The Trentonian (Trenton, NJ)

Official confirms man now linked to 5 deaths

- By Michael Balsamo

NEW YORK » Authoritie­s are still investigat­ing claims made by a man charged in a New Jersey slaying who has said he killed a total of 16 people in multiple states, though a law enforcemen­t official confirmed Sunday that he is the primary suspect in the killing of his exwife and three others found in a car in New Mexico.

Local law enforcemen­t officials in New Mexico and in New Jersey are working with federal agents on the veracity of claims by Sean Lannon, including that he killed 11 other people, the official said. The official, who had direct knowledge of the probe, could not discuss the investigat­ion publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Authoritie­s said in court documents that Lannon, 47, made the admission in a phone call to a relative, who told investigat­ors he expressed remorse.

Investigat­ors are searching missing persons records

and other police reports to try to identify any potential victims and determine if he was telling the truth during the confession, according to the official. The investigat­ors are still reviewing electronic records, communicat­ions, surveillan­ce video and financial documents as part of the investigat­ion and are working to try to track down additional witnesses in the case, the official said.

Law enforcemen­t officials are also still trying to compile additional informatio­n to better understand why he

was in St. Louis, where he was arrested March 10.

The case began on March 5, when the bodies of Lannon’s ex-wife and three other people were found in a vehicle in a parking garage at Albuquerqu­e Internatio­nal Sunport, New Mexico’s largest airport. It’s not clear how they were killed. Police say three of them were reported missing in January from Grants, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) west of Albuquerqu­e. The victims were identified as Jennifer Lannon, 39; Matthew Miller, 21;

Jesten Mata, 40; and Randal Apostalon, 60.

Albuquerqu­e police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos Jr. said Sunday that of the four bodies found at the airport, it appeared one was killed in Albuquerqu­e “and that is what our detectives are focused on” while the other three appeared to have been killed in the Grants area of Cibola County.

“Shortly after Mr. Lannon

was arrested, our detectives went to St. Louis and interviewe­d him about the case,” he said. “Right now, we are still looking for evidence, doing search warrants and talking to a lot of people but nobody has been charged yet.”

On March 8, three days after the remains were found in New Mexico, the body of Michael Dabkowski was discovered in his New Jersey home, just south of Philadelph­ia, after a welfare check. Lannon is accused of breaking in and beating the 66-year-old to death with a hammer, according to an affidavit. Gloucester County prosecutor­s announced March 10 that Lannon was charged with multiple counts of murder, robbery, burglary, motor vehicle theft and weapons counts.

Prosecutor­s said during a detention hearing Friday that he said he killed the four whose remains were found in a vehicle and “11 other individual­s,” NJ.com reported. Lannon has been charged only with the death in New Jersey.

Chris Whitman, Jennifer

Lannon’s brother, said that Sean Lannon told the family in January that Jennifer had “run off” with some friends, possibly to Arizona, and Whitman told the AP on Saturday that the story didn’t sound right because “she was a great mom and, just, it would be uncharacte­ristic of her to not be with her children.”

Lannon told investigat­ors that Dabkowski had sexually abused him as a child and that he had gone to the home to retrieve sexually explicit photos. Dabkowski mentored Lannon and his twin brother through a Big Brothers program in the 1980s, NJ.com reported.

Whitman said the family did not know of the alleged abuse. In fact, he said he met Dabkowski at the birthday party of one of the Lannon children a couple of years ago, and all seemed fine.

“I knew he was a close, just a close friend to Sean, and that he was a father figure,” Whitman said. “But outside of that, we knew nothing else.”

 ??  ??
 ?? SHARON WHITMAN VIA AP ?? In this photo taken in October 2020, Jennifer Lannon, second from right, poses for a photo with her brother Chris Whitman, second from left, and sisters, Sarah Whitman, far left, and Kim Bermudez in Blackwood, N.J.
SHARON WHITMAN VIA AP In this photo taken in October 2020, Jennifer Lannon, second from right, poses for a photo with her brother Chris Whitman, second from left, and sisters, Sarah Whitman, far left, and Kim Bermudez in Blackwood, N.J.
 ?? GLOUCESTER COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE VIA AP ?? This undated photo released by the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office shows Sean Lannon.
GLOUCESTER COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE VIA AP This undated photo released by the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office shows Sean Lannon.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States