N.M. man charged in slaying says he’s a serial killer

WOODBURY, N.J. — A man charged with beating to death a New Jersey resident he says sexually abused him as a child now claims he has killed a total of 16 people, including his ex-wife and three others found dead near a New Mexico airport, officials said. Authorities have not corroborated his claim.

SeanLannon, 47, said he killed the four whose remains were found in a vehicle and “11 other individuals” in New Mexico, Alec Gutierrez, an assistant prosecutor in Gloucester County, N.J., said at a detention hearing Friday, NJ.comreported.

Mr. Gutierrez said Mr. Lannon had confessed to luring several victims to a New Mexico home and dismemberingsome of them.

Authorities said in court documents that Mr. Lannon made the admission in a phone call to a relative, who told investigators he expressed remorse. Mr. Lannon has been charged only with the death in New Jersey, and his lawyer says his client was provoked. He has been named a person of interest in the four New Mexico slayings.

Police Lt. David Chavez in Mr. Lannon’s hometown of Grants, N.M., said authorities have no indication that his claims about 11 other killings are true and that they aren’t aware of any reports that would fithis narrative.

“Is it possible? Sure, anything’s possible. Is it plausible?” Lt. Chavez said. “Unfortunately, we are still investigating that and conducting search warrants for evidentiary value.”

It was a twist in a case that spans the country but has many unanswered questions, including how Mr. Lannon was connected to the New Mexico slayings. Officials from the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, several police agencies in New Mexico, and police and prosecutors in New Jersey either didn’t respond to requests for comment Saturday or didn’thave more details.

The case began on March 5, when the bodies of Mr. Lannon’s ex-wife and three other people were found in a garage at anAlbuquerque airport.