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Nancy Grace
Did Atlanta Multi-Millionaire Order Hit on Wife?
Aired February 28, 2006 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, live on location, breaking news in the Atlanta courthouse. After nearly two decades, tonight, Lady Justice standing by as evidence unfolds in the Lita Sullivan murder case. Under oath, blockbuster testimony how the hitman made a house call with a dozen pink roses and a .9-millimeter handgun. Did multi-millionaire Jim Sullivan order a hit on his own wife? Tonight, here at the courthouse, neighbors tell what they saw that day, January, nearly 20 years ago. And tonight, we are taking your calls.
Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. Tonight, breaking news. We are live outside the Atlanta courthouse with special coverage of Atlanta`s most notorious murder-for-hire trial, multi-millionaire Jim Sullivan on trial for allegedly hiring a hitman disguised as a flower delivery to his much younger wife, Lita. Tonight, on the stand, Sullivan`s neighbors with chilling details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew darn well that they were going through a very contentious divorce, and so I was a little suspicious of Jim to begin with.
I noticed a guy walk up to Ms. Sullivan`s house and ring the doorbell.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard her open the door, and I heard her say, Good morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard two sounds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard three shots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They sounded to me like steel hitting steel.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did hear something fall to the floor. It was just a...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I saw Ms. Sullivan laying down in her nightgown in a puddle of blood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to investigative reporter Pat Lalama. Pat, bring us up to date.
PAT LALAMA, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, those witnesses are very critical in terms of sort of setting the scene for that morning, or that day, where this happened. You heard -- both of them lawyers, by the way, the two men. One of them says that the guy just looked weird, the hitman, looked weird from the beginning, had very greasy hair, looked like he hadn`t washed in about...
GRACE: Well, wait a minute. Wait a minute! Pat Lalama, you could say that about half of the people walking the street in New York City.
(LAUGHTER)
GRACE: They looked weird. You can`t throw them in jail for that.
LALAMA: I know!
GRACE: Come on! Help me out here, Pat.
LALAMA: Oh, Nancy, come on! We need a little drama here! We got to paint the picture. He said he didn`t like him from the start. And in fact, they found that about -- well, after he looked weird, then the other neighbor saw him flee. Then the first neighbor, Mr. Christianson (ph), Robert Christianson, went next door saw her laying in the foyer in a pool of blood. He put a towel under her head. There were flowers on the floor. And he said he tried to save her, but there was nothing he could do for her. About 80 minutes later, she was dead.
And also, there is a witness who was staying with her at the time, who was in the house at the time. And remember, Lita was very scared because it was the day earlier that someone was banging on the door in the early morning hours, and that just freaked her out. And she had talked to her mother about it, and she said -- who`s a very, very well-respected politician in Georgia, and said, Mom, you know, I`m so freaked out about this. Her mom says, Please come spend the night here. And she said, No, I have a girlfriend with me. I can`t.
And sure enough, if she had done that, perhaps the whole scenario would be different today.
GRACE: Here is what Lita Sullivan`s friend had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She just got out of the bed. She put on a white terry robe and started walking down the hallway and down the steps. I heard her open the door because it had a heavy lock, and you could just hear the turning of that lock. And I heard her say, Good morning. I heard three shots, the gun -- pow, pow, pow.
I hesitated for a moment, and then I made sure -- I came back out to the bedroom to make sure that that door was locked. And I just put my ear to the door, you know, from inside just to see if I could hear anything.
I did hear something fall to the floor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Describe the type of sound you heard.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was just a...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Let`s go straight out to a special guest joining us here outside the court house, a witness from the trial today. He has basically just come down off the witness stand, testifying under oath. This is a neighbor of multi-millionaire Jim Sullivan`s wife, Lita -- Lita Sullivan found murdered execution-style, lying on the entrance hall of her own home, surrounded not only by a pool of blood but a dozen pink roses. Joining us, Homer Deakins, Lita Sullivan`s former neighbor, an attorney.
Mr. Deakins, what do you recall from that day nearly 20 years ago, the early morning hours?
HOMER DEAKINS, LITA SULLIVAN`S NEIGHBOR: Nancy, it was about 8:15 in the morning on January the 16th, 1987. And I was in my kitchen getting a cup of coffee, and I noticed a rather scruffy fellow walking into the neighborhood. He walked up to Ms. Sullivan`s steps, began to ring the doorbell, continued to do so for some time.
