WOODBURY, NJ (AP) – A man accused of killing a New Jersey man says he was sexually abused as a child and is a person of interest in the deaths of his ex-wife and three people more in New Mexico. A prosecutor says he is responsible for a total of 16 murders, although authorities have not yet confirmed his claim.
Sean Lannon, 47, said he not only killed his ex-wife and the other three in New Mexico, but was also responsible for the deaths of “another 11 people,” NJ.com was quoted as saying. Alec Gutierrez, deputy attorney for Gloucester County, New Jersey, in the suburban city of Philadelphia, he said during an arrest hearing Friday.
“He admitted he killed a total of 16 people … 15 were in New Mexico and one in the state of New Jersey,” Gutierrez said.
Authorities allege in court documents that admission came in a phone call to a family member, who told Gloucester County investigators that Lannon expressed remorse.
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 victim of New Jersey, and is now behind bars in New Jersey.
According to an affidavit, he is accused of breaking into Dabkowski’s home, 66, and hitting him with a hammer on Monday.
Lannon is also a person of interest for the deaths of his wife and the other three in New Mexico. Authorities say a vehicle was discovered March 5 in a garage at Albuquerque International Sunport, New Mexico’s largest airport, which contained four bodies.
The bodies were later identified as Jennifer Lannon, 39; Matthew Miller, 21; Jesten Mata, 40; and Randal Apostalon, 60. Sean Lannon lived 130 miles away in Grants, New Mexico.
Gutierrez said Friday that Lannon confessed to luring several victims to a New Mexico home and dismantling some of them.
Grants police lieutenant David Chavez told the Albuquerque Journal that the authorities have no indication that Lannon’s claims are true and that they do not know of any reports of missing persons or homicide that fit his account.
“Is it possible? Surely it is possible. It is likely? No, probably not,” Chávez told the newspaper, saying authorities would investigate.
Lannon has only been charged with murder in New Jersey and not in any case in New Mexico.
Public Defender Frank Unger challenged the probable cause of the murder charge in New Jersey, arguing that Lannon entered Dabkowski’s home in East Greenwich Township with permission and that the following acts meant, at worst. of the cases, a passion-killing murder, NJ.com reported.
Dabkowski advised 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 was going 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 had “documented those sexual assaults, those rapes, taking pictures of himself with Mr. Lannon in positions of sexual engagement,” Unger said.
Unger said Lannon retrieved two hammers from Dabkowski’s garage and handed them to the victim, saying, “You’ll need these. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“I would suggest that this fact alone illustrates that it was not a deliberate murder. He didn’t even take any weapons home, “Unger said, arguing that Dabkowski attacked his client and then killed him.
New Jersey High 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 New Mexico victims had been lured to a home and argued that the idea that Lannon had been invited to Dabkowski’s home “should be looked at through the slowness of at least three previous incidents in New Mexico. “.
Unger argued for pretrial release, saying his client had no prior convictions and that he was an army veteran with an honorable discharge.
Lannon was born in Massachusetts and spent most of his early years in Gloucester County before being deployed to Germany, Unger said. He has family in southern New Jersey, including his mother and sister, and could remain locally under electronic surveillance if released, the advocate argued.
Gutierrez said Lannon adopted an assumed name to avoid detection when he returned to the East Coast and had been arrested in New Mexico several weeks ago for not appearing, spending a week in jail.
Gutierrez alleged that Lannon had admitted the dismemberment of the victims and efforts to disguise evidence and that it was “a major danger to the community, based on these statements.”
The judge agreed and ordered Lannon to stay behind bars.
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This story has been updated to remove the incorrect attribution of the first paragraph on the suspect’s confession to 11 murders. It is also corrected that the suspect was arrested on March 10 and not on March 17 and that the airport bodies were found on March 5, not last week.