Brian Joseph Sullivan (December 6, 1966 – December 8, 2014) was an American politician and attorney. He served in the

Washington House of Representatives The Washington House of Representatives is the lower house of the Washington State Legislature, and along with the Washington State Senate makes up the legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is composed of 98 Representatives from 49 ...

from 1997 to 2001, representing the 29th legislative district.

Early life and education

Sullivan was born in

University Place, Washington University Place is a city in Pierce County, Washington, United States. Its population was 34,866 at the 2020 census. University Place received its name in the 1800s when the University of Puget Sound, a private liberal-arts college in North Ta ...

, and raised in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

. He received his bachelor's degree from

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from Mississippi College School of Law.

Career

After law school, Sullivan served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as a judge advocate general and military police officer. He later practiced law in Tacoma. He served in the

as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

from January 1997 to January 2001. Sullivan relocated to

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

in 2001 while on duty with the

. In 2007, Sullivan served on the

Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska Matanuska-Susitna Borough (often referred to as the Mat-Su Borough) is a borough located in the U.S. state of Alaska. Its borough seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. As of the 2020 censu ...

School Board, and in 2010, he unsuccessfully ran for borough mayor. He then moved to

Utqiaġvik, Alaska Utqiagvik ( ; , ), formerly known as Barrow ( ), is the borough seat and largest city of the North Slope Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Located north of the Arctic Circle, it is one of the northernmost cities and towns in the world and th ...

in 2012 and served as an assistant district attorney. Sullivan became involved with the Alaska Republican Party as a district party chair.

Personal life

Death

On December 8, 2014, Sullivan was shot and killed in a private residence in

(formerly Barrow), which local police investigated as a homicide. Sullivan was 48 years old. On December 26, 2014, Ronald Fischer was indicted by an

Nome, Alaska Nome (; , , also ''Sitŋazuaq'', ''Siqnazuaq'') is a city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough, Alaska, Unorganized Borough of the US state of Alaska. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula c ...

grand jury with the first degree murder of Sullivan, who was seeing a woman that Fischer had previously been romantically involved with. On October 26, 2017, Fischer was found guilty after trial of all counts including

first degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

. On April 6, 2018, Alaska Superior Court Judge Gregory Miller sentenced Fischer to one hundred and five years in prison for the murder of Sullivan.'The Latest: Utqiaġvik man sentenced to 105 years for murder,' Fairbank Daily News-Miner, April 6, 2018

References

External links

Brian Joseph Sullivan-obituary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Brian Joseph 1966 births 2014 deaths Alaska lawyers Alaska Republicans Deaths by firearm in Alaska Members of the Washington House of Representatives Mississippi College School of Law alumni People from Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska People from Utqiagvik, Alaska People from University Place, Washington People murdered in Alaska School board members in Alaska University of Washington alumni Washington (state) Democrats Washington (state) lawyers Politicians from Tacoma, Washington Military personnel from Tacoma, Washington 21st-century Alaska politicians 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Washington State Legislature 2014 murders in the United States