I thought he was a rather unusual-looking guy to be a flower delivery boy. He was -- greasy hair and dirty clothes and a very unimpressive guy. But I then went into my breakfast room, sat down and had a cup of coffee. And the next thing I know, I heard two gunshots, turned around and saw the fellow running out of the neighborhood.
GRACE: What did you do then?
DEAKINS: That was it.
GRACE: Did you find out where the gunshots were? Did you call 911?
DEAKINS: No. By the time -- I ran -- once I saw the guy running out of the neighborhood, I ran to the back of my house in order to see if I could see where he was going. I couldn`t see him. So I then walked back - - or ran back to the front of my house and looked across to Ms. Sullivan`s house and noticed that the door was open. And after a moment, I then walked over to her house, looked inside the open door and saw her on the floor in a puddle of blood.
GRACE: Oh!
DEAKINS: I then walked back out, and Bob Christianson, one of the other neighbors, was there, and he had already called the police.
GRACE: Now, did you ever make an identification of the hitman?
DEAKINS: I had a very clear picture of the hitman at the time I saw him that morning. And then just a couple or three years ago, on Court TV, they showed a picture of a fellow, and I said to myself, That looks like the guy that I saw running out of the neighborhood.
GRACE: That`s amazing, that that many years later -- and I saw them today in court, trying to trip you up -- of course, you`re a lawyer, you know what the deal is -- about, Well, was it the same guy? And you basically said, Well, it was an age-enhanced guy that I saw, you know, all these years later, on Court TV. And when you saw this guy on Court TV, what did you do?
DEAKINS: Well, I didn`t do anything at that time. I was -- I was contacted again by the prosecutor, and at that point in time explained to the prosecutor that I thought that that looked like the guy that I had seen running out of the neighborhood.
GRACE: And as it turns out, who was the guy?
DEAKINS: As far as I`m concerned, it looked like the guy.
GRACE: The guy that the state now claims is the triggerman.
DEAKINS: That`s correct.
GRACE: How did you feel up there on the stand, taking a look over at your old neighbor, Jim Sullivan?
DEAKINS: I had never met Jim Sullivan in my life. There was a federal case, of course, earlier against Sullivan on a RICO charge, and I testified in that case and saw Sullivan at the counsel table at that case, as well. So...
GRACE: So this was...
DEAKINS: ... this is not the first time I`ve seen him.
GRACE: ... water off a duck`s back. No problem.
DEAKINS: Right.
GRACE: I saw you a little bit bemused on your cross-examination. You were listening to the questions. You were catching them like a pro and then throwing back hardball on every one of your cross-examination questions.
With us right now, Steph Watts. He was in court, as well, all day. He`s one of our producers. Now, let`s talk about the hitman, Steph. Got a little bit of a credibility problem with the hitman. Explain.
STEPH WATTS, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: They got a big credibility problem with the hitman. And by the way...
GRACE: OK. Yes. It`s bit. It`s big.
WATTS: And by the way, I found out that he`s scheduled to testify Monday, from my inside sources, so that`s going to be a big day, Monday. We expect Harwood on the -- on the -- in court. The problem with Harwood is he has a big credibility issue. He -- but the best part is the prosecutors put it out there first. They said, Look, this guy`s going to tell you a lot of different stories...
GRACE: Steph, give it to me straight. What`s the credibility problem?
WATTS: The credibility problem is that he`s changed his story three or four different times...
GRACE: Whoa, whoa! Let`s be specific. How many times? I say three.
WATTS: I say three times, as well. He said that the Mafia made him do this hit. He said that -- what was his other story...
GRACE: A bartender was involved...
WATTS: A bartender...
GRACE: ... and then a stripper was involved.
WATTS: ... some strippers were involved. And they`re going to have a bit of a credibility issue with this guy.
GRACE: OK. So bottom line, to Eleanor Dixon, what difference does it make? You`ve prosecuted in this very courthouse and this very courtroom. If we`ve got this witness, Homer Deakins, can say that`s the man, who cares if he had a problem saying, you know, what happened in the past? If that`s the hitman and this is the hitman making phone calls to Jim Sullivan, what`s the problem?
ELEANOR DIXON, PROSECUTOR: I don`t know that there is a problem. And look at all his statements. All his statements lead back to the killing of Lita Sullivan and how it relates back to Jim Sullivan. You know, we have a saying in the prosecution world that when you deal with the devil, you got to go to hell to get your witnesses. And Jim Sullivan`s the devil in this case and...
