Timothy Sullivan, convicted for the killing of Amy "Ruby" Leagans, received a sentence of 31.5 years in prison, reported FOX 10 Phoenix. Found guilty on September 3, 2024, Sullivan's reprehensible act dates to October 2020, shortly after Leagans moved from Illinois to Arizona. Sullivan and Leagans, along with a third party, shared an apartment in Chandler, where the crime later ensued.
Leagans was last heard from on October 21, 2020. After her mother reported her missing, an investigation led to the discovery of her dismembered remains near the Salt River bottom, the details of which, were confirmed by police reports. Sullivan, with a violent past marred by offenses of domestic violence, aroused suspicions that drew law enforcement to his vehicle where items such as bleach, latex gloves, and bed sheets hinted at foul play. On November 17, 2020, the authorities located Leagans' nearly skeletonized body, a discovery that confirmed the outcome of her disappearance and led to Sullivan's capture on November 25.
In an almost parallel narrative of loss and devastation, the family of JoAnn Dudek, who disappeared in 2022, is grappling with hope in an unsolved homicide case. As Arizona's Family reveals, Dudek's remains were found in the desert, with her skull located in New River on November 6. Maricopa County Sheriff's Office has pinpointed persons of interest, yet their identities remain undisclosed. Erin Murtha, Dudek’s niece expressed relief that progress is being made, despite years of exhaustive searches and the distressing estrangement from Dudek's daughter and her boyfriend amid mysterious circumstances surrounding the night of her disappearance.
"This yelling continued throughout the night until Sullivan stated that he snapped. Sullivan stated that he choked the victim until she stopped breathing. The victim laid dead in the apartment for two days," Sullivan admitted in a statement post-arrest. Investigators detailed the harrowing events that followed which led to Leagans' tragic end and, ultimately, Sullivan's conviction. In contrast, Murtha clings to a renewed sense of hope, her family wishing to lay Dudek to rest back in New York amidst a Thanksgiving of uncertainty, punctuated by the promise of a forthcoming resolution, the Medical Examiner's Office yet to confirm Dudek's cause of death.
