On the morning of January 16, 1987, 35-year-old Lita McClinton Sullivan answered the door of her Atlanta townhouse and was shot in the head by a man who had presented a box of long-stemmed pink roses. The shooting occurred the same day as a key hearing in her bitter divorce from James Sullivan, who was then a white millionaire and an immediate suspect; investigators later reported a collect call from near Lita’s home to James Sullivan’s Palm Beach residence about 40 minutes after the killing.

Prosecutors described a motive tied to the divorce and Lita’s claim on a substantial portion of an estimated $5 million. The investigation went cold for years until a 1998 tip led to Phillip Tony Harwood, whose ex-girlfriend said he was paid $25,000 to carry out the killing. Harwood eventually pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and agreed to testify against James Sullivan.

Several questions remain about the case timeline and how leads developed over the long cold period after 1987. If anyone knew Lita, James Sullivan, Phillip Harwood, or saw unusual activity around that Atlanta townhouse in January 1987, please share what was seen or heard.