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THESE BREAKING DEVELOPMENTS AND IS HERE WITH US NOW. STEVE. YEAH. ARIELLE. MARISSA HERE WE’RE LEARNING 40 YEAR OLD SHAWN SULLIVAN IS NOW BEING HELD WITHOUT BAIL. HE WAS ARRESTED YESTERDAY AFTER POLICE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE RECEIVED THIS TIP, BREAKING THIS CASE WIDE OPEN. JOE KLOPPENBURG IS THE WOMAN. SHE WAS LAST SEEN IN JANUARY 2025 AND WAS REPORTED MISSING A MONTH LATER. WELL, ONE WEEK AGO TODAY, NASHUA POLICE RECEIVED A TIP FROM SOMEBODY CLAIMING A FRIEND HAD TOLD HIM THAT HE KILLED A WOMAN NAMED JILL. THAT SUSPECT WAS LATER IDENTIFIED AS SEAN SULLIVAN, ACCORDING TO PROSECUTORS, SULLIVAN ACCIDENTALLY SHOT KLOPPENBURG WHEN HE WAS SHOWING HER A GUN IN HIS BEDROOM. AFTER A FEW DAYS. HE THEN ALLEGEDLY BURIED HER UNDER HIS GARAGE FLOOR. THE DEFENDANT SAID THAT HE WAS WITH JILL AND HOLDING A FIREARM WHILE FALLING ASLEEP. AT SOME POINT, HE MADE A JERKING MOTION, WHICH CAUSED HIM TO PULL THE TRIGGER, DISCHARGING THE FIREARM AND SHOOTING JILL IN THE CHEST. HE STATED THAT JILL SOON DIED AND IF THERE WAS A CHANCE FOR HER SURVIVAL, HE WOULD HAVE CALLED FOR HELP. INSTEAD, THE DEFENDANT KEPT JILL’S BODY IN HIS ROOM FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS. HE THEN BROUGHT JILL’S BODY TO THE GARAGE, WHERE HE DUG A HOLE IN THE CONCRETE, PLACED HER BODY IN THE HOLE AND THEN FILLED THE HOLE. SULLIVAN’S ATTORNEY CALLED HIS CLIENT’S ACTIONS INEXCUSABLE, SAYING HE’S BEEN IN A STATE OF PANIC FOR THE LAST YEAR. THAT LAWYER THEN WENT ON TO TRY TO ARGUE THAT WHILE THIS IS, IN HIS VIEW, A TRAGIC ACCIDENT, IT SHOULDN’T RIS
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A body that was discovered at a home in Massachusetts under the floor of a garage has been identified as a woman who disappeared more than a year ago. The man who lived in that home in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, is now charged with murder.Shawn Sullivan, 40, is being held without bail. Sister station WMUR reports that he was arrested Monday after police in New Hampshire received a tip that broke the case wide open.Jill Kloppenburg of Lowell, Massachusetts, was last seen in January 2025 and was reported missing a month later.One week ago, police in New Hampshire received a tip from someone claiming a friend had told him he killed a woman named Jill. That suspect was then identified as Sullivan. According to prosecutors, Sullivan accidentally shot Kloppenburg when he was showing her a gun in his bedroom. After a few days, he allegedly buried her under the garage floor. “The defendant said he was with Jill and holding a firearm while falling asleep. At some point, he made a jerking motion, which caused him to pull the trigger, discharging a firearm and shooting Jill in the chest. He stated that Jill soon died, and if there was a chance for her survival, he would have called for help. Instead, the defendant kept Jill’s body in his room for a couple of days. He then brought Jill’s body to the garage, where he dug a hole, placed her body in the hole, and then filled the hole.”According to sister station WCVB in Boston, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said detectives from the Tyngsborough Police Department, Tewksbury Police Department, and Massachusetts State Police executed a search warrant at the home on Sunday. They discovered what appeared to be a large patched section of the garage floor measuring about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide.WCVB reports that, according to Ryan, investigators used ground-penetrating radar. That confirmed something was located beneath the patched area, which led to investigators cutting through the concrete. They ultimately recovered a plastic bag containing human remains.Sullivan’s attorney called his client’s actions inexcusable, saying he has been in a state of panic for the last year. The defense lawyer went on to say that while it’s a tragic accident, it does not rise to murder and should instead be a case of involuntary manslaughter.Outside the court, Kloppenburg’s friends remembered her as smart and funny, and as someone who deserved better.”She didn’t deserve that, no. Absolutely not. She didn’t deserve that. Nobody does. Nobody. She’s a human. She’s a mother, a friend, a sister, a daughter,” friend Teresa Brink said.Sullivan is expected to return to court on April 17 for a probable cause hearing.
A body that was discovered at a home in Massachusetts under the floor of a garage has been identified as a woman who disappeared more than a year ago.
The man who lived in that home in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, is now charged with murder.
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Shawn Sullivan, 40, is being held without bail. Sister station WMUR reports that he was arrested Monday after police in New Hampshire received a tip that broke the case wide open.
Jill Kloppenburg of Lowell, Massachusetts, was last seen in January 2025 and was reported missing a month later.
One week ago, police in New Hampshire received a tip from someone claiming a friend had told him he killed a woman named Jill. That suspect was then identified as Sullivan.
According to prosecutors, Sullivan accidentally shot Kloppenburg when he was showing her a gun in his bedroom.
After a few days, he allegedly buried her under the garage floor.
“The defendant said he was with Jill and holding a firearm while falling asleep. At some point, he made a jerking motion, which caused him to pull the trigger, discharging a firearm and shooting Jill in the chest. He stated that Jill soon died, and if there was a chance for her survival, he would have called for help. Instead, the defendant kept Jill’s body in his room for a couple of days. He then brought Jill’s body to the garage, where he dug a hole, placed her body in the hole, and then filled the hole.”
According to sister station WCVB in Boston, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said detectives from the Tyngsborough Police Department, Tewksbury Police Department, and Massachusetts State Police executed a search warrant at the home on Sunday. They discovered what appeared to be a large patched section of the garage floor measuring about 5 feet long and 3 feet wide.
WCVB reports that, according to Ryan, investigators used ground-penetrating radar. That confirmed something was located beneath the patched area, which led to investigators cutting through the concrete. They ultimately recovered a plastic bag containing human remains.
Sullivan’s attorney called his client’s actions inexcusable, saying he has been in a state of panic for the last year.
The defense lawyer went on to say that while it’s a tragic accident, it does not rise to murder and should instead be a case of involuntary manslaughter.
Outside the court, Kloppenburg’s friends remembered her as smart and funny, and as someone who deserved better.
“She didn’t deserve that, no. Absolutely not. She didn’t deserve that. Nobody does. Nobody. She’s a human. She’s a mother, a friend, a sister, a daughter,” friend Teresa Brink said.
Sullivan is expected to return to court on April 17 for a probable cause hearing.
