Crime & Safety
Accused NJ Serial Killer's Lawyer Seeks Reduced Sentence For Murder Plea: Report
Sean Lannon's attorney seeks a 30-year sentence for a bludgeoning death in Greenwich Township last year, a report said.
GLOUCESTER COUNTY, NJ — Defense counsel for an accused South Jersey serial killer are asking for a reduced sentence from what prosecutors suggested if he pleads guilty, a report said.
Sean M. Lannon, of East Greenwich, is accused of bludgeoning his former friend and mentor Michael Dabkowski to death in East Greenwich in March 2021. He is also accused of killing his ex-wife and four other people in New Mexico.
Lannon claimed to have killed a total of 16 people, including 11 drug dealers, a report said. He said Dabkowski had sexually abused him as a child, when Lannon was a Big Brothers Big Sisters member and Dabowski was his mentor, according to the Mercury News.
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Prosecutors offered Lannon a 50-year prison term in return for a guilty plea in Dabkowski's death, NJ Advance Media reported. Lannon's defense attorney made a counter-offer of 25 years in June, which prosecution rejected, the report said.
Now, Lannon's attorney seeks a 30-year sentence in exchange for a plea, according to NJ.com. Lannon appeared in court Tuesday, the report said.
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The parties agreed to return to court in two weeks, NJ Advance Media reported.
Lannon, 48, is in the Salem County Correctional Facility on multiple charges of murder, burglary, and other related charges, records show.
Officials say he broke into Dabowski's home on March 8 and repeatedly struck him in the head with a hammer, causing his death.
After Dabowski's death, authorities allege Lannon then stole his car, drove to New Mexico, and killed his ex-wife and four other people. Their bodies were found in a parked car outside an airport in Albuquerque. Read more here: $5K Offered As Man Sought In NJ Murder, 4 New Mexico Deaths: Cops
Jennifer Lannon, his ex-wife, had five children. An online fundraiser for the family raised more than $21,000.
Lannon was arrested in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 10, 2021 and has been in the Salem County Correctional Facility since, jail records show.
More information is available on NJ.com.
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