Charles Sullivan, 78, was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in prison by Washoe County Second Judicial District Court Judge Connie Steinheimer.
DNA evidence linked Sullivan to the death of then 20-year-old Julia Woodward whose body was found north of Reno in 1979. She had been murdered.
Sullivan’s DNA was found on Woodward’s clothing, a discovery only made more recently. He pleaded no contest to the charges, and a plea deal resulted in the 15-year sentence.
Sullivan is also a person of interest in the disappearance of two other women in the late ‘70s. He was arrested and charged in 2007 with the kidnapping of a hitchhiker on I-80, an arrest that ultimately led to his being suspected in Woodward’s case.
Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks declined to prosecute the case against Sullivan. A press conference after yesterday’s sentencing hearing was led by Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, whose office indicted Sullivan in 2019.
A former friend of Sullivan tipped off authorities in 2007 that Sullivan may have been involved “in numerous homicides in Nevada and Idaho,” according to a court document filed by the AG.
Former Washoe County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant, Tom Green, said he worked the case.
“We developed probable cause to believe Charles Sullivan had in fact committed the murder he was convicted of …” he told This Is Reno. “This case was the focus of our newly established (at the time) cold case unit. The breakthrough came following a criminalist’s out-of-the-box thinking in an examination of jeans removed from the deceased, Julia Woodward.”
Green said Hicks met with him and others about prosecuting Sullivan.
“The Sheriff’s Office engaged the Federal Bureau of Investigation Behavioral Sciences Unit (BSU),” he said. “This unit contains the most comprehensive study of serial and serious murders in the world. The FBI was gracious enough to send an attorney, who specializes in cold case prosecutions, along with two experts from the BSU.”
Green said Hicks, in response to the offer for support, “became angry,” left the meeting and ultimately declined to prosecute the case.
Hicks, speaking through a spokesperson, called Green’s account a “gross mischaracterization” of what occurred. He admitted to not prosecuting Sullivan.
“The District Attorney’s Office spent a significant amount of time reviewing and discussing this case with investigators from the Sheriff’s Office,” Hicks said. “After that review, we declined to file charges and asked that additional investigative work be conducted to put the case in a better position to achieve a just outcome for the victim and her family.”
The AG’s office indicted Sullivan.
Green alleged Hicks was more concerned about a “win rate” versus doing the right thing.
“The DA refused to prosecute this case and left detectives scrambling for alternatives,” Green said. “The detective even struck a possible deal to have the United States Bureau of Land Management prosecute the case, as the deceased was found on BLM lands. That also fell apart.”
Green praised Ford.
“Show me a DA willing to present a tough case and give a victim their day in court, and I’ll show you someone who deserves our respect and admiration,” he said. “That respect and admiration goes to the state’s Attorney General, Aaron Ford, who had the fortitude and courage to hold a vicious and calculated killer to account.”
Ford, after yesterday’s sentencing, thanked those who worked on the case. They included WCSO, the FBI and the California Department of Justice.
“Today’s sentencing was a team effort,” he said.
