Judge sentences vet in hit and run case

The Pawleys Island veterinarian charged with killing 15 year old Tommy Sullivan of Murrells Inlet pleaded guilty in Conway Wednesday afternoon and received a 15 year split sentence in the case.

The judge took about an hour to decide what punishment to impose on Easterly, a decision both sides admitted was a difficult one for circuit court judge Thomas Russo of Florence.

Russo ordered Easterly to serve only 4 of the 15 years in prison and allowed her to be released to serve three years on probation and serve 500 hours of community service speaking to groups like MADD, SADD, and local animal shelters.

Prosecutors said Easterly knew she hit Sullivan, then sped away from the scene and spent the next 9 days covering up the crime.

Easterly faced one count of hit and run involving death in the Feb. 23, 2007 death of Sullivan.

Prosecutor, Larry Filiberto, told the judge that Easterly used a solvent to destroy DNA evidence on her SUV, and called body repair shops to have her vehicle repaired in an attempt to conceal the crime.

Filiberto said Easterly told investigators she was never in the area the night Sullivan was hit and tried to explain away the damage to her SUV by telling Troopers she ran off the road a day or so before the accident with Sullivan.

Filiberto said Easterly crammed yard clippings into her car's fender wells in another attempt to explain the damage.

Easterly's defense lawyers, Morgan Martin and Billy Monckton, told the judge that the Highway Patrol’s Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team report stated that Sullivan was walking in the road when he was hit, and that the incident was purely accidental.

Russo said Easterly's attempts to conceal the crime showed a "corrupt" pattern of behavior and that his sentence was to punish her actions after she hit Sullivan, and not the fact that she hit and killed him.

MAIT began investigating after a driver spotted Sullivan’s body in a ditch on Highway 17 Business near St. Michael Catholic church in Garden City.

Filiberto said Sullivan died approximately 7 hours after the accident and that his body was found curled up in the fetal position, Filiberto said which clearly indicated Sullivan suffered before he died.

Troopers spend the next nine days collecting evidence and working to identify the vehicle thought to be involved in the accident.

The Highway Patrol identified a vehicle investigators thought was involved, which turned out to be a Nissan X-Terra.

On March 4, 2007 a tip to Troopers pointed to Dr. Rachel Easterly’s Surfside Beach home where investigators focused their investigation on Easterly’s damaged SUV.

Troopers rolled her car out of the home’s garage which showed right front damage, and a broken off right side rearview mirror.

MAIT investigators took pictures and collected evidence from Easterly’s X-Terra, evidence investigators said Easterly planted to try to conceal the crime.

Troopers then arrested her inside her home and booked her into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

Easterly stood before a judge on March 6, 2007 Easterly, with her attorneys, attended a bond hearing at the jail where a county judge set her bond at $85,000 and she was released later that day.

Easterly owned a veterinary practice in Litchfield, but recently sold it, according to Easterly.

In October, police charged Tommy Sullivan, Sr. with a string of charges after police said he shot Easterly’s car several times, broke into home, fired several shots and fought a man inside the home, fired at officers on the way out, then led police on a chase.

Sullivan faces first degree burglary, three counts of assault and battery with intent to kill, discharging firearms into a dwelling, failure to stop for a blue light, and damage to property.

News13 spoke with Sullivan following his hearing in October and Sullivan said the stress of his son’s death got to him, “I just snapped,” Sullivan told Jody Barr as Surfside police led him away from the Horry County courthouse.

If convicted, Sullivan could spend the rest of his life in prison.

After a few days in jail at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, Easterly will be turned over to the state department of corrections where she'll serve four years behind bars.

The charged Easterly pleaded guilty to carries a mandatory $10,000 to $25,000 fine, but the judge didn't specify whether or not Easterly will have to pay the fine when he sentenced her Wednesday night.