GRACE: You stole that from me, Eleanor Dixon! You are a thief!
(LAUGHTER)
DIXON: Oh, I wouldn`t say that, Nancy. You know, that`s just how prosecutors are. But here, we are dealing with, you know, another devil, somebody you`ve got to deal with in order to obtain the evidence that`s necessary. So I don`t know that`s a problem. The prosecutors have been very up front with this witness and what they expect the evidence will be.
GRACE: Right.
DIXON: So I say you put it out there and you move on.
GRACE: With an eyewitness and these phone call records, I think the state`s in pretty good shape when it comes to the hitman, Harwood. But can they tie it up to Sullivan? Here`s what police had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thing that I remember most is that Ms. Sullivan, although she obviously was in some pain and -- she was able to squeeze my hand each time I spoke with her, like she understood what I was saying. And for many, many years after this, I thought that`s all it was. Then one day, I realized that she was comforting me more than I was comforting her. That`s the sort of lady I thought she was. That really touched me very, very deeply.
Sometimes, we -- on a situation like this, in the back of the officer`s mind, or in my mind, in particular, you know -- you think, Well, this person is not going to survive these injuries. So you`ll say things like, You`re going to be all right, or You`re -- you know, Just hang on there until the ambulance comes. Other than consoling her and holding her hand, there wasn`t really too much that I could do except to try and comfort her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is (INAUDIBLE) police officer Rawl (ph) on the stand today. And when he testified about coming to the home, this very exclusive townhome here in one of the richest parts of Atlanta, he said he took Lita Sullivan`s hand as she lay dying on the floor, to comfort her, and she, in her dying moments, tried to comfort him. She tried to squeeze his hand back. And this veteran police officer, who has retired from one police force and gone on to another, teared up on the stand and stated that is a moment in his police career that he has never forgotten, when this dying woman, a beauty, tried to comfort him as she died.
Elizabeth, let`s go to the "Star Chamber." Tonight, joining us, three veteran trial judges, well respected all over this country. Let`s go first to former judge right here in Fulton County Superior Court, Judge Gino Brogdon. Let`s talk about another big problem, sequestration. Hate to do it. Hate to tell a jury, Show up to court tomorrow morning 07:00 with your toothbrush. They don`t like it, Judge.
GINO BROGDON, FORMER FULTON COUNTY SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE: No, they don`t. Jurors, they hate to be away from their families. They hate to be in a long trial. But it`s absolutely necessary in a case like this. As you know, Nancy, these cases go by a script that is designed for fairness in the trial, and one of those things is to keep the jury away from bad influences and media and newspapers and things of that sort, and that`s what makes the sequestration crucial.
GRACE: Well, let me go To congressman and judge Ted Poe out of Harris County, Texas, former judge, now serving our country in Washington. Judge, since our other judge is a lady, I`m going to throw this question to you. When the jurors all found out they were going to be sequestered, one came into court and actually said he planned to have some difficult bowel movements during the trial. He didn`t think he could be on the jury. Now, Judge, what do you do when you get a potential juror like that?
REP. TED POE (R-TX), FORMER HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, JUDGE: I tell him to get a grip. You know, this is an important case. A case like that is - - is...
GRACE: I can`t even believe they even said that in open court!
(LAUGHTER)
POE: Well, you know...
GRACE: I`ve been waiting to throw this question to you. So...
(LAUGHTER)
POE: Well, they just have to deal with it. This is just -- it is an inconvenience to jurors and -- but the system works to help jurors in this situation and tries to make sure that they`re as comfortable as possible. But this is case is going to be tried in the media, like a lot of high- profile cases. We don`t want the juries to hear the case in the media. We want to hear from the witness stand. Both sides agree, the state and the defense, this is the best thing for a jury to reach the fair and right verdict.
GRACE: Well, I believe, Judge, I would have directed this potential juror across the hall, where the restroom facilities were, and tell him to settle in and get his toothbrush, come to court.
Now to former New York criminal court judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, one of the toughest criminal court judges in New York history. Judge, everything changed, the whole climate in the courtroom changed once this jury found out they were going to be sequestered. Is it a plus or a negative?
LESLIE CROCKER SNYDER, FORMER PROSECUTOR, JUDGE: Well, it`s a negative for them. They obviously don`t want to be sequestered. And Judge Poe and I know each other. Haven`t seen each other for a long time. He`s a tough judge, much moreso than I ever was.
But what I do want to say is we got rid of sequestration in New York for most of the cases that we have, and it really hasn`t seemed to make much difference. But I think in this serious a case, it`s a good idea. Jurors aren`t happy, but they get used it to. In one case, I had the wild cowboys (ph). The jury was out about 18 days. It had been a nine or ten- month trial. And they ended up having a great time, too great a time. The hotel had a swimming pool. They watched movies on their weekends.
(LAUGHTER)
SNYDER: They didn`t want to leave!
GRACE: Hey, I want to be on that jury, Judge! We`ll all be right back. We are live right outside the Atlanta courthouse, where one of the single most notorious murder-for-hire cases are finally coming to trial, 19 years in the making.
To tonight`s "Trial Tracking." Former stripper -- excuse me -- exotic dancer, a "Playboy" model, Anna Nicole Smith, takes on the U.S. Supreme Court today over her late husband`s fortune. Anna Nicole Smith married oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall. He was 89, she 26. Well, he died the very next year, and now the high court must decide whether Smith or Marshall`s sons will get a $1.6 billion inheritance.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thing that I remember most is that Ms. Sullivan, although she obviously was in some pain, she was able to squeeze my hand each time I spoke with her, like she understood what I was saying. And I realized that she was comforting me more than I was comforting her. That was the sort of lady I felt she was. It really touched me very, very deeply.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You could have heard a pin drop in the courtroom when that veteran police officer testified to a dying woman trying to comfort him as he held her hand.
Joining me now, a very special guest, contributing editor to "Vanity Fair" magazine, John Connolly, is with us. John made it his business to fly down to Palm Beach and somehow managed to interview this defendant, Jim Sullivan. Welcome, John. How did you manage that, and what did you learn?
JOHN CONNOLLY, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "VANITY FAIR": Well, he -- quite frankly, he invited me down to spend eight days with him in Palm Beach.
GRACE: Oh!
CONNOLLY: He was trying to convince me to write a story that someone other than he was responsible for that murder. And he didn`t succeed.
GRACE: What happened?
CONNOLLY: He did not succeed at all. I was quite sure that he was responsible.
GRACE: John, when you went down -- of course, he was expecting you to write a piece in his favor. What did you learn? What did you observe?
CONNOLLY: Well, the house was in terrible disrepair. It was a 17,000-square-foot Palm Beach mansion. It was right on the water. It was fabulous But the pool wasn`t working. The fountain wasn`t working. The place was dirty, unkempt. I was there in August for eight days, he would not put the air-conditioning on once. It was just horrible. It really was.
GRACE: Gee, that must have been nice.
CONNOLLY: It wasn`t fun.
GRACE: No pool, no water, no fountain, no air-conditioning. Well, what did you -- John, can you stay with us? I want to find out what you learned in that interview. Everyone, with us, a special contributing editor to "Vanity Fair" magazine, John Connolly, is with us. We`ll all be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The evidence will show that the person who sent the hitman to Lita`s door is the only person in the world who profited from her death. It is the only person in the world who met Tony Harwood and paid him off for killing her. And it`s the only person in the world who fled halfway around the world to avoid facing you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Remember, in the civil trial, he declared himself poor and he defended himself. So all of a sudden, how can he afford the attorneys that he`s using now? But I think he will pay. And this is what we`ve waited for, for the last 19 years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is Lita Sullivan`s mother. I saw her in the hall today. Her eyes -- she wasn`t crying, but her eyes were rimming with tears as she went back into the courtroom. She`s been there every day, row 1, with Lita`s father.
Back to John Connolly, contributing editor, "Vanity Fair." You did the interview with him down in Palm Beach, in his mansion. What did you learn about his relationship with Lita Sullivan?
CONNOLLY: Well, he said some of the most horrific things anybody has ever said to me about a crime. He suggested that, in fact, the woman who appeared today, Poppy Mirabella (ph), that it might have been her ex- husband, who had a grudge against Lita. He might have been responsible. Then he said, Well, maybe it was drug-related. And then he said it might have been an ex-boyfriend.
But the most horrific thing he said to me was that it very possibly could have been her parents involved in it for the insurance money. And when I called him on it, he finally backed away from that. But to even suggest something like that, and if you`ve ever met, as you have, the McClintons, who are just the finest people I`ve ever met, it just -- it just goes to the root of who this man is.
GRACE: He tried to tell you that maybe her parents killed their own daughter for insurance money?
