Anthony Sully

American Serial Killer (1944–2023)

Anthony John Sully (January 2, 1944 – September 8, 2023) was a notorious American serial killer and former police officer, infamous for the brutal murders of six individuals between February and August 1983 at his warehouse in Burlingame, California. This case is chilling not only because of the sheer brutality of the crimes but also due to the fact that Sully was once a member of the law enforcement community. He disposed of some of his victims' bodies in metal barrels, encased them in concrete, and then discarded them in Golden Gate Park. The investigation revealed that at least three accomplices helped Sully carry out these heinous acts. In July 1986, he was found guilty of the killings and sentenced to death.

Quick Facts

• Born: January 2, 1944, San Francisco, California, U.S.
• Died: September 8, 2023 (aged 79), San Quentin, California, U.S.
• Other Names: "Jack"
• Conviction: First-degree murder with special circumstances (6 counts)
• Criminal Penalty: Death
• Victims: 6
• Span of Crimes: February – August 1983
• Country: United States
• State: California
• Date Apprehended: August 25, 1983
• Imprisoned at: San Quentin State Prison, San Quentin, California

Biography

Born in San Francisco and raised in the nearby city of Millbrae, Anthony John Sully had a seemingly ordinary upbringing. He graduated from high school in Millbrae and, after marrying Elizabeth Ann in 1965, he developed a keen interest in law enforcement. By 1966, he had joined the Millbrae Police Department, where he served with a clean record from 1966 to 1974, earning a positive reputation among his colleagues.

However, beneath this façade, darker tendencies began to emerge. In 1969, Elizabeth filed for divorce, citing years of physical abuse. Sully’s second marriage to a woman named Donna in 1974 also ended in divorce after just 15 months, again due to his violent behavior, which included a disturbing incident where he threatened her children. As he drifted away from law enforcement, Sully attempted to reinvent himself as a business owner in the late 1970s, operating as an electrical and construction contractor from a warehouse in Burlingame.

By the early 1980s, Sully's life spiraled further into depravity. He developed a heightened sexual appetite and began associating with pimps and prostitutes, introducing himself as "Jack." This new lifestyle led him to invest heavily in an escort agency, and he began using drugs, signaling a dramatic shift in his life trajectory.

The Murders

In 1982, Sully crossed paths with 32-year-old Tina Livingston, the owner of a local escort agency. When one of Livingston’s employees, 24-year-old Gloria Fravel, failed to repay a $500 debt, Sully became involved. In early February 1983, Fravel was forcibly taken to Sully's warehouse by Livingston and another sex worker, 23-year-old Keli "Angel" Burns. Once in the warehouse, Sully offered sex to Fravel, but when she refused, he violently attacked her, eventually handcuffing and hanging her from the ceiling. For two days, he tortured and sexually assaulted her, while Livingston and Burns remained in another part of the hangar.

During one of these horrific sessions, Sully tied a hangman's knot around Fravel’s neck. In a chilling turn of events, Fravel managed to free herself from her gag and began to scream. In response, Sully strangled her with a rope. With the assistance of his accomplices, they placed her body into a car and attempted to dispose of it. However, Fravel regained consciousness during the drive, prompting Sully to stop the car and fatally strike her in the head with an axe. Her body was later found near State Route 35 on February 7, 1983, and Sully reportedly kept a newspaper clipping about her murder as a twisted trophy, amused that it was discovered by a butcher.

Not long after murdering Fravel, Sully instructed Livingston to find him a girl who wasn’t a prostitute but would still be willing to provide sexual services. This led him to 19-year-old Brenda Oakden, a runaway from Huntington Beach who had dabbled in prostitution. In mid-February 1983, Sully shot Oakden in the back of the head with a .38 caliber revolver and conspired with Livingston to spread false rumors about her whereabouts.

In April 1983, Sully's next victims were Michael Thomas, a 24-year-old pimp with a criminal past, and his 20-year-old common-law wife, Phyllis Melendez. Following a dispute with Thomas, Sully invited them to his hangar and executed them both, placing their bodies alongside Oakden’s in 55-gallon drums filled with concrete, which he then disposed of in Golden Gate Park. Their bodies were discovered on April 29 by patrolman Bruno Pezzulich.

Sully’s penultimate victim was 22-year-old Barbara Searcy, an ex-girlfriend. Luring her under the guise of financial assistance, he shot her in the back of the head as soon as she arrived at his hangar. Afterward, he sought Livingston's help to erase any trace of their meeting, but she was unable to access Searcy’s apartment. Sully then wrapped Searcy’s body in plastic and dragged it to a nearby location, where it was found on August 18.

