At least 6 victims now linked to dead serial killer suspect in Arizona
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The hunt for a man suspected in up to six murders in Arizona came to a violent end Monday. The man shot himself to death as a police SWAT team surrounded his hotel in Scottsdale.
Dwight Lamon Jones, 56, was tracked down to an Extended Stay Hotel in northern Scottsdale. Around 5 a.m. he started shooting.
"The SWAT team set up on the room," said Sgt. Ben Hoster of the Scottsdale Police Department. "They were able to enter using robot and other tactics to determine that the suspect had killed himself with an apparent gunshot."
Police believe renowned psychiatrist Dr. Steven Pitt, 59, was Jones' first victim last Thursday.
On Friday, two paralegals turned up dead. They were identified as Veleria Sharp, 48, and Laura Anderson, 49.
The next morning, police found hypnotherapist and life coach Marshall Levine murdered. Each victim had a connection to his 2009 divorce and custody battle.
Police say another two victims have been found dead linked to Jones -- their bodies discovered Monday in the Phoenix suburb of Fountain Hills.
Jones posted disturbing audio on YouTube and those uploads have since been removed. In one of them, he accuses his ex-wife's attorney of spreading lies.
"Her attorney told her to plant those tapes and do all that devious stuff she did," Jones said in one clip.
At a Monday afternoon press briefing, law enforcement said they started tracking Jones on Saturday night. On Sunday afternoon, they actually saw him drop a bag into a trash can that had a gun in it that was linked to some of the murders. The investigation all started with a tip that came into police.
"Today is not a success story, but it's a story that has closure," said Assistant Scottsdale Police Chief Rich Slavin.