Police Say Millionaire Tries To Get Away With Murder

James Sullivan is wanted for murder by the Atlanta Police Department and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in the contract killing of his wife, Lita McClinton Sullivan, who was fatally shot at her Buckhead home. According to officials, Sullivan met Lita McClinton at a Lenox Square boutique, and they were married two years later. However, police say their relationship turned sour two years after they moved to Palm Beach. Lita left him and filed for divorce, accusing her husband of philandering and stinginess.

Police believe on Friday, January 16, 1987 at approximately 8:15 a.m., Sullivan hired Phillip Harwood to kill his wife, Lita. Lita lived in a condominium in the Buckhead community of Atlanta, Georgia. She answered her front door that morning to find Harwood posing as a flower delivery man. Police say when Lita opened the door, Harwood shot her in the head with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol killing her instantly.

According to officials, Lita and Sullivan were involved in a turbulent divorce which entailed a large settlement of money on Lita's behalf. At the time of the murder, Sullivan resided in Florida and was not considered a suspect. However, Phillip Harwood was arrested a short time later, and police say it was revealed Sullivan had indeed hired him to murder his wife. According to police, when Sullivan found out Harwood was arrested, he fled to Costa Rica before police could obtain an arrest warrant. In April 1998, police finally obtained an arrest warrant, but Sullivan was nowhere to be found. Police know Sullivan still has a home in Costa Rica, but they believe he could be anywhere in the world.

AMW Capture #715

Sullivan Receives Life Sentence

An Atlanta jury sentenced James Sullivan to life in prison without parole for the 1987 murder of his wife Lita. The sentencing came less than two weeks after Sullivan was convicted of first-degree and felony murder on March 10. James Sullivan did not testify during the trial.

Sullivan was also found guilty of three other counts: one count of burglary and two counts of aggravated assault.  The parents of Lita Sullivan, Jo Ann and Emory McClinton, clutched each other and wept.

Sullivan Arrested In Thailand

The wealthy financier who police say used his money to kill his wife -- and then spend the next 15 years on the run -- has finally been captured, thanks to the AMW viewers both here in the United States and Thailand. James Sullivan was arrested at his home in Cha'am, Thailand. FBI agents in Atlanta, where the case originated, confirmed that it was tips to America's Most Wanted that led to Sullivan's arrest, as did the FBI legat in Thailand.

Police, with the help of America's Most Wanted viewers, first tracked Sullivan to an upscale resort in Costa Rica, where they believe he owned a piece of property and lived the highlife. However, he had fled before police discovered his hideout there. America's Most Wanted ran a segment with this newest information on May 4, 2002. After that broadcast, three different viewers called the AMW hotline with information about Sullivan's whereabouts in Thailand. These tips led the Atlanta case agent, Mike Green, to call the FBI's legat in Bangkok and inform him of the news. It turns out, the legat had received similar information from tipsters who had seen America's Most Wanted in Thailand and had provided information to the U.S. Embassy there. Thai immigration officials checked their records and discovered that a James Sullivan had indeed entered Thailand in 1998, using an Irish passport. With the information from immigration and the AMW tipsters, Thai police conducted surveillance on Sullivan's place of residence, another upscale community, much like the one he had been a part of in Costa Rica. It took weeks for the appropriate paperwork to be assembled, but once it was, on July 3rd, Thai police walked up to Sullivan's door, knocked on it and arrested the fugitive when he came to the door. Sullivan is being held in a Bangkok jail, awaiting extradition back to the United States.