CONNOLLY: That`s exactly what he said to me.
GRACE: Man, that`s a nerve!
CONNOLLY: It was beyond anything I ever heard.
GRACE: Oh, John, please! Oh, if there is a God in heaven, he will take the stand and he can be cross-examined on that comment. So let me ask you this. His third wife, Suki (ph) -- he`s been married four times, right, John?
CONNOLLY: Yes, he has.
GRACE: Did he or did he not confess to third wife Suki about the murder?
CONNOLLY: He -- the story that Suki told on the stand under oath was that they had an argument one evening, and he turned up the volume of the television and then said to her that he had had Lita murdered and that he could do the same to her. She testified to that under oath in court in Palm Beach.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you heard the phrase "scorched earth" spoken before?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I took it to mean that Jim was saying, well, if I can`t have it, she won`t have it, or words to that effect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard two sounds. They sounded to me like steel hitting steel. And they were very loud sounds.
So I then turned around, and looked into the courtyard, and saw this guy, who had the box of roses, running out of the neighborhood. I then walked over to Ms. Sullivan`s house, and I saw Ms. Sullivan laying down in the back of the hallway there, in her nightgown, in a puddle of blood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back, everybody. We are broadcasting live outside the Atlanta courthouse covering one of the most notorious murder-for-hire trials ever to hit the Southeast, the execution-style slaying of an Atlanta socialite, Lita Sullivan. On trial 19 years after the fact, her multimillionaire husband, Jim Sullivan.
Back to John Connolly, editor with "Vanity Fair," John, all the years that Sullivan was on the lam, where did he go? This is amazing to me.
CONNOLLY: Well, that`s what`s so shocking about this whole case. As you recall, the Atlanta Bureau of Investigation called his attorney, who he said he would surrender him the next day. And the next day, Mr. Sullivan was gone.
He supposedly reported in Costa Rica, in Mexico, and then he made himself to Southeast Asia, which didn`t surprise me, because Sullivan`s always had a penchant for (INAUDIBLE) exotic women, as we know. So he lived a good life with a lot...
GRACE: So, after all -- yes, he did. He was really living high on the hog. Explain, John.
CONNOLLY: Well, he probably had $4 or $5 million dollars at the time of Lita`s death. And that`s why, I believe, he murdered her. That, as you know, the day she was murdered, a judge was going to deliver the decision regarding whether or not their post-nuptial agreement was effective or not.
And if the judge ruled against it, Sullivan would have had to sell the home in Palm Beach, which, to him, was his whole life. He was the big king of the hill there. And if he would have had to sell the house to pay Lita half the money, his life would have been over. Since he didn`t have to sell it, I believe he squirreled money away all over the world.
GRACE: We are showing you maps of all his ping-ponging across the world. As you know, with us right now, one of the witnesses just off the stand, a practicing lawyer and neighbor of Lita Sullivan -- he was there the morning that she was shot, heard the gunshots ring out.
Elizabeth, roll that video of Harwood, the hit man in this case, walking along. With us, Homer Deakins, witness in the case.
Take a look at this, Mr. Deakins. Is this the man that you observed running away from Lita Sullivan`s home the morning of the shooting? Take a good look. What do you think?
DEAKINS: There are two things that are different about this fellow and the fellow I saw in the courtyard. One is that the fellow I saw in the courtyard did not have any facial hair. The second difference is that the fellow I saw in the courtyard, his hair was dirty and slicked down, oily, and it was combed back. Otherwise, I would say this looks a lot like the guy I saw.
GRACE: Yes. Yes. Have you seen Harwood, the triggerman, since then?
DEAKINS: No.
GRACE: Do you think you`ll meet him in the courtroom?
DEAKINS: No.
GRACE: I hope you don`t. I hope you don`t.
(LAUGHTER)
Let`s get out to criminal profiler in a lot of high-profile cases, Pat Brown, joining us tonight. Give me your opinion of a profile of Jim Sullivan.
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, Jim Sullivan had a wife that got in his way and wanted to take away what he liked best, which was his money. And it`s a funny case, because everything, prior to her death, her death being an absolute paid-for hit and everything afterwards points to Jim Sullivan, Jim Sullivan, and Jim Sullivan.
And yet there are lots of witnesses who are very credible testifying all over the place. So he did the best thing he could, run like hell and enjoy your life someplace else. And he got away with it for 20 years. He was a smart man.
