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'Dateline' on NBC: Who was Elizabeth Sullivan? Woman's decomposed body found after Navy husband killed her over affair

The two-hour television show titled 'Dateline: Secrets by the Bay' was hosted by Keith Morrison and revolved around Elizabeth Sullovan's disappearance and murder

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA: The new installment of NBC's 'Dateline' premiered on April 2, 2023, and featured the brutal murder of Elizabeth Sullivan. She was a San Diego, California, native who went missing in 2014. The mystery of her disappearance was disclosed by the police in 2016. Ever since then, people have been curious to know what exactly happened to Elizabeth.

The two-hour television program titled 'Dateline: Secrets by the Bay' was hosted by Keith Morrison. The episode majorly spun around Elizabeth's disappearance and murder. Dateline NBC released a bunch of tweets where people who knew Elizabeth shared their feelings after reliving the memory. Keep reading to know who Elizabeth was and how she was murdered. 

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Who was Elizabeth Sullivan?

Elizabeth "Liz" Sullivan was a 32 years old woman who was murdered in 2014. She lived in a townhouse in Liberty Station, San Diego, California. Liz was married to US Navy Sailor Matthew Scott Sullivan, 36. They had two daughters.

Being a Navy person, Matt was never with Liz. She was a single mother in many ways as she had to handle her family herself. Later, Matt made arrangements for his wife by asking his family to move in with her. But, this seems to do no good other than to disrupt Liz's life even more.

Her friend Nathan comforted her during her anxious time when she heard that her in-laws were about to come and live with her. Liz later went to her house and told Nathan that she will provide an update to him about the situation next Monday. But Monday passed and there was no news from Liz.

What happened to Elizabeth Sullivan?

Liz was reportedly last seen on October 13, 2014. According to The Sun's reports, she went missing on October 14. She last communicated with her loved ones on October 13 and then her phone was switched off.

After her disappearance, San Diego police searched for Liz for almost two years. However, she remained missing until October 6, 2016. Her body was discovered floating in San Diego Bay. Until then, Matthew had moved on in his life with a new love interest and was in the process of moving to Maryland. NBC 7 San Diego connected the discovery of Liz's body with that of Matt planning to move away. And, they didn't find it a coincidence. 

The authorities took weeks to identify whether the body found was Liz's as it was badly decomposed. According to the reports, Liz's body was "hidden somewhere" else before being brought to the bay. 

Matthew Sullivan found guilty of brutally murdering his wife

In January 2018, Matthew was arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife. His trial began in 2020. According to FOX 23 News, Matthew killed his wife by beating and stabbing her in the bedroom of their San Diego house.

During an interview with People, Matthew claimed, "I’m running on fumes right now. I don’t know where to look.” “I’m always looking around the neighborhood, trying to catch a glimpse of her. Even if I got a phone call saying she’s OK, it would put my mind at rest. But nothing at this point," he said. However, prosecutors failed to believe any of Matthew's claims and said that he knew where his wife was the entire time.

It was later reported that Matthew murdered his wife because she had an affair and was planning to leave him. The couple's relationship started deteriorating after Matthew got to know about the affair. It went to a point where both started sleeping in separate bedrooms. Liz was reported to have signed herself up on a dating app where she began dating a man. Later, Liz met the divorce attorney on October 13, 2014, and planned to visit the lawyer's office the following day but she never showed up.

The murder weapon was later found in Matthew's home. As per the reports, Liz's body was kept in the freezer before being dumped in the bay. Initially, Matthew denied the crime but on March 12, 2021, he was found guilty of murdering his wife. He was charged with the second-degree murder of Liz and received a prison sentence of 16 years to life. 

'Dateline' documented the entire story of Elizabeth Sullivan's brutal murder and released it on April 2, 2023, on NBC.