Multi-state murder suspect from NJ now charged in 5th death

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A New Jersey man accused of killing people in two states was charged Tuesday with the death of an Albuquerque man whose decomposed remains were found along with those of the suspect's ex-wife and two of her friends in a pickup truck that was left at an airport parking garage.

Following a months-long investigation, Albuquerque police announced that Sean Lannon has been charged with an open count of murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Randall Todd Apostalon, 60.

Lannon was charged earlier this year with the deaths of his ex-wife and two of her friends in the western New Mexico community where they lived. Their remains were found March 5 after they had been reported missing in February.

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He also was charged in the beating death of a man in New Jersey.

Lannon has claimed to authorities that he has killed as many as 16 people although officials have not confirmed this.

Lannon remains in custody in New Jersey pending prosecution in that case.

Lannon's attorneys in New Mexico did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest charges.

According to a criminal complaint, Lannon enlisted help from Apostalon in February to move some boxes into storage. Police said Apostalon did not know the dismembered bodies were in the storage bins.

After the two were unable to find a storage place, Apostalon told Lannon to get the bins out of his truck. That's when police said Lannon struck the man several times with a hammer, killing him.

Authorities said Lannon claimed he killed his wife Jennifer Lannon, 39, after she seeing her have sex with Jesten Mata, 40, who Lannon says he killed a week later.

Lannon says he then killed Matthew Miller, 21, after seeing one of his children with Miller in a sexually explicit photo.

Those four victims had been reported missing in February.

Before his arrest in March, Lannon had returned to New Jersey, where he killed Michael Dabkowski, 66, in East Greenwich, claiming to authorities that the victim had molested him as a child.

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