Man Sentenced For Killing Wife With Children In The Next Room; Places Body In Freezer For Two Years And Tells Children She Abandoned Them

A former Navy sailor killed his wife while their children were in the other room. He then went on to freeze the body and tell the children their mother simply left.

Sixteen years to life in prison is what former Navy sailor Matthew Sullivan was sentenced to after he took the life of his wife Elizabeth, PEOPLE reports. The incident reportedly happened back in October 2014 when the two got into an altercation over Elizabeth’s infidelity.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Sullivan murdered his wife because she was having an affair with another man and was planning on leaving Sullivan. San Diego Deputy District Attorney Jill Lindberg said during the trial that Elizabeth threatened to take their children with her and $1,000 out of their joint bank account. That’s when Sullivan stabbed Elizabeth while the couple’s children were in the other room. He then put her body in a small freezer and kept her there for two years. He told their children that Elizabeth abandoned them.

Throughout the trial process, Sullivan maintained that he was innocent. His attorney Marcus DeBose claimed Elizabeth abused drugs, often didn’t come home at night, and sometimes slept in a nearby park. He added that Sullivan has never broken the law and served in the Navy for eight years. Ultimately, Sullivan was found guilty of second-degree murder last year.

“The jury verdict and the evidence at trial made it clear that Matthew Sullivan brutally murdered his wife, methodically cleaned up the messy murder site, and then hid the body for years,” said Superior Court Judge Albert Harutunian III, during Sullivan’s sentencing. “He almost got away with it, but his final attempt to hide the body at the bottom of the bay failed.”

Lindberg told the judge that he believes Sullivan does not feel bad about his crimes. “There is clearly no remorse on the defendant’s part,” Lindberg told the judge. “He thinks he could have gotten a different verdict.”