Anthony Sulley: Cop-turned-serial killer who dumped his victims bodies in barrels and poured concrete over them dies at 79
SAN QUENTIN, CALIFORNIA: Anthony Sulley, 79, a former police officer who turned into a serial killer in the early 1980s has died.
He was convicted of murdering six people in his Burlingame warehouse and was sentenced to death in 1986.
How did Anthony Sulley die?
Sulley died last week of natural causes at a medical facility outside of the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center where he was housed.
However, the Marin Coroner’s Office will determine his official cause of death, California Departments of Corrections announced in a news release.
Who were Anthony Sulley's victims and how did he kill them?
Sulley killed 24-year-old Kathryn Barrett, 22-year-old Barbara Searcy, 24-year-old Gloria Jean Fravel, 19-year-old Brendan Oakden, 24-year-old Michael Thomas and 20-year-old Phyllis Melendez in 1983.
He beat, stabbed and shot his victims inside an electrical supply warehouse.
Sulley then stuffed three of the bodies into metal barrels and dumped them at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco by pouring concrete over them, as per Fox 5.
How long did Anthony Sulley serve as police officer?
Sulley was a police officer from 1966 to 1974. In the late '70s, he quit policing and became an electrical contractor, as per NBC Bay Area.
He rented a hangar for his business in Burlingame which became the scene of many of his crimes.
He also invested in an escort service, used the service of sex workers and became addicted to freebasing cocaine, according to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. Some of his victims were sex workers.
How was Anthony Sulley arrested?
Sulley was arrested in 1983 after detectives matched his fingerprints to the ones found on the bodies of three of his victims, KTUV reported.
He denied any involvement in the murders and claimed he did not get a fair trial.
He said at his sentencing, “I am not a monster, not a maniac, not subhuman,” according to news accounts at the time as Mercury News reported.
Sulley gave a 40-minute speech after he was sentenced
A jury found him guilty on all counts and he was admitted to San Quentin’s death row on June 15, 1986.
He gave a 40-minute speech after the verdict was read, proclaiming his innocence.
He appealed his convictions and death sentence several times, but the courts rejected his arguments.
In 2013, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld his convictions and death sentence in an unanimous ruling.
The state has reportedly not carried out an execution in 17 years. In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order instituting a moratorium on the state’s death penalty.
Sulley died at around 2:20 am on Friday at the age of 79. The Marin County Coroner’s Office will determine his official cause of death.