The Murder of Lita McClinton, Part 1: The Marriage
About this episode
This episode explores the murder of Lita McClinton and the investigation surrounding her death.
In January 1987, Lita McClinton answered her doorbell in one of Atlanta's wealthiest neighborhoods and was shot dead by a man holding a white flower box with a pink rose. She was 35, the daughter of one of Atlanta's most prominent Black families, and on her way to court that morning for a pivotal hearing in her divorce from her white millionaire ex-husband, Jim Sullivan. Police were sure Jim had ordered the hit. They just couldn't prove it. Writer Deb Miller Landau first reported on the case for Atlanta Magazine in 2004 — and never let it go. In this episode of Gone South, she walks us through her years-long investigation: an interracial marriage that began in 1970s Macon, a $2 million mansion on Palm Beach, a sloppy hit, a payphone call traced to a Georgia rest stop, and the long, twisting road to justice for Lita McClinton. Deb Landau's book is "A Devil Went Down to Georgia: Race, Power, Privilege, and the Murder of Lita McClinton": https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Went-Down-Georgia-Privilege/dp/1639366830 Subscribe to our newsletter: https://jedlipinski.substack.com/ Connect with Jed Lipinski: https://www.instagram.com/gonesouthpodcast/ …
People in this episode
Guest: Deb Miller Landau
Topics covered
- murder investigation
- interracial marriage
- divorce
- true crime
- justice
- Atlanta history
Keywords
- Lita McClinton
- Jim Sullivan
- murder
- investigation
- divorce
- Atlanta
- true crime
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Atlanta Magazine
Books & works: A Devil Went Down to Georgia: Race, Power, Privilege, and the Murder of Lita McClinton
Places: Atlanta, Macon, Palm Beach
More episodes of Gone South
- Star Witness: Paul Skalnik, the Jailhouse Informant Who Sent Innocent Men to Death Row
- Junk Science Sent Charles McCrory to Prison — Alabama Won't Let Him Out
- "The Murder of Lita McClinton, Part 2: The Hitman
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Gone South podcast page.