Prosecutors say a man accused of killing a New Jersey resident and also suspected of 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 Assistant Prosecutor, Alec Gutierrez, during a detention hearing for the New Jersey case on Friday, said that Sean Lannon, 47, said he killed Michael Dabkowski, 66, the young mentor Lannon who he accused of sexually abusing him as a child.
In addition to the murder of Dabkowski, who was found beaten to death at his home on March 8, prosecutors argued that Lannon also confessed to killing his 39-year-old ex-wife Jennifer Lannon, as well as others, including “11 others individuals who were traffickers. ”
“He admitted to killing a total of 16 people … 15 of them in New Mexico and one in the state of New Jersey. As far as I know, the FBI is assisting New Mexico in its investigation, ”said Gutierrez on Friday, according to NJ.com.
Court documents note that Lannon confessed to the murders on a phone call to a family member, who then reported the admission to Gloucester County investigators.
On the call, Lannon allegedly said that he “murdered his wife and boyfriends in New Mexico”, as well as Dabkowski in New Jersey. He also expressed remorse for his actions, NJ.com noted.
Lannon and his wife had three children and moved from New Jersey to New Mexico before they divorced in 2019.
Prosecutors argue that Lannon admitted to luring several victims to a home in New Mexico, where he spun off some of them.
While police have linked Lannon to five deaths – Dabkowski, along with his wife and three others whose bodies were found at Albuquerque International Sunport airport – Police lieutenant David Chavez in Lannon’s hometown of Grants, NM, said he currently does not there is evidence linking Lannon back to the deaths of 11 other people.
“Is it possible? Of course it is possible. Is it likely? No, probably not,” Chavez said. Albuquerque Journal, although he added that the police are investigating the matter.
Lannon was arrested in St. Louis last week after a police search in several states. According The Associated Press, he was found driving a stolen car from Dabkowski.
Lannon was charged with first-degree murder, as well as robbery, theft and theft in the New Jersey case.
On Saturday, Lannon was also named a person interested in the death of his ex-wife and the other three in New Mexico, the AP reported.
While Lannon’s public defender on Friday tried to argue that his absence of previous convictions and service in the U.S. Army qualified him for pre-trial freedom, the local judge supported prosecutors in keeping Lannon behind bars because he “is a danger meaningful to the community, “according to NJ.com.