33:01.442 shooting her in the head. 00:33:03.653 --> 00:33:06.656 Is that the kind of person you would believe? 00:33:06.698 --> 00:33:08.741 According to investigators, 00:33:08.783 --> 00:33:11.285 they have more than just Harwood's word 00:33:11.327 --> 00:33:13.496 that Sullivan was involved. 00:33:13.538 --> 00:33:15.415 When we arrested Tony Harwood, 00:33:15.456 --> 00:33:17.792 in his wallet, after all these years, 00:33:17.875 --> 00:33:20.378 he still had Jim Sullivan's phone number 00:33:20.420 --> 00:33:22.255 on a folded piece of paper. 00:33:22.296 --> 00:33:26.009 Now, why would you have that all these years? 00:33:26.050 --> 00:33:30.346 Two different walks of life, a mover and millionaire. 00:33:33.433 --> 00:33:36.185 And when I was going back searching records 00:33:36.227 --> 00:33:37.854 of North American Van Lines, 00:33:37.895 --> 00:33:40.398 that's when I discovered the records 00:33:40.440 --> 00:33:43.359 where he had delivered Jim Sullivan's furniture 00:33:43.401 --> 00:33:45.028 to his house in Palm Beach. 00:33:45.069 --> 00:33:48.656 And that's where I saw Harwood's signature on there, 00:33:48.740 --> 00:33:51.492 and Jim Sullivan's signature on there. 00:33:51.534 --> 00:33:53.536 And Tony Harwood's girlfriend, Belinda, 00:33:53.578 --> 00:33:56.998 said that she went with Tony to meet Jim Sullivan 00:33:57.040 --> 00:33:58.541 somewhere in Florida. 00:33:58.583 --> 00:34:01.544 And at that time, Sullivan had a folded newspaper, 00:34:01.586 --> 00:34:04.005 and they went to the bathroom together. 00:34:04.047 --> 00:34:07.133 And then when they came back, Harwood had the newspaper, 00:34:07.175 --> 00:34:11.220 and he had the money that Sullivan had given him. 00:34:11.262 --> 00:34:13.931 And then they departed. 00:34:15.266 --> 00:34:18.644 Shortly after Tony received his payment, 00:34:18.686 --> 00:34:20.354 they returned to North Carolina, 00:34:20.396 --> 00:34:23.274 and Belinda finally realized that, 00:34:23.316 --> 00:34:25.943 "Wow, maybe there was something to this." 00:34:25.985 --> 00:34:28.946 That maybe somebody was killed, and she wanted out. 00:34:28.988 --> 00:34:30.448 She left him in North Carolina, 00:34:30.490 --> 00:34:35.328 and she moved to Texas to just get away from him. 00:34:35.369 --> 00:34:38.414 About 11 years had passed when we went out 00:34:38.456 --> 00:34:41.375 and interviewed Belinda Trahan, 00:34:41.417 --> 00:34:43.920 and she provided the information 00:34:43.961 --> 00:34:46.756 that she had from the case. 00:34:46.798 --> 00:34:49.592 And Harwood finally gives an explanation 00:34:49.675 --> 00:34:52.053 for a mysterious phone call 00:34:52.095 --> 00:34:56.516 detectives have wondered about for more than a decade. 00:34:56.557 --> 00:34:58.935 When you look at those phone records 00:34:58.976 --> 00:35:01.145 of January 26th, 00:35:01.187 --> 00:35:06.734 you will see a phone call from a roadside pay phone 00:35:06.776 --> 00:35:09.570 to the mansion of James Sullivan 00:35:09.654 --> 00:35:15.284 a little more than an hour after she was killed. 00:35:16.744 --> 00:35:20.623 Tony Harwood says that after the flowers 00:35:20.665 --> 00:35:25.253 were delivered to Lita Sullivan and she was actually murdered, 00:35:25.294 --> 00:35:30.633 that he went to a pay phone to stop 00:35:30.675 --> 00:35:35.555 and give James Sullivan a phone call to tell him, 00:35:35.596 --> 00:35:40.726 "Merry Christmas, your wishes have come true. 00:35:40.768 --> 00:35:43.354 Lita Sullivan is dead." 00:35:45.815 --> 00:35:48.025 The phone calls, having his phone number 00:35:48.067 --> 00:35:51.279 in his wallet, everything they provided us 00:35:51.320 --> 00:35:53.197 gave us probable cause to get an arrest warrant 00:35:53.239 --> 00:35:56.159 for Jim Sullivan. 00:35:56.200 --> 00:35:58.077 You know, we knew that Sullivan 00:35:58.119 --> 00:36:00.413 was living down in Costa Rica, 00:36:00.454 --> 00:36:03.166 and that's when we told his attorney 00:36:03.207 --> 00:36:05.334 that we had a warrant for him. 00:36:05.376 --> 00:36:08.921 And he subsequently fled, like, immediately. 