Cops: Man Went on Killing Spree 8 Years After Divorce

Dwight Lamon Jones killed 6 before suicide, police say
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 5, 2018 5:13 AM CDT
Cops: Arizona Man With Divorce Grudge Killed 6
Scottsdale Police Assistant Chief Rich Slavin, at the podium, briefs news reporters about the Dwight Lamon Jones investigation in Scottsdale, Ariz., on Monday.   (AP Photo/Melissa Daniels)

A suspect who killed himself as police closed in Monday is now believed to have killed six people in the Phoenix area, police say—and at least four of them were linked to his bitter 2010 divorce. Police believe 56-year-old Dwight Lamon Jones, who shot himself at a Scottsdale motel early Monday, killed all six people in around 96 hours starting early Thursday, the New York Times reports. Police say Jones started the spree when he killed prominent psychiatrist Steven Pitt, whom he'd been required to see as part of divorce proceedings. On Friday, he allegedly killed Veleria Sharp and Laura Anderson, two paralegals at the firm his wife used during the divorce. Hours later Jones allegedly killed Marshall Levine, a marriage counselor who used the same office as a counselor Jones' son saw during the divorce.

Police believe Jones also killed Mary Simmons, 70, and Bryon Thomas, 72, in Fountain Hills, around 15 miles away from the other shootings, but their connection to him is still unclear. Jones left around 10 hours of YouTube video in which he outlines an alleged conspiracy to steal custody of his son, who's now 21 years old, the Arizona Republic reports. Ex-wife Connie Jones says Jones was a "very emotionally disturbed person" and she divorced him after he hit her and threatened to kill her. She was granted sole custody of their son. The AP reports that Jones says her new husband, a retired police detective, was the one who made the connection between the divorce and the shootings and told police of his suspicions. (More Arizona stories.)

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