Authorities are still investigating allegations made by a man accused of murder in New Jersey, who said he killed a total of 16 people in various states
NEW YORK – Authorities are still investigating allegations made by a man accused of murder in New Jersey, who said he killed a total of 16 people in various states, although a law enforcement official confirmed on Sunday that he is the prime suspect in the murder of his ex-wife and three other people found in a car in New Mexico.
Local police in New Mexico and New Jersey are working with federal agents on the veracity of Sean Lannon’s allegations, including that he killed 11 others, the official said. The officer, who had direct knowledge of the investigation, could not discuss the investigation publicly and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Authorities said in court documents that Lannon, 47, made the admission on a phone call to a relative, who told investigators he expressed remorse.
Investigators are searching missing person records and other police reports to try to identify any potential victims and determine whether he was telling the truth during the confession, according to the official. Investigators are still reviewing electronic records, communications, surveillance video and financial documents as part of the investigation and are working to try to locate additional witnesses in the case, the official said.
Officers are also trying to compile additional information to better understand why he was in St. Louis, where he was arrested on March 10.
The case began on March 5, when the bodies of Lannon’s ex-wife and three others were found in a vehicle in a parking lot at Albuquerque International Sunport, New Mexico’s largest airport. It is not clear how they were killed. Police said three of them were reported missing in Grants’ January, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Albuquerque. The victims were identified as Jennifer Lannon, 39; Matthew Miller, 21; Jesten Mata, 40; and Randal Apostalon, 60.
Albuquerque police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos Jr. said on Sunday that of the four bodies found at the airport, it appears that one was killed in Albuquerque “and this is what our detectives are focused on”, while the other three appear to have been killed in the Grants area of Cibola County.
“Shortly after Mr. Lannon was arrested, our detectives went to St. Louis and interviewed him about the case,” he said. “At the moment, we are still looking for evidence, carrying out search warrants and talking to many people, but no one has been charged yet.”
On March 8, three days after the remains were found in New Mexico, Michael Dabkowski’s body was found at his home in New Jersey, south of Philadelphia, after a social security check. Lannon is accused of invading and beating the 66-year-old to death with a hammer, according to a sworn statement. Gloucester County prosecutors announced on March 10 that Lannon had been charged with multiple counts of murder, theft, theft, motor vehicle theft and gun counts.
Prosecutors said during a detention hearing on Friday that he said he killed the four whose remains were found in a vehicle and “11 other individuals,” NJ.com reported. Lannon was charged only with death in New Jersey.
Chris Whitman, Jennifer Lannon’s brother, said that Sean Lannon told the family in January that Jennifer had “run away” with some friends, possibly to Arizona, and Whitman told the AP on Saturday that the story didn’t seem right because “she was great mother and it would just be atypical of her not to be with her children. ”
Lannon told investigators that Dabkowski had sexually abused him as a child and that he had gone home to retrieve sexually explicit photos. Dabkowski mentored Lannon and his twin brother through a Big Brothers program in the 1980s, NJ.com reported.
Whitman said the family was unaware of the alleged abuse. In fact, he said he met Dabkowski at the birthday party for one of the Lannon children a few years ago, and everything looked fine.
“I knew he was close, just a close friend of Sean, and that he was a father figure,” said Whitman. “But other than that, we didn’t know anything else.”