The suspect, Sean Lannon, is accused of hitting Michael Dabkowski with a hammer at the victim’s home in East Greenwich Township, New Jersey, along with robberies and robberies with force. Lannon was arrested as a fugitive earlier this month in Missouri.
Gloucester County Attorney Alec Gutierrez told the court during a probable cause that during police interrogations after his rights were read, Lannon admitted to killing Dabkowski and 15 people in New Mexico, including the his wife Jennifer.
“In this mirandized statement, the defendant admitted to the New Mexico instances that they would be homicides in New Mexico,” Gutierrez said. “He admitted the dismemberment of some of the people involved in these homicides. He admitted his efforts in an attempt to hide evidence, I will say, in these homicides. And he admitted that he killed a total of 16 people.”
The Albuquerque Police Department previously acknowledged that it was going to interrogate Lannon in connection with four dismembered bodies found on the property of the local airport on March 5 – one of whom was Jennifer Lannon – but no charges have been filed. in this case.
On Friday night, police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told CNN: “The Albuquerque police department is focused on its investigation into the death of Randal Apostalon, who is believed to have been killed in Albuquerque. Our detectives are following various investigations and will be conducting additional interviews and search warrants. ”
The police department in Lannon’s hometown of Grants, New Mexico, is investigating the deaths of the other three known victims, but has not filed any charges either.
Lannon attended Friday’s court hearing remotely, but did not testify and was not asked to present any reasons.
His public defender, Frank Unger, opposed the inclusion of information about New Mexico’s confessions in sight, but did not argue that Lannon had made the statements. Unger argued that there could be a claim of self-defense in Dabowski’s murder in New Jersey, as Lannon told police he had been a victim of sexual abuse by Dabkowski for years. Lannon said the hammer that was used to kill Dabkowski belonged to the victim and that Dabkowski attacked first.
Judge Mary Beth Kramer said the nature of Lannon’s charges and the fact that he was arrested as a fugitive made him a serious risk of absconding. “I think it’s a danger to the community,” Kramer said, and ordered that Lannon be detained without bail.