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The wife of a man accused of killing a young woman over four decades ago insists he is innocent — even after he pleaded no contest.

“Nobody knows him as well as I do and, if I thought for one second, for one second, he was guilty of these things, I would not be supporting him,” Pamela Sullivan told KOLO this week of her husband, Charles Gary Sullivan.

Charles Sullivan, 77, pleaded no contest in May to second-degree murder charges stemming from the 1979 death of Julia Woodward, 20.

He was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years behind bars, and will be eligible for parole after five years, 2NEWS said.

Sullivan — who already spent four years in jail while awaiting proceedings — will get credit for time served.

Despite the fact that Sullivan’s DNA was found in Woodward’s pants, Pamela insists he is not the killer.

“There’s no evidence. There’s nothing there. The case is extremely weak,” she told KOLO.


  Charles Gary Sullivan was sentenced to 15 years behind bars on Tuesday. KOLO Charles Gary Sullivan was sentenced to 15 years behind bars on Tuesday. KOLO

Woodward’s case is not the first time Pamela has been confronted with serious allegations against her husband.

In 2007, a young woman hitchhiker claimed that Charles kidnapped her from I-80 near Emigrant Gap and took her to a remote location, where he bound and threatened to rape her.

Pamela, who had been dating Charles for seven years at the time of the accusation, says he picked up the woman, but did not kidnap or threaten her.


  Pamela Sullivan married her husband even after he had been accused of kidnapping and attempted rape. KOLO Pamela Sullivan married her husband even after he had been accused of kidnapping and attempted rape. KOLO

“The rest of it didn’t happen, not the way she said. Uh-uh. No, no,” she insisted on Tuesday.

Sullivan was ultimately convicted of a lesser charge of false imprisonment, and was made to serve time in prison and register as a sex offender.

Pamela married him anyway.


  Julia Woodward was found dead in 1979. Washoe County Sheriffâs Office Julia Woodward was found dead in 1979. Washoe County Sheriffâs Office

Now, she says his no contest plea in Woodward’s case is merely a simple way of ending the ordeal and ensuring that he returns home as soon as possible.

“There is no closure in this case. There is no justice because there’s never going to be justice when an innocent man is convicted of something he didn’t do and it’s not only the victim’s family’s tears. It’s our tears as well,” she lamented.


  Sullivan was arrested for Woodward’s murder in 2019. Washoe County Sheriffâs Office Sullivan was arrested for Woodward’s murder in 2019. Washoe County Sheriffâs Office

Woodward’s body was found in a shallow grave 15 miles outside Reno on March 25, 1979 — over a month after she was last seen at the San Francisco airport, News 4 reported.

She had been bludgeoned to death, and was found with her hands bound and adhesive over her eyes.

“For me there’s no closure. I’ll miss my daughter forever. I’m relieved to have this resolution, I wish the sentence would have been harsher,” Woodward’s mother, Cecily O’Connor, told the court at Sullivan’s sentencing.

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