Suspect in Murder of JonBenet Forensic Psychologist & 3 Other Killings Commits Suicide at Motel

June 04, 2018
By: Catherine Townsend

Related To:

Sketch of suspect in shootings

Photo by: Phoenix Police Department

Phoenix Police Department

Sketch of suspect in shootings

PHOENIX, AZ — The suspect who has been linked to four recent murders in Arizona has killed himself after being surrounded by police at a motel, according to authorities.

SWAT teams swarmed the Extended Stay America hotel, ABC News reported. Several shots were reportedly heard inside the motel room.

Police reportedly gassed the room and sent a robot inside — and the machine was able to determine that the suspect had committed suicide.

Law-enforcement sources told ABC News the suspect is Dwight Lamon Jones, 56. Police say Jones has been linked to several different killings, all committed in a period of three days.

On Thursday, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Steven Pitt, who assisted in the JonBenét Ramseycase, was found dead outside of his office, near Scottsdale.

Witnesses told police they heard a loud argument followed with gunshots, Phoenix Police Sergeant Vince Lewis said Friday.

Pitt also consulted on nationally prominent cases including the Columbine High School massacre, the Jodi Arias trial, and the Phoenix serial killer known as the Baseline Killer.

On Friday, paralegals Veleria Sharp, 48, and Laura Anderson, 49, were fatally shot at a law office.

Police believe the paralegals’ deaths were related to the Pitt shooting.

Marshall Levine, a 72-year-old psychiatrist and hypnotherapist, was found shot inside a Scottsdale office building shortly after midnight Saturday.

Police described the suspect in Pitt’s murder as a bald man wearing a dark-colored hat with a short brim, and they released a sketch of the suspect.

Law-enforcement officials have since confirmed that the same gun was linked to all four murders.

The investigation continues.

Watch Investigation Discovery’s JonBenét: An American Murder Mystery on ID GO now!

Watch Now:

Read more: ABC News , USA Today

Next Up

Colorado Security Guard Arrested For Murder Found With Severed Hand In His Pocket

After police in Pueblo, Colorado, discovered the decapitated body of a woman in a creek, they arrested a security guard who was found with a severed hand in his pocket.

Surveillance Video Helps Crack Case Of California Man Found ‘Thrown Out Like Trash’ In Barrel

Omar Medina suddenly vanished while in the process of moving out of his Chula Vista home.

Death, Drugs & Deceit: A Timeline of the Murdaugh Family Mystery

On March 3, 2023, Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of the June 2021 murders of his wife and son.

West Mesa Murders: Serial Killer Who Slayed, Buried 11 Victims Remains Unidentified

“We need new information on this case, that is what is going to lead to it getting solved,” the city’s mayor says of whoever killed the girls and women.

The Mysterious Murder Of Syracuse Teen Remains Unsolved

While the nation was focused on The New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens playing in Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Florida, a young woman in Syracuse, New York, met a violent end.

5 Things to Know About The 1955 Murder Of Emmett Till

The Black teenager was murdered by two white men in Money, Mississippi, in August 1955 after a white woman accused him of making a pass at her in a grocery store.

Dorothy Stratten: The Horrifying Centerfold Murder In Pop Culture

The heartbreaking and stomach-turning undoing of Dorothy Stratten immediately mesmerized the public.

Fatal Parking Lot Shooting May Have Been Love Triangle Murder

Martin Jesus Godinez was last seen driving a 2003 gold Chrysler Town and Country minivan with license plate: 5CKF285. He could be armed and dangerous.

Man Convicted Of Killing Couple, Their 2 Sons, 10 Years After Family’s Skeletal Remains Found In Desert

ID’s 'Two Shallow Graves' explores the controversial murder trial of Charles “Chase” Merritt.