Suspect in four Arizona slayings kills self

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — As police closed in, a man suspected of shooting six people to death in the Phoenix area turned a gun on himself Monday, and authorities said some of his victims were connected to his divorce case, including a prominent psychiatrist who testified against him years ago.

The slayings also included two paralegals who worked for the law office that represented the suspect’s wife, a marriage-anddivorce counselor who was apparently killed in a case of mistaken identity and another man and woman who have not been identified.

Authorities in Arizona said they tracked Dwight Lamon Jones, 56, to an extendedstay hotel in suburban Scottsdale. Officers evacuated nearby rooms before hearing gunfire and finding his body.

Investigators said Jones’ death ended a string of killings that began Thursday with the fatal shooting of Dr. Steven Pitt, who, according to court records, had evaluated Jones and testified in 2010 that he had mood disorders and symptoms of a paranoid personality.

Pitt said Jones did not conform to social norms and acted impulsively and aggressively.

The testimony was cited in the couple’s November 2010 divorce, which granted Jones’ wife sole custody of their now 21-year-old son.

Paralegals Veleria Sharp, 48, and Laura Anderson, 49, worked at the law office that represented Jones’ wife. Police believe Jones may have been targeting the attorney, but she was not present Friday when Jones went to the office in downtown Scottsdale.

Sharp was shot in the head but ran out of the office to get help before collapsing on the street, police said.

Counselor Marshall Levine, 72, appears to have been mistaken for someone else who once occupied the same office. At one time, the space was used by a counselor who saw Jones’ son as part of the divorce. Levine, who took over the space, was not involved in the divorce case.

The suspect’s ex-wife, Connie Jones, said her current husband, a retired police detective, made the connection between her divorce and the crime scenes and notified police of his suspicion Saturday night.