GRACE: And, Pat Brown, what about the fact that the hit man delivered a dozen pink roses? Now, if that is not a clue, I don`t know what is.
BROWN: Well, he`s been watching too many movies and thinking, "Here is a swell way to commit my crime." But he really isn`t the most quality hit man, because he did it in the daytime when all the neighbors could observe exactly what went down. And it wasn`t a covered-up type of death. It made it very clear it was an absolute paid-for hit, which really -- Jim Sullivan should have paid maybe more money to get a better hit man, but he didn`t.
GRACE: Let`s go to the phones. Joining us, Lisa from Arizona.
Hi, Lisa.
CALLER: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good. What`s your question?
CALLER: Was there any evidence that James Sullivan was a violent man or had the potential to be a violent man?
GRACE: Interesting.
What about it, John Connolly with "Vanity Fair"? What was his background, any evidence of violence?
CONNOLLY: Well, as I`ve always said, I suspected that he had something to do with his uncle, Frank Bienert`s death. Sullivan had a really nasty temper. I`ve seen him go off like this with waiters, with other peoples, I mean, just goes off really quickly.
So it wouldn`t surprise me at all that he would -- he`s just an angry, nasty man. So I think there`s been lots of history back in Macon, particularly, of the way he was treated people.
Look at the way he treated his own ex-wife, Catherine, who passed away last year, and those children. He never provided for them at all. I mean, I think she got the maximum -- like, at one point, she got $12,000 a year to raise four children, and she was terrified of him throughout her whole life.
When I interviewed her, I had to meet her in another city other than Boston because she was so afraid that he might somehow learn that she and I met.
GRACE: Also on the stand today was a witness that had been a friend of both Jim and Lita Sullivan. And when he approached Sullivan about the possibility he would lose his divorce case and pay out a lot of money, Sullivan`s response was scorched-earth policy. Well, shortly after that, Lita Sullivan ended up dead in her own home.
Back to the phones, Kelly in Florida.
Thank you for joining us. What`s your question?
CALLER: Hi, Nancy. First of all, I just want to tell you, you`re an extraordinary woman for what you do for these families and victims.
Second of all, my question is, is that why did nobody notice a florist`s delivery truck or any type of vehicle? These neighbors that have noticed them, you know, saw this man, no truck, no flower truck, a box that has flowers in it, but nobody notices a truck. So I don`t get it.
GRACE: Interesting.
Steph Watts, was there a truck, a flower delivery truck?
WATTS: From what I understand, Nancy, they used a vehicle. They parked a vehicle away from the car so they could get away quickly. There was not a truck. They didn`t have their scheme that well-planned-out.
And we had testimony today from the flower shop owner. He was deceased, but they had previous testify from him. And they said they pulled...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: You mean a dead man took the stand?
WATTS: We had a dead man on the stand today, Nancy. They read testimony that he had made previously. And what he said was -- they pulled up to the flower shop in a car, a white car. Remember, there was a lot of discussion. You were in court with me when this happened. There was a lot of discussion about what make the car was. It went on for about an hour. Was it a Honda? It was a Japanese car. Anyway...
GRACE: It was a Honda. The man said it 10 times. It was a Honda.
WATTS: It was a Honda. So it was not a flower shop truck; it was a car.
GRACE: And let`s go -- why should I ask you? I can get it straight from the horse`s mouth.
Did you see a flower delivery truck?
DEAKINS: I saw no vehicle in the courtyard.
GRACE: Just saw the guy running.
And very quickly, Steph, speaking of the guy that sold the flowers to the hit man, what did he say about the purchaser?
WATTS: He was very, very nervous. He opened up the shop at 8:05. He was five minutes late, he said, and he quickly ran through the back door into the front. And he believes they were already there.
This hit man, alleged hit man came in, bought flowers. And here is the interesting thing about what happened. Usually when you buy roses, they slide these metal-like pipes up the roses to hold the heads from falling down. The flower man started to do it. He only did four. The guy said, "Hurry up; I want to get out of here." And they later on identified the roses because he had only done four of them; that`s how they identified them, because there was no mark on the box from the flower shop.
GRACE: And very quickly to Phil Rosenbaum, our producer, who went to the scene and snooped around, I understand the hit man was very sloppy. Explain.
PHIL ROSENBAUM, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: He was sloppy, Nancy. He made a lot of critical errors at the scene of the crime. He left behind critical clues such as -- well, he did not use a stolen gun. And using a stolen gun helps prevent it from being traceable.
