Dateline: Secrets Uncovered is investigating the twisted murder of Elizabeth Sullivan by her husband, Matthew Sullivan, who stabbed his wife at their home in the Liberty Station neighborhood of San Diego, California.
Sullivan was a Navy sailor who police say killed his 32-year-old wife after learning about an affair. He then kept her remains in a freezer for two years before dumping her body into San Diego Bay.
In October 2014, Elizabeth seemingly vanished without a trace. She was reported missing by a friend, which launched a search for her as family and friends wondered what had happened to cause her to leave her two young children.
Two years later, on October 6, 2016, Elizabeth’s body was found floating in San Diego Bay. Rather chillingly, the medical examiner said the decomposition of her body looked like she’d only been dead a couple of months.
On the same day Elizabeth’s body was recovered, her husband Matthew moved with the two kids and his girlfriend to Delaware. He had recently left the Navy and was starting a new life on the East Coast.
The investigators subsequently learned that Elizabeth and Matthew had been having marital difficulties. Elizabeth had had an affair, and she was planning to leave Matthew and was hoping to take their children with her. She had recently withdrawn money from their bank account in preparation for a move.
San Diego cops found murder weapon and blood in Elizabeth Sullivan murder case
The cops found traces of Elizabeth’s blood on the carpet and wooded floor of their bedroom. The investigators also recovered a knife with Elizabeth’s blood on it from a hiding place in the attic.
Watch the Latest on our YouTube ChannelMatthew claimed he was innocent and suggested his wife must have cut herself and hidden the knife. The police concluded that Matthew had killed his wife with their children in the other room and then cleaned up the crime scene. The day after Elizabeth vanished, he bought carpet cleaner.
The killer then took steps to make it appear as though Elizabeth had left of her own accord.
The cops believe Matthew stored Elizabeth’s body in a freezer, but when the time came to move to Delaware, he was forced to dispose of the body in the bay.
Matthew Sullivan sentenced in murder of Elizabeth Sullivan
Matthew Sullivan was convicted of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 16 years to life.
At the sentencing, Judge Albert Harutunian told the court, “The jury verdict and the evidence at trial made it clear that Matthew Sullivan brutally murdered his wife, methodically cleaned up the messy murder site, and then hid the body for years. He almost got away with it, but his final attempt to hide the body at the bottom of the bay failed.”
Sullivan showed no remorse but instead complained that several defense witnesses had not been called to testify, which he claimed would have resulted in his acquittal.
Dateline: Secrets Uncovered airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Oxygen.