Salem County Jail
- Sean Lannon, 47, was charged with the murder of 66-year-old Michael Dabkowski.
- Lannon admitted to killing Dabkowski as well as 15 people in New Mexico, including his ex-wife.
- He is being held in the Salem County Jail. He did not testify and was not asked to enter a plea deal.
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A man charged with beating a man to death with a hammer has admitted to killing 15 more in New Mexico, including his ex-wife.
Sean Lannon, 47, was charged with the murder of 66-year-old Michael Dabkowski, who he beat to death with a hammer after breaking into his home in East Greenwich Township, New Jersey on March 8.
During a probable cause hearing in Gloucester County, assistant prosecutor Alec Gutierrez told the court that after being read his rights, Lannon admitted to killing Dabkowski as well as 15 people in New Mexico, including his estranged wife Jennifer, CNN reported.
Gutierrez told NJ.com: "He admitted to killing a total of 16 people… 15 being in New Mexico and one in the state of New Jersey."
Lannon was arrested as a fugitive while driving an SUV stolen from Dabkowski in St Louis, Missouri last week following a nationwide police hunt that stretched from New Jersey, according to NBC Philadelphia.
He still had the murder weapon on him, the Daily Mail noted.
Lannon claimed that Dabkowski was a 'Big Brother' to him and his brother Eric through the Big Brothers Big Sisters mentorship program and molested him as a child, Crime Online reported.
According to the Daily Mail, Public Defender Frank Unger added: "That relationship quickly turned into an abusive one where Mr. Dabkowski sexually abused Mr. Lannon," who had broken into Dabkowski's home to retrieve photos of them pictured together.
Lannon has also been linked to four other deaths, after a vehicle with the bodies was discovered at the Albuquerque International Sunport garage, 80 miles from his home in Grants, New Mexico.
One of the victims found on March 5 was his ex-wife Jennifer Lannon, 39, who has been missing since January, NJ.com reported.
The other three victims were identified as Matthew Miller, 21, Jesten Mata, 40, and Randal Apostalon, 60, whose "bodies were found in various states of decomposition," Albuquerque police told KOAT.
Lannon is being held in the Salem County Jail and appeared in court via video. He did not testify and was not asked to enter a plea deal.
Judge Mary Beth Kramer ordered Lannon to be held without bail, according to CNN.
According to court documents, Lannon has expressed remorse regarding the five deaths that initially led to the manhunt for him.
Grants Police Department Lieutenant. David Chavez said he is not considering Lannon as a suspect in the 11 additional murders he has confessed to, it's unclear which victims Lannon is referencing.