WOODBURY, NJ (AP) – A man accused of killing a New Jersey man, says he sexually abused him in childhood, and that he was wanted after the death of his ex-wife and three other people in New Mexico, says he is the responsible for a total of 16 murders, said a prosecutor – although authorities have not yet corroborated his claim.
Sean Lannon, 47, said he killed not only his ex-wife and three others, but also “11 other individuals” in New Mexico, quoted NJ.com Alec Gutierrez, an assistant prosecutor in Gloucester County, in the suburb of Philadelphia, New Jersey, said during a detention hearing on Friday.
Authorities claim in court documents that the admission came in a phone call to a relative, who told investigators that Lannon expressed remorse. Lannon is so far accused of only one death in New Jersey, and his lawyer says Lannon was provoked.
Police lieutenant David Chavez in the hometown of Lannon de Grants, New Mexico, told the Albuquerque Journal that the authorities have no indication that their claims about 11 other murders are true and that they are unaware of any reports of a missing person or homicide that fit their narrative.
“Is it possible? Of course it is possible. Is it likely? No, probably not,” Chavez told the newspaper, saying the authorities would investigate.
Lannon was arrested in St. Louis on March 10, after a search in several states. He was driving a stolen car from Michael Dabkowski, the New Jersey victim whose body was found the same day, and is now behind bars in New Jersey.
He is accused of breaking into Dabkowski’s 66-year-old home and beating him with a hammer, according to a sworn statement.
Lannon is also a person interested in the death of his wife and the other three in New Mexico. Officials say a vehicle was discovered on March 5, 130 kilometers from Grants in a garage in Albuquerque International Sunport, containing four bodies.
The bodies were identified as being from Jennifer Lannon, 39; Matthew Miller, 21; Jesten Mata, 40; and Randal Apostalon, 60. Sean Lannon lived 80 miles (130 kilometers) away on Grants.
Jennifer Lannon, Miller and Mata were friends, and Apostalon lived outside his car and was known to give a ride in exchange for money, Grants police said. The bodies were found in Apostalon’s car.
Gutierrez said on Friday that Lannon confessed to having lured several victims to a home in New Mexico and spun off some of them.
Jennifer Lannon’s brother Chris Whitman told Albuquerque KOB TV station that he was shocked to learn that Sean Lannon took responsibility for several murders.
“They’ve been together for about nine years, and it’s just stunning because it’s someone I received at my home and we had dinner together on Thanksgiving.”
Public defender Frank Unger contested the probable cause of the New Jersey murder charge, arguing that Lannon entered Dabkowski’s home in East Greenwich Township with permission and that the acts that followed resulted, in the worst case, in manslaughter by provocation. passionate, NJ.com reported.
Dabkowski mentored Lannon and his twin brother through a Big Brothers program in the 1980s, NJ.com reported. Lannon told investigators that Dabkowski had sexually abused him as a child and that he went to the man’s home to retrieve sexually explicit photos.
Unger argued that Lannon did not want anyone to “have more control over me”. Dabkowski “documented these sexual assaults, these rapes, taking pictures of himself with Mr. Lannon in sexually compromised positions,” said Unger.
Unger said Lannon retrieved two hammers from Dabkowski’s garage and gave them to the victim, saying, “You are going to need them. I do not want to hurt you. “
“I would suggest that this fact alone illustrates that it was not a murder on purpose. He didn’t even bring a gun home, ”said Unger, arguing that Dabkowski attacked his client and was killed.
New Jersey Superior Court Judge Mary Beth Kramer told prosecutors to limit her presentation to information relevant to the New Jersey case, but allowed limited references to New Mexico cases.
Gutierrez said the victims of New Mexico were lured into a home and argued that the idea of Lannon being invited to Dabkowski’s home “should be looked through the lens of at least three previous incidents in New Mexico”.
Unger defended the pre-trial release, saying his client had no previous convictions and is an honorable discharge veteran of the Army.
Lannon was born in Massachusetts and spent most of his early years in Gloucester County before being sent to Germany, Unger said. He has a family in southern New Jersey, including his mother and sister, and could remain locally under electronic monitoring if released, argued the defender.
Gutierrez said Lannon took a false name to avoid being detected when he returned to the East Coast and spent a week in prison in New Mexico for not appearing in court. It was not clear what he was quoted for.
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This story has been updated to exclude the incorrect attribution in the first paragraph about the suspect’s confession to 11 murders. It also corrects that the suspect was arrested on March 10, not March 17, and that the bodies of the airport were found on March 5, not last week.