Sullivan sentenced to life for murdering father
By Brandi Makuski
A Plover man could spend the rest of his life in a secure mental health facility after being sentenced on Friday for intentionally killing his 79-year-old father last October.
Daniel P. Sullivan, 45, pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect on Aug. 20 to charges of first-degree intentional homicide, criminal damage to property, disorderly conduct, and battery by prisoners on Friday. Sullivan appeared in person with his defense attorney Jerod Barkley for the hearing, where he was sentenced to life in a mental health facility.
Under the terms of his plea deal, Sullivan will have the opportunity to apply for conditional release in the future.
Some of Sullivan’s family members submitted victim impact statements to the court but did not speak during the two-hour hearing. Sullivan, who wore handcuffs and leg shackles in court, remained emotionless but appeared lucid when answering Judge Patricia Baker’s questions with a simple, “Yes, your honor,” or, “No, your honor.” He declined to make a statement before Baker accepted his pleas.
Baker referred to the case as “absolutely heartbreaking,” later saying it was “complicated,” as Sullivan had been belligerent and uncooperative at many points early in the prosecution. A doctor assigned to conduct a physiological evaluation of Sullivan told the court in her report that Sullivan “was a completely different person when properly medicated.”
Sullivan has been behind bars on the $500,000 cash bond ordered by Judge Thomas Eagon last October. Sullivan was arrested on Oct. 26 when he intentionally struck down his father, Daniel Sullivan, Sr., at the family’s Town of Amherst home.
Sullivan, Jr. told the responding officers, “I tried telling you guys this was going to happen,” according to the criminal complaint.
Later, Sullivan, Jr. told deputies he intentionally killed his father because, at the time, he believed Sullivan, Sr., posed a risk to others in the community.
Silluvan, Jr. told officers he initially planned to use a sword to kill his father but later decided to use an SUV. He estimated he was traveling at about 60 miles an hour when he struck his father, according to District Attorney Louis Molepske, Jr.
Deputies were called to Sullivan, Sr.’s home the previous day when Sullivan, Jr. reportedly squeezed his brother’s neck during a family dispute. The brother escaped by pushing Sullivan, Jr., to the ground.
On Oct. 24, deputies were called to St. Maximillian’s Kolbe, a Catholic church in Lanark, where Sullivan, Jr. damaged a garage door there with a sword.
According to police records, Sullivan called a crisis hotline to ask for help about 24 hours before killing his father—the same day he attempted to choke his brother. The Plover Police Department requested a mental health crisis service conduct a welfare check on Sullivan after he allegedly made statements on a recorded veteran’s helpline that he wanted to kill people.
Despite officers’ attempts at that time to begin the process of committing Sullivan, Jr., on an emergency 72-hour mental health hold, Molepske would later say in court that the crisis service “denied” that assistance.
The case against Sullivan was suspended for about three months when he was found not competent to stand trial for the homicide charge in February and sent for treatment to Mendota Mental Health Institute. The case resumed in May.
Following Friday’s hearing, Molepske said while he believes justice was served as a result of the plea deal, everybody involved also lost something by it.
“He was a danger to others, and he killed his father, thinking that what he did was right, and that is so tragic,” Molepske said on Friday. “He had several VA commitments, he was on people’s radar, but at the time of the offenses, he was living like everyone lives; living in an apartment, driving a car. What was not understood was, he was not on his medication. Everybody thought he was taking his medications; he was not okay, unfortunately.”
Sullivan will be monitored by law enforcement and mental health professionals for the rest of his life, Molepske said, but he hoped the case would underline the importance of mental health awareness for others in the community.
“As we saw in court today, when he is fully medicated, he is 100 percent different than who he was on the date of the offenses,” Molepske said. “That’s why it’s so important that people with mental health challenges get treatment; that family members with loved ones who have issues, reach out and get that addressed.”