Body Found Buried in Back Yard Was Man, 68, Who Lived in House
The San Bernardino County coroner’s office has confirmed that a body unearthed behind a home in Montclair was that of a 68-year-old man who lived there, and police say the victim’s sons kept the corpse in a freezer for several days before burying him.
The cause of John Sullivan Sr.’s death has not been determined, Montclair police said Wednesday. Detectives said that until their investigation is completed, no charges will be filed.
Montclair police Lt. Kevin Piper said detectives believe that Sullivan died in July, 1993. The detectives say Sullivan’s sons--John Sullivan Jr., 26, and Brian Sullivan, 29--stored the body in a freezer in their decrepit home on Saratoga Avenue for several days while preparing a burial site beneath a pine tree in a corner of their back yard.
“The body was buried in the early morning hours on a date in late July, 1993,” Piper said.
The victim’s disappearance was not noted by police until last month, when Brian Sullivan’s arrest on suspicion of forgery led investigators to suspect that several of John Sullivan Sr.’s Social Security checks had been cashed fraudulently.
When the sons were unable to account for their father’s whereabouts, police started digging in the back yard. The body was found May 18.
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