He also didn`t throw the gun away at the crime scene, which gets it away from his person.
As we know, he left the flowers at the scene. The flower clerk remembered him very well, and all this is coming up in testimony. And then there was the infamous phone call from the rest stop, which is being used now in the trial. Did he really need to make that call to tell James Sullivan that he made the hit?
GRACE: Interesting.
And, of course, the wording in that phone call was "Merry Christmas."
Very quickly to break, we`ll all be right back. We are live outside the Fulton County courthouse. But to tonight`s "Case Alert."
One of the FBI`s 10 most wanted fugitives that we covered here on NANCY GRACE behind bars tonight. Genero Espinosa Dorantes captured in Mexico, now facing charges he murdered his girlfriend`s four-year-old child, Luis Osvaldo Cisneros.
The child`s mother, Martha Patlan, also facing charges in that very same case. Dorantes been on the FBI`s most-wanted list since August 2003. Tonight, we thank you for bringing him to justice.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw her body where it was when I came in there. The paramedics got there just a few minutes later before anybody from the police department was there measuring or doing anything else. My guess is, that by the time the police got there, with their measuring sticks and whatever, she had been completely moved from where she was where I found her.
And by the time it was all over, they had her in here lying this way, working on her, trying to resuscitate her.
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GRACE: We are live outside the Atlanta Fulton County courthouse where Lady Justice has a date, and her date has been late, 19 years late. Jim Sullivan finally on trial for the execution-style murder of his wife, Atlanta socialite Lita Sullivan.
It was in one of the ritziest areas of Atlanta, beautiful town home, black and white marble floor, immaculate, except for all the blood and the dozen pink roses police found around her body.
Straight out to clinical psychologist Stephanie Jones. Now, Stephanie, every time we have a domestic homicide, the defense is always, "He was a cad. They were having a marital problems, but just because they were getting a divorce doesn`t mean he murdered her."
STEPHANIE JONES, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Of course not. Absolutely not. I mean, divorce is no grounds for murder. This person wanted a means to an end and, allegedly, he got one.
GRACE: Well, why is it that we see murder becoming more and more prominent when there are marital problems?
JONES: You know, I think that`s a great question. I found an astounding statistic that 74 percent of separated women are victims of domestic violence. And so something happened in that period when the conflict arises and it moves towards separation and divorce. As we know, the violence rates are higher for males; perhaps they can`t handle the idea of separation, and they act out. And it`s a real problem.
GRACE: Let`s go out to the phones. We are taking your calls tonight. Let`s go to Pam in Tennessee.
Hi, Pam.
CALLER: Good evening, Nancy. Just to tell you, I admire your candid...
GRACE: What`s your question?
CALLER: Yes. I admire your candidness and tenacity in the handling of your cases. My question is: Since the alleged hit man states that he was involved with the hit with the mob, do you know if there was ever an investigation launched to find out if James Sullivan had direct ties to the mob or was himself involved with the mafia?
GRACE: You know, I was very interested in that. I had an old judge that said, "Try to make all witnesses speak the truth." And if this hit man said he did a hit for the mob, did he believe, in some way, John Connolly, that Jim Sullivan was part of the mafia, the Cosa Nostra?
CONNOLLY: No, I`m sure he didn`t believe that at all. I`ve never given that any thought any way whatsoever.
GRACE: So he was just making up that whole line of reasoning. But why? If you claim you`re the hit man, and you executed an innocent woman, why would you try to cover for the guy that hired you?
CONNOLLY: Well, as you recall, I think it was, what, six years that he`s been in prison, Harwood, before he finally made the total deal to testify against Sullivan? He offered one excuse then another, and I guess he was hoping against all hope -- I mean, if Sullivan had not been captured, Harwood might have gotten a better deal, don`t you think?
GRACE: Yes. Yes. I see what you mean. I see what you mean. And especially now, at this juncture, if Harwood`s credibility can be attacked in front of the jury, the defense has a really good chance at trial.
Let`s go out to Jackie, Jackie in North Dakota. Are you with us?
CALLER: Hi, Nancy. Thanks for taking my call.
GRACE: Hi, Jackie.
CALLER: My question is for you, I`m just wondering, as a former prosecutor in that jurisdiction, do you have any personal knowledge on the judge and what we might expect?
GRACE: Well, I can tell you this much. When Ms. Sullivan was killed many, many years ago, I was here at the Atlanta courthouse as a prosecutor. And I personally went to the elected D.A. and asked him to let me take the case to the grand jury, because I believed, even at the time, that there was enough evidence to go forward with trial.
