The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that the “person of interest” they suspected in the disappearance of Brian Sullivan nine years ago has died.
Undersheriff Drew Forsythe said in a news conference that they believe 49-year-old Derrick Murray killed the 19-year-old man in 2007. Murray died suddenly last week of natural causes.
Forsythe and Sullivan’s parents issued a plea for anyone who knows how Sullivan was killed and where his remains can be found to come forward. Barb Sullivan says she grieves for the Murray family’s loss, but also that there’s nothing to be lost now by speaking out.
The undersheriff says literally hundreds of interviews and talks with confidential sources led them to conclude Derrick Murray was responsible for Brian Sullivan’s death. He says the two were acquaintances and hung out together.
Forsythe says they still don’t have all the answers about what happened the day Sullivan vanished and they lacked a key piece of evidence to make an arrest.
He says the focus now is to get closure for Barb and Dan Sullivan.