New Jersey murder suspect claims he killed 15 more in New Mexico; authorities investigating claim

GLOUCESTER COUNTY, N.J. (TCD) --

A suspect accused of killing a New Jersey man and considered a person of interest in the deaths of four people in New Mexico, including his ex-wife, confessed to killing 16 people -- a claim authorities were investigating.

Grants, New Mexico resident Sean Lannon, 47, was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 10, 2021.

Lannon is suspected in the death of a previously unidentified man whose body was found in East Greenwich, N.J., on March 8. Lannon was last seen on the same day at a Camden bus station, about 18 miles away from East Greenwich.

Three days earlier, on March 5, four bodies were found in a vehicle in a parking garage at the Albuquerque International Sunport airport. One of the four victims was Lannon’s ex-wife, 39-year-old Jennifer Lannon. Their causes of death were not released.

The other three victims found at the parking garage were identified as Matthew Miller, 21; Jesten Mata, 40; and Randal Apostalon, 60.

Matthew Miller had been missing since February. The Grants, New Mexico Police Dept. said in February that Jennifer Lannon and Jesten Mata were wanted in connection with Miller’s disappearance.

The Associated Press reports Jennifer Lannon, Miller and Mata were friends, and Apostalon lived out of his car and was known to give rides for money, according to Grants Police. The bodies were found in Apostalon’s car.

Sean Lannon confessed to killing all four people found at the Albuquerque airport parking garage, and “11 other individuals,” according to Gloucester County Assistant Prosecutor Alec Gutierrez. Gutierrez said Lannon had confessed to luring several victims to a home in New Mexico and dismembering some of them, the AP reports.

Grants Police Lt. David Chavez said police were not aware of missing-person or homicide reports that would match Lannon’s story, but they were investigation.

“It’s my understanding that the FBI is assisting New Mexico in their investigation,” Gutierrez said in Lannon’s detention hearing on Friday.

Authorities said in court documents that Lannon made the admission in a phone call to a relative, saying the 11 other individuals "were drug dealers."

“Is it possible? Sure it’s possible. Is it probable? No, probably not,” Lt. Chavez said, according to the Albuquerque Journal.

The body found in New Jersey on March 8 was identified as Michael Dabkowski, 66. Dabkowski had been beaten to death with a hammer in his own home. Sean Lannon is accused of breaking into the home and murdering Dabkowski.

The AP reports 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 had mentored Lannon and his twin brother through a Big Brothers program in the 1980s, NJ.com reported.

Lannon was driving Dabkowski’s stolen car when he was arrested in St. Louis on March 10.

As of March 22, Sean Lannon has only been charged with Dabkowski’s murder.

Grants Police announced in February they were seeking 46-year-old Daniel Lemos in connection to the deaths of Jennifer Lannon, Matthew Miller and Jesten Mata. Lemos was considered armed and dangerous. Lemos's current status was unclear.

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