I mean, please, Jackie, what killer takes the time to go that morning and get a dozen pink roses? It`s obviously somebody involved with the victim. There you see Judge "Jack" Goger, as we call him. He has been a trial lawyer in the Atlanta area. I remember the D.A. told me, "Wait, the evidence will mature." And it certainly did.
Back out to Pat Lalama, investigative reporter. Give us a recap of where we are now and what we expect to come up.
LALAMA: Well, the interesting things that will come up are further testimony from interesting witnesses. Now, remember, we were talking about how Mr. Harwood isn`t the brightest bulb on the tree. Well, he brought his girlfriend with him when, allegedly...
GRACE: Wait a minute, the brightest bulb on the tree?
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LALAMA: Yes?
GRACE: The brightest -- OK, go ahead.
LALAMA: He is not the brightest bulb on the tree, is what I`m saying. We were talking about that earlier. And I think one of the other examples of that is that, when he allegedly accepted the envelope with the cash, he brought his girlfriend, Belinda, with him. And we`re going to find out things like that.
GRACE: Oh, yes. There`s a lot of "Keystone" activities in this case. Thank you, Pat Lalama.
To tonight`s "All-Points Bulletin." FBI and law enforcement across the country on the lookout for Elby Jessie Hars, a convicted sex offender, wanted in connection with the sex abuse of a 13-year-old South Carolina girl in 2000.
Hars, 62, 5`8", 245 pounds, gray hair, hazel eyes. If you have info on Elby Jessie Hars, call the FBI, 803-551-4200.
Local news coming up for some of you, but all of us will be back here from the courthouse. And, remember, tomorrow live coverage of the Lita Sullivan murder-for-hire trial on this program and 3:00 to 5:00 Eastern, Court TV.
Everyone, please stay with us as we remember Marine Private First Class Nick Skinner, 20, Davenport, Iowa, killed by gunfire in the Iraqi city of Najaf. His mom says he was loved and loved to tease people. He went hunting every year with his dad and grandfather. Tonight, he is missed, Nick Skinner, an American hero.
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GRACE: This is a live shot, just behind us, of Lady Justice on top of the golden dome, the Georgia State Capitol. And isn`t it fitting that, 19 years after the fact, she is looking down on the Atlanta Fulton County courthouse, as Jim Sullivan goes to trial?
Nineteen years ago, his wife found dead on the entrance hall of their home, a very exclusive area of the city of Atlanta.
Straight out to prosecutor Eleanor Dixon. She specializes in violent crimes. Eleanor, the timing of this murder is integral to the facts. That very day, Lita Sullivan due in court on a property disbursement hearing about a post-nup that the two had entered. She never made it to court, obviously.
What do you think is the strongest evidence for the state?
DIXON: I think the strongest evidence for the state is the phone call, for example, that Harwood made. I think it`s going to be his testimony about the flowers, the flowers and the florist who remembers him, all of those things.
And the strongest piece of evidence in which I like is the flight of James Sullivan. He fled all over the place to avoid prosecution, and I would hammer that home.
GRACE: To Gino Brogdon, a member of our star chamber, a former judge here on the superior court bench, the evidence of flight, that a defendant took off, and in this case on one of his many trips the very day that he was indicted, Judge.
BROGDON: Well, that`s -- the law allows the prosecutor to argue that flight indicates guilt and that he ran because he knew he was going to be in trouble. And it`s going to be strong. It`s going to be hard for the defense to try to put that in some context...
GRACE: Yes.
BROGDON: ... other than guilt.
GRACE: And to Congressman Ted Poe, former Harris County, Texas, judge, Judge, in this case, we`re looking at a jury that is very varied. Several of the female jurors were giving long, hard looks at Sullivan today when we heard about his divorce. Will it matter, the gender of the jurors?
POE: I think it does. In a case like this, when a husband is accused of killing his wife, that always is worse than if it was the other way around. It doesn`t sit well with female jurors, especially.
GRACE: It certainly does not.
POE: He has nothing going for him in this case.
GRACE: It certainly does not, Judge, especially if one of them turns up being the foreperson. Thank you to the judges and all of our guests, and to our state`s witness here with us. Our biggest thank you to you for being with us and inviting us into your homes.
I`m Nancy Grace signing off for tonight here at the Atlanta courthouse. See you here tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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