Man charged with 1 murder says he killed 16

WOODBURY, N.J. — A man who is accused of killing a New Jersey man he says sexually abused him in childhood, and who is a person of interest in the deaths of his ex-wife and three others in New Mexico, has said he is responsible for a total of 16 slayings, prosecutors say

— though authorities have yet to corroborate his claim.

Sean Lannon, 47, said he was responsible for the killings in New Jersey and New Mexico — that he had killed his wife and others, including “11 other individuals,” NJ.com quoted Alec Gutierrez, an assistant prosecutor in suburban Philadelphia’s Gloucester County, New Jersey,

as saying during a detention hearing Friday.

“He admitted to killing a total of 16 people ... 15 being in New Mexico and one in the state of New Jersey,” Gutierrez said.

Authorities allege in court documents that the 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 Wednesday morning after a search that stretched from New Jersey to Missouri. He was driving a car stolen from Michael Dabkowski, the New Jersey victim. He is behind bars in New Jersey.

He is accused of breaking into the 66-year-old Dabkowski’s

home and beating him with a hammer Monday, according to an affidavit.

Lannon is also a person of interest in the death of his wife and three others in New Mexico. Authorities say a vehicle was discovered last week in a garage at Albuquerque International containing four bodies.

The bodies were later identified as Jennifer Lannon, 39; Matthew Miller, 21; Jesten Mata, 40; and Randal Apostalon, 60.

Gutierrez alleged Friday that Lannon admitted to luring several victims to a home in New Mexico and dismembering some of them.

Authorities say they have no indication that Lannon’s claims are true.