CHANDLER, Ariz. — Timothy Sullivan's murder trial was delayed again.
He's accused of killing his Chandler roommate Amy Leagans back in October 2020 and has been in custody for nearly three years, charged with her murder and hiding her body around the Valley.
"It’s very difficult," said Lori Porth, Amy's sister.
Their family has been daunted by delays and devastated by Amy's murder.
"Her infectious laugh, her zest for life," Porth shared, when asked what she missed the most. "And just her smile. Her picture is on my desk. I look at her picture every single day and I miss that vibrant person."
The trial has been postponed before, but it was pushed back again on Monday after a judge heard arguments on whether to allow Sullivan to use a guilty except insane defense.
Sullivan's attorney gave notice they would be trying to use guilty except insane, or GEI, as a defense in August of this year. An expert report presented by the defense claimed Sullivan’s been living with a traumatic brain injury for years and didn’t know what he was doing when he hurt Amy.
Prosecutors disagree, saying this injury never came up before in Sullivan’s extensive criminal history and other prior convictions – including aggravated assault for beating up a different roommate.
Plus – they said he’d been drinking at the time of the crime.
"The fact that there are substances on board is something that makes it very difficult, if not impossible for him to successfully raise an insanity defense," said the prosecutor in court Monday.
The defense argued that his brain injury, sustained in the 1980s according to Sullivan, went untreated for years.
"He does have organic brain damage to his frontal lobes," his attorney said, citing the expert findings.
In July 2020, before she was killed, Amy Leagans called for help after saying Sullivan tried to beat her up.
At the time, Sullivan was on probation for aggravated assault and already racked up numerous probation violations.
Chandler police closed the case and a few months later Amy Leagans was murdered.
"It’s not just about our family," Porth said. "We’re advocating for women in general. We want to make sure that the victim is advocated for, so that no one else ever has to go through this with this particular person."
The expert report details that guilty except insane could apply to the murder charge, but not necessarily to the concealing a dead body charge.
Judge Justin Beresky said he’ll make a decision whether to allow the defense later this week or next.
The trial was rescheduled again for January 2024.
"I just hope for a resolution," Porth shared, hoping that this time the trial date will be firm.