Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin announced that Todd Sullo (age 41), of Providence, waived indictment and pleaded guilty today before Superior Court Justice Stephen P. Nugent to one count of second degree murder for the February 29, 2016 beating death of 51-year-old Mark Lussier. Under the terms of the plea, Sullo was sentenced to life in prison.
Had the case proceeded to trial, the State was prepared to prove that on February 29, 2016 Sullo murdered Mark Lussier in a room at the Quality Inn on West Main Road in Middletown, RI.
The investigation showed that after a day of drinking at a nearby establishment, Sullo, Lussier, and Laverne Price (age 49), of Newport, returned to a room at the Quality Inn rented by the victim. At some point during the evening, Sullo beat Lussier to death.
Motel employees found Lussier's body the next afternoon in the hot tub filled with water located inside the room. Autopsy results indicated blunt force trauma as the cause of death.
Based on the surveillance footage, Middletown Police identified Sullo and Price as suspects and issued warrants for their arrest. The two were arrested on March 3, 2016 during a traffic stop on Route 95 in Connecticut.