Post by Scumhunter on Nov 10, 2023 7:34:49 GMT -5
(Above photo credit: Unsolved.com)
From Fox 17 Nashville (May 2022 article):
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — The Sullivan and Sons sawmill in Sparta was a true family business.
10 family members worked there, side by side every day.
“My mom even brought a basket lunch to work every day and we would all eat lunch together at work,” said Sullivan’s sister Daphne Jacob.
Terry Sullivan was one of those Sullivan sons, his life was routine until he was shot in the back of the head at his kitchen table eating dinner in 2009.
“So whoever did it most likely knew Terry, most likely was let into the house because there is no sign of forced entry, nothing was taken, anything like that, he was shot right after he got home while sitting at the table eating dinner,” said his nephew Brook Jolley.
That was awful, what happened next was just strange.
“We actually got a telephone call from the police telling us that he had an accident, choked on a piece of chicken, that he had fallen down, hit is head and died as a choking accident,” said Jolley.
The family says Terry’s wife, Cheryl Sullivan repeated the same story to the family.
“She came to the house and told every single person in the house the same story about my Uncle choking and hitting his head, after she had been interviewed 12 hours about the murder,” said Jolley.
Obviously there is a big difference between being shot in the head and choking on chicken.
How did that story materialize? The family only got to listen to the 911 call once before the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) sealed it as evidence.
They say they listened to an off-duty police officer who sounded like he was treating it like an accident and that you could hear people coming and going throughout the call.
“Why was he giving instructions to the paramedics? Why was he telling them the body looked like he obviously choked and nothing happened? Why are they all trampling over a crime scene? Why did they not secure the crime scene?" Asked Jolley.
This of course may have compromised the murder scene. It certainly didn’t help.
The signs around the county tell you this is a cold case, but unlike other cold cases the family says they have a stunning piece of evidence, a $1 million life insurance policy taken out for Terry Sullivan with his wife Cheryl as the beneficiary.
They say all you have to do is spend a few minutes looking at the signatures.
“That entire policy in every single signature location except for one has someone else’s signature page, it does have his signature on one page, that is the paramedical exam. It doesn’t tell on that page what the policy is for, the face value, every other signature page has someone else’s signature, he had no idea what he was signing the best I can tell,” said Jolley.
Look for yourself at the the signature on his will. It is his signature on the life insurance policy.
“It has to do with the way he draws his T’s and the way that his letters slant because he is left-handed. Look at the T from other Sullivan signatures compared to the one on the life insurance policies," says Jolley.
Look at the S’s always narrow figure 8’s, but not on the life insurance policy. Look at the slant of the letters.
“We’ve got stacks of copies of his signature that is always the same, there is no resemblance," Jolley adds.
FOX 17 News asked national known detective Sheila Wysocki and her team of investigators to review the case. She says she can’t get past the insurance policy.
“Get somebody in there who is a handwriting expert, there are plenty in the country and bring them in and say what pattern does that follow? Does it match this person or this person. Talk to the insurance person when did you get it? How did you get it?" Questions Wysocki.
And the initial report of choking on a piece of chicken after being shot in the head? For Wysocki there are no words.
Do you think that is fair to say that being shot in the head and choking on a piece of chicken would look dramatically different?
"It would and a moron would have to think otherwise, there is blood splatter and if you are choking you are not going to have blood all over and if there isn’t blood all over and you have a bullet in your head, did somebody clean it up? What happened?" Questions Wysocki.
The family says District Attorney Bryant Dunaway and the TBI have ignored the problems with the life insurance policy and ignored this possible evidence that provides a possible motive.
“Most of the time we feel like we are being ignored, because we plead and plead and try to get things done and we don’t really have anybody that is listening and trying to do anything for us,” said Jacob.
FOX 17 News asked the murdered man’s wife for an interview and she did not respond.
TBI said the case remains open, but they have no further comment on the case. The TBI is the lead investigator on the case.
fox17.com/news/ferrier-files/a-murder-and-a-signature-the-problems-with-the-murder-of-terry-sullivan
Thoughts? I am placing Terry's case in the National Media section because the search for his killer was profiled on the August 3rd, 2022 episode of the Unsolved Mysteries podcast.
unsolved.com/podcasts/small-town-hit/
unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Terry_Sullivan
Admin Note #1: According to the Unsolved Mysteries podcast, If you have any information about the murder of Terry Sullivan, please call the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation at 1-800-TBI-FIND, or send a tip to the Unsolved Mysteries website: unsolved.com/tips/
Admin Note #2: If you have any news-related updates on this case, please contact us here: amwfans.com/thread/1662/website-contact-form