Opening statements underway in trial of Bradley officer killed while responding to a call in 2021

BRADLEY, Ill. - Opening statements are underway in the trial of a Bradley officer who was killed while responding to a call at a hotel in 2021.

Darius Sullivan was charged with murder in the deadly shooting of Bradley Police Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic and the wounding of her partner Tyler Bailey. He has pleaded not guilty.

Rittmanic and Bailey responded to a call of a dog barking in a car outside the Comfort Inn in December 2021. 

They traced the car to Sullivan and his girlfriend, Xandria Harris, who were staying at the hotel. The police went to their room where they were attacked and Rittmanic was killed and Bailey was wounded.

In earlier hearings, prosecutors said that Rittmanic, a 21-year law enforcement veteran, was shot once. She ran down the hotel hall and Sullivan stood over her while she pleaded for her life. He allegedly fired a fatal shot. Bailey was shot in the head, but survived.

Sullivan previously told the court that he couldn't hire an attorney, and he refused to allow a public defender to represent him, prompting the trial to be delayed. 

Jury selection began on Monday and spanned two days. On Wednesday, the trial moved forward with the start of opening statements.

"'Let go of the gun. Let go of the gun. Let go of it, or I'm going to kill you.' Those were the last words that Sgt. Marlene Rittmanic, a sergeant with the Bradley Police department, heard before this defendant pointed her gun, shot her twice in the throat, leaving her for dead on the floor of a hotel hallway," prosecutors said in court Wednesday.

Additionally, the jury watched video that showed first responders at the scene of the shooting in 2021. It showed the two officers on their backs.

The trial is expected to last two weeks.