00:36:10.381 --> 00:36:12.341 Jim gets in a car, 00:36:12.383 --> 00:36:15.511 drives over the mountains in Costa Rica, 00:36:15.553 --> 00:36:18.389 gets on a plane, and nobody knows where he is. 00:36:19.932 --> 00:36:23.102 The FBI was able to develop some information 00:36:23.144 --> 00:36:25.104 that he went through Panama, 00:36:25.146 --> 00:36:26.731 and then didn't know where he went. 00:36:26.772 --> 00:36:28.024 He disappeared. 00:36:28.065 --> 00:36:30.443 So we had him on the Interpol watchlist. 00:36:30.526 --> 00:36:34.488 He had a Irish passport 'cause he was of Irish descent, 00:36:34.530 --> 00:36:36.949 but no indication he ever went to Ireland. 00:36:36.991 --> 00:36:41.662 I was so mad when I heard he had fled Costa Rica 00:36:41.704 --> 00:36:43.372 'cause I thought trying to get him caught, 00:36:43.414 --> 00:36:44.790 you'd have to use international police, 00:36:44.832 --> 00:36:46.417 Interpol and so forth. 00:36:46.500 --> 00:36:48.502 And I didn't know how far the police 00:36:48.586 --> 00:36:50.880 investigation was willing to go. 00:36:50.922 --> 00:36:52.423 I thought, "Please, tell me 00:36:52.506 --> 00:36:54.967 he's not going to get away with this again." 00:36:55.009 --> 00:36:58.971 And I was just mad that that scumbag had figured out 00:36:59.013 --> 00:37:01.974 how to do it. 00:37:02.016 --> 00:37:03.434 For four years, 00:37:03.517 --> 00:37:06.729 Jim Sullivan continues to stay one step 00:37:06.771 --> 00:37:10.066 ahead of law enforcement. 00:37:10.107 --> 00:37:12.151 Most wanted man in America, Jim Sullivan. 00:37:12.193 --> 00:37:14.028 A wealthy man from Palm Beach 00:37:14.070 --> 00:37:17.073 living in Costa Rica and now gone. 00:37:17.114 --> 00:37:18.491 Nobody knows where he is. 00:37:18.532 --> 00:37:20.368 And there's a death penalty trial 00:37:20.409 --> 00:37:24.205 pending in Fulton County, and they can't find him. 00:37:25.623 --> 00:37:27.875 Nobody can find him. 00:37:27.917 --> 00:37:30.503 Several years later, in 2002, 00:37:30.544 --> 00:37:36.550 someone spots him on a beach, calls the FBI and says, 00:37:36.592 --> 00:37:38.511 "I can tell you where Jim Sullivan is." 00:37:51.023 --> 00:37:53.109 15 years have passed 00:37:53.150 --> 00:37:55.528 since the murder of Lita Sullivan. 00:37:55.569 --> 00:37:59.448 Investigators have the gunman, Tony Harwood, in prison, 00:37:59.490 --> 00:38:02.243 having confessed to shooting Lita. 00:38:02.285 --> 00:38:05.454 But the man detectives want more than anyone, 00:38:05.496 --> 00:38:08.124 the one they believe ordered the murder, 00:38:08.165 --> 00:38:10.793 is Lita's husband, James Sullivan. 00:38:10.876 --> 00:38:13.963 But he's nowhere to be found. 00:38:14.005 --> 00:38:15.756 We really didn't know where he went. 00:38:15.840 --> 00:38:17.383 He left Costa Rica. 00:38:17.425 --> 00:38:20.720 Eventually, FBI was able to develop some information 00:38:20.761 --> 00:38:22.346 that he went through Panama, 00:38:22.388 --> 00:38:24.223 and then didn't know where he went. 00:38:24.265 --> 00:38:26.434 It was not until a couple of years later 00:38:26.475 --> 00:38:28.811 that a police officer from Thailand 00:38:28.853 --> 00:38:30.980 was at the FBI Academy 00:38:31.022 --> 00:38:35.401 and saw some publication about this. 00:38:35.443 --> 00:38:37.153 That alerted the FBI. 00:38:37.194 --> 00:38:40.448 And then the FBI finally arrested him. 00:38:50.875 --> 00:38:54.795 I met with Jim Sullivan in the jail in Bangkok. 00:38:54.837 --> 00:38:57.381 He was confused about the double jeopardy clause. 00:38:57.423 --> 00:38:59.216 "How can I be tried again?" 00:38:59.300 --> 00:39:01.552 So I explained to him how, in the United States 00:39:01.594 --> 00:39:03.346 you can be prosecuted twice, 00:39:03.387 --> 00:39:04.847 despite the double jeopardy clause. 00:39:04.889 --> 00:39:07.558 You can be prosecuted once in federal court 00:39:07.600 --> 00:39:10.478 and once in state court for the exact same crime. 00:39:10.519 --> 00:39:13.689 We agree that we're going to fight extradition. 00:39:13.731 --> 00:39:17.068 Extradition can takes years to process. 00:39:17.109 --> 00:39:19.445 In Sullivan's case, it's three years 00:39:19.487 --> 00:39:22.239 before he's brought back to the United States 00:39:22.281 --> 00:39:26.786 and another year for him to face murder charges. 