In 1976 Lita McClinton had all the prerequisites for living the good life and "the American Dream." She was 24 years old, stunningly beautiful, had roots in a prominent Atlanta family. Lita was educated and getting married to a rising businessman- James Sullivan.

After moving to Atlanta in 1973, James Sullivan had gone to work for an uncle who owned controlling interest in Macon based Crown Distributors a liquor distributorship. Two years later Frank Blenert, Sullivan's uncle was dead leaving him all his financial holdings in the company. After setting up home in a prestigious Buckhead condominium on Slaton Drive, Lita and Sullivan moved to Palm Beach, Florida after acquired a 13,000 sq.ft, mansion in an exclusive beach area reserved for the rich and famous. In 1983, Sullivan sold his interest in Crown Distributors for a reported $5 million.

Two years later the marriage between him and Lita had met an impasse. Remarking that "Jim turned out to be a tightwad and philanderer," she packed her belongings in a rental trailer and relocated to Atlanta. At the time of her marriage to Sullivan he was a divorcee with 4 children from a previous marriage. It was now 1985 and Lita was again living in the condominium on Slaton Drive. She filed for divorce.

The divorce turned into an ugly and lengthy affair. Due to the prenuptial agreement signed, if James Sullivan lost his battle in divorce court he stood to loose 50% of his wealth and his prized Palm Beach mansion. During the separation, at social events he told friends and associates he would never let Lita duplicate what his first wife had done-take away his possessions.

The final hearing on the divorce was scheduled for January 16, 1987. On the morning of January 16, 1987, the lovely socialite opened the front door of her Buckhead condo to receive a dozen long stem pink roses from a delivery person. What she received was a 9mm bullet to the face.

At 35 years old, Lita Sullivan lay murdered in her doorway. Killed by an unknown assassin. Although police immediately suspected the estranged husband, they were left with no witnesses and very little evidence in the case. The stage was now set for a series of events that would take nineteen years to unfold.

The Chase Begins
James Sullivan had enough money to move about unencumbered and the ability to hire the best attorneys to keep him out of prison. Lita's family refused to let matters rest and devoted resources to bringing the perpetrators to justice. They were not without resources. Her father Emory McClinton was a Department of Transportation official and her mother Jo Ann a Georgia State Representative.

Eight months after the murder of his wife Lita, James Sullivan married a third wife, Hyo-Sook known as Suki. She divorced him in 1990 and following the divorce told investigators that Sullivan had confessed to killing Lita. Suki's testimony was a piece in the puzzle investigators needed. After the divorce to his third wife, Sullivan sold the Palm Beach mansion for $3.2 million.

In 1992 a federal grand jury indicted Sullivan for murder conspiracy, but a judge dismissed the charges for lack of evidence. On April 28, 1998, the Fulton County grand jury indicted James Sullivan for hiring somebody (the identity still unknown at the time) to murder his wife. With advance notice of the pending indictment, he left the country. Facts in the case indicate that he traveled first to Costa Rica, then on to Panama, and finally applied for, and was granted, a visa to settle in Thailand.

In 2001, the McClintons filed a wrongful death complaint against Sullivan and were awarded a $4 million settlement. Subsequently in appeal, the case was reversed and reinstated again in a final ruling. To date they have not collected a dime.

Another breakthrough in the case came when Phillip Anthony Harwood was arrested on a non-related charge in North Carolina. In exchange for a reduced sentence, Harwood confessed to being the triggerman in the Lita Sullivan murder. Harwood is serving 20 years for manslaughter and now wants to retract his confession. A truck driver, Harwood had met Sullivan when moving the millionaire's furniture from Georgia to Florida. According to his testimony, Sullivan paid him $25,000 to kill his wife.

On September 25, 2001 the television series Unsolved Mysteries featured the Lita Sullivan murder and showed a picture of James Sullivan as a fugitive from justice. That proved to be another important piece to the puzzle. Several months later a viewer called the FBI to report that they had seen James Sullivan with a woman in Thailand. He was living at Springfield Beach, a posh resort. The woman was identified as Chingwattana Sricharoenmuang, who by some accounts is his fourth wife. Other accounts indicate Sullivan met Chingwattana while living in Palm Beach.

Following the identification, the FBI contacted the Thailand authorities who subsequently assigned undercover officers to shadow Sullivan while the U.S. investigators worked through the paperwork arranging extradition.

Thailand police arrested James Sullivan on July 22, 2002. However, he was not extradited to Atlanta until March 2004 for conspiring to murder Lita Sullivan. While in detention in Georgia, Sullivan's defense attorney filed a petition with the Georgia Supreme Court to have the charges dismissed on the grounds of "double jeopardy." Last year, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled against Sullivan's claim and opened the door for the trial to begin.

On March 10, 2005, Bibb County District Attorney, Howard Simms ordered the remains of Frank Blenert, Sullivan's uncle, exhumed. Responding to a request from Fulton County District Attorney, the body was examined to determine if there was foul play in the uncle's death. Subsequent tests have failed to provide any evidence that the cause of Blenert's death was induced.

Authorities have been given another piece of evidence that was not present in any of the previous court actions. A Beaumont, Texas women says she was present at a restaurant when Sullivan paid Harwood $25,000. She was Harwood's girlfriend at the time.

The Trial Begins
After nearly 20 years, James Sullivan, 64, will stand trial in Fulton County Georgia for the role he played in the death of Lita Sullivan. Sullivan continues to claim his innocence.

The jury has been selected and will remain sequestered during the trial expected to take up to two months.

[Sources: Associated Press, Our Georgia History, Unsolved Mysteries, Creative Loafing, Palm Beach Post, and Atlanta Journal Constitution]