Man suspected of killing 4 professionals linked to his divorce case found dead

Crime scene tape.
(Image credit: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

A man suspected of murdering a high-profile forensic scientist and at least three others connected to his contentious divorce killed himself on Monday inside a Scottsdale hotel.

Police were closing in on the man, identified as Dwight Lamon Jones, 56, when he shot himself. His ex-wife, Connie, said on Monday her new husband, a retired detective, recognized the connection between the divorce and four recent murders in the Phoenix area, and notified police.

On Thursday, forensic scientist Steven Pitt was shot and killed outside of his Phoenix office. Pitt had advised police and prosecutors on major cases, including the JonBenét Ramsey murder and Columbine shooting, and also did a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation of Jones during his divorce, NBC News reports.

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On Friday, paralegals Veleria Sharp and Laura Anderson were killed inside a Scottsdale law office. Court records show that their employer, Elizabeth Feldman, was Connie Jones' divorce lawyer. The fourth victim, psychologist and counselor Marshall Levine, was found dead Saturday in his Scottsdale office. Police said on Monday they also linked Jones to a double-murder in Fountain Hills, but the victims have not been identified.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.