00:39:26.827 --> 00:39:29.080 In 2006, finally, 00:39:29.121 --> 00:39:32.708 the time had come for the McClinton family 00:39:32.750 --> 00:39:38.422 to get justice for the assassination of Lita. 00:39:38.464 --> 00:39:40.341 The trial began in Fulton County, 00:39:40.383 --> 00:39:43.427 and we had Belinda Trahan who was going to be here. 00:39:43.469 --> 00:39:46.555 We had Tony Harwood who was going to testify 00:39:46.597 --> 00:39:48.349 against Sullivan. 00:39:48.391 --> 00:39:51.143 After 12 days of testimony 00:39:51.185 --> 00:39:54.105 and 5 hours of deliberation, 00:39:54.146 --> 00:39:58.359 the jury comes back with a verdict. 00:39:58.401 --> 00:40:01.278 I was in the courtroom when the jury came back, 00:40:01.320 --> 00:40:04.490 and everybody was on pins and needles. 00:40:04.532 --> 00:40:05.825 The verdict came in, 00:40:05.866 --> 00:40:08.786 and the jury foreperson announced... 00:40:11.622 --> 00:40:14.708 Guilty. 00:40:14.750 --> 00:40:20.464 It was like a thousand pounds 00:40:20.506 --> 00:40:25.010 had been lifted off all of our shoulders as prosecutors. 00:40:25.052 --> 00:40:31.684 And for the family itself, it meant after 20 years, 00:40:31.725 --> 00:40:35.980 they finally had been able to get justice for Lita, 00:40:36.021 --> 00:40:39.692 and it was one of the most satisfying experiences 00:40:39.733 --> 00:40:42.153 I've ever had as a professional. 00:40:42.194 --> 00:40:43.654 Jim Sullivan was subdued. 00:40:43.696 --> 00:40:46.365 He really had no expression. 00:40:46.407 --> 00:40:48.325 But immediately, the deputies come over, 00:40:48.367 --> 00:40:49.952 and they handcuff you 00:40:49.994 --> 00:40:52.037 and take you out, and you're gone. 00:40:52.079 --> 00:40:54.999 And now he's doing life without parole. 00:40:55.040 --> 00:40:57.334 When I found out he was life in prison, 00:40:57.376 --> 00:41:01.005 I felt like he had found his true home, 00:41:01.046 --> 00:41:05.217 and that that's the kind of home he belonged in. 00:41:05.259 --> 00:41:09.972 He was where he belonged, behind bars and cement walls. 00:41:12.099 --> 00:41:18.564 The audacity of James Sullivan's actions, 00:41:18.606 --> 00:41:24.403 the arrogance to carefully calculate and scheme 00:41:24.445 --> 00:41:28.199 how he could take her life. 00:41:28.240 --> 00:41:34.622 So that he played God with Lita's life. 00:41:35.956 --> 00:41:37.583 For him to decide 00:41:37.625 --> 00:41:42.713 that he was going to have her killed just over money, 00:41:42.755 --> 00:41:44.715 that was everything it was about with Jim Sullivan 00:41:44.757 --> 00:41:46.383 was the greed. 00:41:46.425 --> 00:41:48.385 He just couldn't part with his money. 00:41:48.427 --> 00:41:50.804 With Lita Sullivan, 00:41:50.846 --> 00:41:54.934 when I think of how I miss her presence, 00:41:54.934 --> 00:41:59.647 it's really her presence, it's the energy, the aura. 00:41:59.688 --> 00:42:01.899 She was like a princess. 00:42:01.982 --> 00:42:08.113 She had that fairytale quality that not everyone has. 00:42:08.155 --> 00:42:10.449 I do miss her, I miss her friendship, 00:42:10.449 --> 00:42:10.616 I do miss her, I miss her friendship, 00:42:10.658 --> 00:42:13.077 I miss her smile, I miss her grace, 00:42:13.160 --> 00:42:15.454 I miss her poise. 00:42:15.496 --> 00:42:19.083 She had it all, and it's a shame 00:42:19.124 --> 00:42:22.920 that someone took all that from her. 00:42:22.920 --> 00:42:24.463 When I look at all the years 00:42:24.505 --> 00:42:29.176 that that family fought for justice for Lita... 00:42:31.720 --> 00:42:33.681 My heart goes out to them. 00:42:33.722 --> 00:42:37.309 Having your child murdered is just unthinkable. 00:42:37.351 --> 00:42:41.355 You know? He was a monster. 00:42:41.397 --> 00:42:43.566 And now all these years later, 00:42:43.607 --> 00:42:48.070 you finally get the justice you wanted, 00:42:48.112 --> 00:42:50.489 but you still don't have your child. 00:42:50.531 --> 00:42:55.911 It doesn't bring Lita back. She was a good person. 00:42:55.995 --> 00:42:59.582 And we'll never know the promise, 00:42:59.623 --> 00:43:03.961 the promise of her life, what it could have been.