Sullivan's third wife says he told her second wife's murder was "good for us"

<p>James Sullivan's third wife testified Friday at the millionaire's murder-for-hire trial that he told her that his previous wife's slaying was "good for us" because he didn't have to share any of his money with the victim anymore.</p><p>Hyo-Sook Sullivan, who married the defendant eight months after Lita Sullivan was killed, said that James Sullivan called her after the Jan. 16, 1987 slaying and sounded relieved.</p><p>"I remember he said it's good for us," said the ex-wife, a native of Korea who divorced Sullivan several years later. "He didn't have to divorce her. He didn't have to share with anything. He's complaining he had to share with her."</p><p>Hyo-Sook Sullivan also testified that her ex-husband was upset about the bitter divorce proceedings he was going through with Lita Sullivan in Atlanta.</p><p>Prior to her testimony, prosecutors agreed not to ask her any questions about statements Sullivan made to her while they were married because defense lawyers had objected, citing marital privilege. Authorities have said Sullivan made incriminating statements to his third wife about the murder.</p><p>Sullivan, 64, a Boston native, was once one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives before he was captured in Thailand in 2002.</p><p>He is accused of paying triggerman Phillip Harwood $25,000 to kill Lita Sullivan, his second wife. The 35-year-old woman was shot to death on the doorstep of her Atlanta town house by a man carrying a dozen long-stemmed pink roses.</p><p>A hearing to discuss property distribution in the couple's divorce was scheduled for the same day Lita Sullivan was killed.</p><p>Prosecutors say Sullivan feared losing money and his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion in the divorce.</p><p>Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.</p><p>Harwood is currently serving a 20-year sentence for manslaughter after pleading guilty to killing Lita Sullivan on James Sullivan's behalf, but in recent years he has denied being involved in the slaying.</p><p>Related charges against Sullivan were thrown out at a federal trial in 1992, but the Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that double jeopardy does not prevent Sullivan from being tried again in state court.</p><p>Harwood, of Albemarle, N.C., and a second man who claims he was also asked to commit the murder are both expected to testify during the trial, which started with jury selection on Jan. 5.</p><p>Sullivan lived in luxury as he eluded authorities on an intercontinental run _ from Palm Beach to Costa Rica to Panama to Venezuela, and then to Thailand, where he married a local woman, his fourth wife, and bought a condominium in a posh beachside neighborhood. He was extradited to the United States in 2004.</p><p>Harwood is expected to take the stand next week. A former girlfriend of his, a Beaumont, Texas, woman who alleges she was present when Sullivan paid Harwood some money, could testify as early as later Friday.</p>

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