Prosecutors say a man accused of killing a New Jersey resident and who is also a suspect in the deaths of four other people in New Mexico, including his ex-wife, admitted to killing a total of 16 people.
NJ.com reported that Gloucester County Deputy District Attorney Alec Gutierrez, during a detention hearing for the New Jersey case on Friday, said Sean Lannon, 47, said he killed 66-year-old Michael Dabkowski, the youth mentor of Lannon whom he accused of sexually abusing him. when I was little.
In addition to the murder of Dabkowski, who was found beaten to death in his home on March 8, prosecutors argued that Lannon also confessed to killing his ex-wife, Jennifer Lannon, 39, as well as other people, including “other 11 people who were drug dealers. ”
“He admitted to killing a total of 16 people … 15 in New Mexico and one in the state of New Jersey. I understand that the FBI is assisting New Mexico in its investigation, ”Gutiérrez said Friday, according to NJ.com.
Court documents noted that Lannon confessed to the killings in a phone call with a family member, who later reported the admission to Gloucester County investigators.
In the call, Lannon allegedly said he “murdered his wife and boyfriends in New Mexico,” as well as Dabkowski in New Jersey. He also reportedly expressed remorse for his actions, NJ.com noted.
Lannon and his wife had three children together and moved from New Jersey to New Mexico before divorcing in 2019.
Prosecutors argue that Lannon admitted to luring several victims to a New Mexico home, where he dismembered some of them.
While police have already linked Lannon to five deaths, Dabkowski, along with his wife and three other people whose bodies were found at Albuquerque’s Sunport International Airport, Police Lt. David Chavez in Lannon’s hometown of Grants, NM said there is currently no evidence linking Lannon. back to the murders of 11 other people.
“Is it possible? Surely it is possible. Is it probable? No, probably not,” Chávez told the Albuquerque Journal, although he added that police are investigating the matter.
Lannon was arrested in St. Louis last week after a police search in several states. According to The Associated Press, was found driving a stolen car from Dabkowski.
Lannon has been charged with first degree murder, as well as robbery, robbery and larceny in the New Jersey case.
As of Saturday, Lannon has also been named as a person of interest in the deaths of his ex-wife and the three other people in New Mexico, the AP reported.
While Lannon’s public defender on Friday attempted to argue that his absence of prior convictions and his service in the U.S. military qualified him for pretrial release, the local judge sided with prosecutors to maintain to Lannon behind bars because “he is a significant danger to the community.” according to NJ.com.