Naman Shrestha
When a married socialite named Lita McClinton was shot to death right on her doorstep on a January morning of 1987, it sent shockwaves across the entire community. Meanwhile, the victim’s family was devastated and determined to get justice for her. For more than a decade, the killer husband, Jim Sullivan, managed to evade the police despite their best efforts. The episode titled ‘A Puzzled Murder’ of ABC’s ’20/20′ covers the intricate details related to the case with the help of exclusive interviews with Lita’s loved ones and officials connected to the investigation.
Jim Sullivan Hired a Hitman to Carry Out His Dirty Job
Born in 1941, James Vincent “Jim” Sullivan was a renowned millionaire who crossed paths with Lita LaVaughn McClinton in an Atlanta mall, where she worked in an upscale boutique, in 1975. After divorcing his first wife, he tied the knot with Lita, with whom he had been romantically involved for several months. Due to his divorce, he lost a significant amount of his money and property, leading to Jim and Lita having money issues. A further dent was put on their marriage when he was allegedly having multiple extramarital affairs. In hopes of a fresh start, the married couple moved to Palm Beach, Florida. However, things didn’t improve between them as they got into multiple arguments frequently.
Finally, in less than a decade, Lita filed for divorce and moved into another property in Buckhead. During the divorce proceedings, things were far from amicable between Jim and his estranged wife. Eventually, he devised a plan to get Lita murdered with the help of a hitman. So, he got in touch with Phillip Anthony Harwood and paid him $25,000 to kill Lita in her residence. On the fateful morning of January 16, 1987, Jim’s hitman went over to her house with a bouquet of roses and knocked on the door. As soon as she opened the door, Philip shot her in the head and killed her on the spot. After completing the given task, Philip called Jim from a payphone to let him know the same. That morning, the 35-year-old woman also had an important court hearing regarding their divorce, which had the potential to change the entire course of her life.
Jim Sullivan Was Suspected to be Involved With His Wife’s Killing
Even though Jim had the alibi of being at his Palm Beach house at the time of the murder, the detectives suspected him of being involved in Lita’s cold-blooded murder. With the help of Lita’s friend, Poppy Marable, who was with her at the house when she was shot right at the door, and neighbors in the area, the police came up with a sketch of the hitman but in vain as the case would remain cold for about a decade or so. For a short while, a man named Thomas Henley was also suspected of committing the murder. When it also led to a dead end, the detectives focused on Jim Sullivan.
By 1992, the authorities gathered enough evidence against Jim and got him arrested for his possible involvement in the murder of his estranged wife. In November of the same year, during his trial, he was found not guilty of the murder and enjoyed his life of freedom. Frustrated, Lita’s family pursued a civil court case in 1994 where the killer represented himself. Although he was found guilty of murder and ordered to pay $4 million to Lita’s family, he claimed that he did not have any money before flying out of Florida and disappearing. In 1997, the police learned that Philip was the hitman through his ex-girlfriend Belinda Trahan. After he was arrested, he admitted that Jim was the one who hired him. Thus, in 1998, Jim Sullivan was officially indicted for Lita’s murder.
Jim Sullivan Was Brought to Justice More than a Decade After the Murder
However, at the time, Jim Sullivan was on the run, hiding away in various foreign countries, including Costa Rica, Panama, Venezuela, and Thailand. Thanks to multiple tips, the police learned that he was in Thailand, living in a condominium with his girlfriend, Cha-am. After multiple years on the run, he was finally arrested on July 2, 2002. Ultimately, in 2004, he was extradited to Atlanta, where he stood on trial for the murder of Lita McClinton.
During his 2006 trial, the prosecutors presented several incriminating pieces of evidence against him while the defense claimed that he had no hand in it. After listening to both sides of the coin, in March 2006, the jury returned with a guilty verdict and convicted him of murder. Thus, Jim was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. As of today, he is incarcerated at Augusta State Medical Prison in Grovetown, Georgia.
