Kriti Mehrotra
It was in January 1987 when the entire high society of Atlanta, Georgia, was left shaken to the core as 35-year-old Lita McClinton Sullivan was brutally shot to death at her doorstep. However, as explored in ABC’s ’20/20: A Puzzling Murder,’ arguably the worst aspect of this entire ordeal was that investigators weren’t able to apprehend her assailants until years later. They did have their fair share of suspicions on those closest to her, including Marvin Darnell Marable, yet the one responsible for the matter was her estranged husband and the man he had hired to shoot her.
Marvin Marable Proudly Served His Country for Years
Although not much regarding Marvin’s early years or upbringing is publicly available, we do know he enlisted in the military almost as soon as he was able. In fact, he actually served as a commissioned officer in the Army and the Army National Guard for years before evolving into a police officer for the Mount Vernon, New York Police Department. Little did he know his work there would get him such recognition that he would soon be appointed State Trooper with the New York State Police and be assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force.
Unfortunately, just when Marvin was at the peak of his career, an injury forced him to retire, and he had to figure out a whole new path for himself so as to provide for himself as well as his family. That’s when he chose to pursue a degree in criminal justice from Iona College in New York before relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, for good to become a government contractor and real estate investor. That’s also where he grew close to socialite Lita McClinton Sullivan and her millionaire husband, James “Jim” Sullivan, through his then-wife Poppy, as she had been friends with the former for years.
Marvin Marable Was a Person of Interest in Lita Sullivan’s Murder
According to Marvin’s own accounts, he found Jim to be quite “abrasive” from the moment they first met, yet he maintained their social relationship for the sake of their wives. In fact, he once said, “[Jim] felt that he was the authority over everything, and there is no way anybody could know more than [he did]. Had it not been for Poppy’s relationship with Lita, Jim and I would have never socialized.” Nevertheless, as both marriages began to fall apart around the same time and Jim learned Marvin had tapes of conversations Lita had with Poppy while at their residence, he asked for them, and the latter obliged.
Marvin had actually bugged his home telephone after growing worried that his own wife was planning to file for divorce, so he had many tapes, and he ended up sending around 40 to Jim. However, when he got them back, he realized five of them were missing and decided to cut off all communication with the millionaire for good. Yet, Jim did contact him again around 8 months later, asking if Lita still drove the same car and resided in their townhouse, as if getting more information for their divorce case. But Marvin simply stated he hadn’t spoken to or seen her in months.
This former officer had no idea Lita would be gunned down at her doorstep merely three days later, just for authorities to theorize he could have had a hand in it owing to his call with Jim. Marvin did explain the situation to detectives, but there was still a cloud of suspicion over his head as a possible conspirator, so he and his loved ones continued to be questioned for years to come. In fact, it was only once hitman Phillip Harwood and Jim was arrested, convicted, and sentenced that he found some peace, but nearly two decades had passed by this point, and he, too, had moved.
Marvin Marable is Now a Virginia Resident and Author
As per Marvin’s accounts, he relocated to New York in 1990 owing to the social isolation he felt following his divorce and Lita’s homicide, but it persisted there too. He tried to maintain his government contracting business while also developing a consulting organization, yet he said even new clients ended up dropping him whenever Georgia police or the FBI came around to ask questions about him. Therefore, he decided to move to Virginia in 1993, where he got a job as a probation and parole officer while also trying to continue his government contracting business on the side.
Marvin actually managed to settle down in this Mother of State with the help of a new love and a new family, making it relatively easier for him to move forward from the past for good. This also encouraged him to talk about his experiences, leading him to publish a memoir called ‘Deadly Roses: The Twenty-Year Curse’ in 2011. Since then, from what we can tell, this remarried and now retired Virginia Department of Corrections parole officer has even begun working on his second book, titled ‘A State Trooper’s Log (9125 To Hawthorne).’ As for his current physical standing, it appears as if he is based out of Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania County, where loved ones surround him every step of the way.
Read More: Phillip Anthony Harwood: Where is the Hired Hitman Now?