The final murder occurred at the end of August 1983 when Sully lured 24-year-old drug dealer Kathryn Barrett to his hangar, ostensibly to sell him cocaine. Assisted by accomplice Michael Anthony Francis, Sully brutally stabbed Barrett six times in the chest and bludgeoned her with a sledgehammer. Her naked body, wrapped in plastic bags, was later discovered in South San Francisco’s industrial district on August 19.

Arrest

Anthony Sully's reign of terror ended on August 25, 1983, when investigators matched his fingerprints to those found on the barrels containing the bodies of Thomas, Oakden, and Melendez. Not only did they find his fingerprints on the barrels, but also Sully’s and Burns’ handprints on the concrete. A search of Sully's warehouse and car unearthed barrels stolen from a nearby hangar, plastic bags with structural defects identical to those that had wrapped Thomas’s body, and a white cotton rope used to bind Barbara Searcy. Further forensic analysis revealed that cigarette butts found at the scene of Barrett’s murder matched a pack discovered in Sully's possession.

Following his arrest, Tina Livingston came forward to law enforcement, confessing her involvement in the crimes and providing crucial testimony against Sully and his accomplices Keli Burns and Michael Francis. In October 1983, Sully was charged with six counts of murder but pleaded not guilty.

Trial

The trial commenced in June 1986, and Sully was found guilty on all counts by a jury. Just twelve days later, he was sentenced to death. After the verdict, Sully delivered a 40-minute tirade insisting on his innocence.

Livingston struck a plea deal with the San Mateo County Attorney's Office, agreeing to testify against Sully in exchange for a reduced sentence of negligent homicide. She was convicted in summer 1986 and sentenced to three years but was released shortly after due to time served. Michael Francis was convicted as an accomplice in Barrett’s murder and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Keli Burns received the same sentence for her role in the murders of Thomas, Melendez, and Oakden.

Aftermath

Sully spent his days on death row at San Quentin State Prison. He attempted to have his sentence commuted twice, in 1991 and 2013, but both requests were denied. His accomplice Michael Francis remains incarcerated at High Desert State Prison and has faced multiple parole denials due to infractions while in custody, including an assault on a fellow inmate in 1997. In 2020, he waived his right to a parole hearing, resulting in an automatic five-year denial.

Meanwhile, Keli Burns was granted parole and released at the end of 2016, after serving more than 33 years in prison.

Death

Before his passing, Sully battled an unspecified type of cancer and experienced declining health. He died of natural causes on September 8, 2023, at a medical facility in the morning hours at the age of 79. The Marin County Coroner notified Kent Nielsen, Sully's only emergency contact. Nielsen had maintained a friendship with Sully for over two decades, having first met him in 1969 when he was a teenager servicing police patrol cars. Despite their long history, Nielsen never asked Sully why he committed the murders, later expressing regret for not confronting him about it.

See Also

• List of serial killers in the United States

Sources

• Wikipedia: Anthony Sully
• Bob Calhoun (January 14, 2016). "Yesterday's Crimes: Bodies in Barrels and the Killer Cop". SF Weekly.
• Leslie Guevarra and Beth Hughes (September 2, 1983). "How police solved the GG Park steel drum murders". San Francisco Examiner.
• Bob Egelko (August 6, 2013). "Death sentence upheld for ex-cop who killed 6". San Francisco Chronicle.
• Leslie Guevarra (October 5, 1983). "Former cop denies he killed 5". San Francisco Examiner.
• "The mother of one of three murder victims whose bodies were stuffed into 55-gallon steel drums in Golden Gate Park said Monday she spent Mother's Day weeping for her dead son". United Press International. May 9, 1983.
• Leslie Guevarra (September 20, 1983). "Ex-cop charged in four more killings". San Francisco Examiner.
• "Ex-Police Officer Convicted Of Six Murders". Associated Press. June 4, 1986.
• "Ex-Police Officer Convicted Of Six Murders". Los Angeles Times. June 4, 1986.
• "Ex-Officer Sentenced to Death in 6 Killings, Tells Court: 'I'm Not a Monster' ". Los Angeles Times. July 16, 1983.
• "Death sentence upheld for killer". Santa Cruz Sentinel. June 12, 1991.
• "Burlingame murderer waives parole hearing". San Mateo Daily Journal. March 11, 2020.
• Jason Green (August 20, 2016). "Woman who helped ex-Peninsula cop murder prostitute granted parole". East Bay Times.
• "Condemned Incarcerated Person Anthony J. Sully Dies of Natural Causes". California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. September 11, 2023.
• Warren, George (November 8, 2023). "Conversations with a serial killer: A California couple's 20 years visiting death row inmate - CBS Sacramento". CBS News.