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Elizabeth Ricks Sullivan was reported missing on October 14, 2014, from her Liberty Station home, where she lived with her husband, Matthew Sullivan, a U.S. Navy service member, and their two daughters. Elizabeth Sullivan visited a divorce attorney on October 13, 2014, which also happened to be the last time she was spotted in her Point Loma neighbourhood.
After her body washed up from San Diego Bay on October 4, 2016, the investigations into her murder revealed the dark side of the Sullivans' marriage. The Dateline NBC season 29, episode 47, titled Secrets by the Bay, offers the details of the deteriorating relationship Elizabeth and Matthew Sullivan shared as the synopsis reads,
"A San Diego mother suddenly vanishes in 2014; nearly two years later, her body is found in the San Diego Bay, but medical examiners say she has only been dead for a month or two."
Elizabeth and Matthew Sullivan's marriage was deteriorating by around 2012, according to the attorneys
Matthew Sullivan was charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, Elizabeth Sullivan, on February 14, 2018. He was allegedly accused of fatally stabbing Liz Sullivan in her bedroom and storing her body in the freezers in his garage for two years before he dumped it in San Diego Bay. He was on the move from San Diego to Wyoming, Delaware, with his new girlfriend the same week Elizabeth's body was found.
In an exclusive interview with CBS 8, Elizabeth's friend Nathan Caracter revealed,
“There were fights, arguments that would escalate to a point where there would be screaming, throwing of objects that would break things. At one point, he grabbed Liz and shoved her into a bookcase or something wood that broke."
However, as investigators proceeded with the investigation, they uncovered a series of calls made from the Sullivans to 911.
Complaints to 911
In March 2014, Elizabeth Sullivan called the San Diego Police Department to report the history of domestic violence in her marriage, according to NBC 7 San Diego. She voiced her concerns about recurring disputes involving child support and custody, expressing fears about a potential escalation. Matthew Sullivan had informed the police, saying that Liz had drained their shared bank account.
On October 13, 2014, the day Elizabeth was last seen, Matthew Sullivan also had contacted the police. He reported that Liz Sullivan was "going to frame him and have him arrested" and had "made a mess of the bedroom and took photos."
Drug addiction
During his trial, Matthew Scott Sullivan’s lawyer argued about Elizabeth's addiction to substances. According to the defence, she was allegedly engaged in the misuse of cannabis, amphetamines, alcohol, cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl, leading to instances where she would stay out at night. They also stated that she would sometimes sleep in the park beside the Bay as well.
Extramarital affair
While the marriage took a turn for the worse with the couple sleeping on separate floors, Elizabeth Sullivan had also allegedly signed up at an online dating platform where she met a man and started seeing him. She, however, did not inform him of her marriage or children.
The situation took a negative turn when a friend of the man Liz Sullivan was going out with called Child Protective Services after noticing two child seats in her car, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Incidents of self-harm
As reported by Fox23 News, Matthew Sullivan's defense attorneys raised the issue of Elizabeth's inclination toward self-harm during his trial. The trial had prosecutors presenting the blood stain on the carpet in their Liberty Station home as evidence against the defendant. However, the Union-Tribune reported Sullivan's attorney, Marcus DeBose, argued that the blood stemmed from a cutting incident following the CPS investigation.
Elizabeth Sullivan had allegedly broken a piece of the bedroom mirror and used a shard to hurt herself.
Divorce and restraining order
Nathan Caracter reported Elizabeth Sullivan missing from her residence, indicating during the same call that Liz was very scared of her husband. Liz Sullivan visited a divorce attorney on October 13, 2014.
Matthew Sullivan had suggested his mother, her partner, and his sister to move in and help with caring for their daughters in October 2014. This prompted Elizabeth to file a restraining order to keep them out of the house.
