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. Based on per capita income, University Place ranks 81st of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked. History Universi ...

, 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, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. He received his bachelor's degree from

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from

Mississippi College School of Law Mississippi College School of Law is an American Bar Association accredited law school. MC Law is one of only two law schools in the state of Mississippi, and is the only law school in the capital city of Jackson, Mississippi. The school is a prof ...

Career

After law school, Sullivan served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from January 1997 to January 2001. Sullivan relocated to

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

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 county seat is Palmer, and the largest community is the census-designated place of Knik-Fairview. The borough is part of ...

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

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

in 2012 and served as an assistant district attorney. Sullivan became involved with the

Alaska Republican Party Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

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 (; ik, Sitŋasuaq, ) is a city in the Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough of Alaska, United States. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula coast on Norton Sound of the Bering Sea. It had a population of 3,699 recorded ...

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 or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

. On April 6, 2018,

Alaska Superior Court The Alaska Court System is the unified, centrally administered, and totally state-funded judicial system for the state of Alaska. The Alaska District Courts are the primary misdemeanor trial courts, the Alaska Superior Courts are the primary felony ...

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 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers