In the past week, terrified Arizona residents worried a serial killer may be on the loose.
Scottsdale police said Dwight Lamon Jones killed six people in three cities before killing himself. But the ties between Jones and his victims weren’t immediately obvious.
As investigators piece together more clues, they’re learning some victims had tangential links to Jones’ bitter divorce case:
On Tuesday, authorities identified Jones’ final two victims – Bryon Thomas and Mary Simmons. They were found dead in a house in Fountain Hills on Monday. Simmons and Thomas had a social and recreational relationship with Jones, Scottsdale Police said.
In addition, Jones was seen dropping a package that contained a gun belonging to Thomas in a trash can, police said.
Here’s how investigators linked each killing to the suspect:
Psychiatrist Steven Pitt
Pitt, the first victim killed, had examined Jones under court order during Jones’ divorce proceedings, Scottsdale Police Commander Richard Slavin said.
The psychiatrist also provided expertise in the death investigation of child beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey in 1996. He had served as an adviser to prosecutors on the Columbine High School shooting, and he was a consulting expert in Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case, according to his website.
Police said a witness to the killing Thursday was able to provide enough information for a suspect sketch.
Paralegals Veleria Sharp and Laura Anderson
The next two victims, who were both killed Friday, might not have been the intended targets, police said.
Two paralegals were killed at or near the law offices of Burt, Feldman and Grenier. That’s the law firm where Elizabeth Feldman, who represented Jones’ ex-wife during the divorce, is a partner.
Investigators said they think Feldman was the actual target.
Authorities first found the wounded body of 48-year-old Veleria Sharp near the office. She was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
At about the same time, police headed into the law office. That’s where they found the body of another paralegal, 49-year-old Laura Anderson.
Investigators in Phoenix and Scottsdale quickly made a connection between the killings of Sharp, Anderson and Pitt.
“Ballistic evidence collected at both crime scenes confirmed that the same weapon was used to kill Dr. Pitt in Phoenix as well as Veleria Sharp and Laura Anderson, the two victims in Scottsdale,” police said.
Dr. Marshall Levine
Authorities said they found Jones’ fourth victim in three days, Dr. Marshall Levine, on Saturday.
Levine had nothing to do with the divorce, but was renting space in the offices where a therapist who examined Jones’ child once rented space, Slavin said.
“Ballistic evidence discovered at the scene was compared to the other crime scenes,” Scottsdale police said. “This evidence was confirmed as a match, linking this fourth victim to the same weapon.”
Bryon Thomas and Mary Simmons
Thomas and Simmons had social relationships with Jones, police said. Simmons and Jones met 4 to 5 years ago through tennis and would occasionally meet to play at local parks, police added.
On Sunday, Jones was seen dumping a bag into a trash can near an intersection. A .22-caliber handgun was found inside, Scottsdale police said.
“A short time later he is seen dumping a second bag into a trash container in the area,” police said in a statement.
“This was also recovered and found to contain a hat matching the description provided by the witness in the Dr. Pitt homicide.”
The next day, the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office made a welfare check at a home in Fountain Hills.
That’s where they discovered the bodies of Bryon Thomas, 72, and Mary Simmons, 70.
Investigators determined the handgun that Jones dropped in the trash can belonged to Thomas, Slavin said. But police don’t believe that handgun was used in the killings.
CNN’s Ralph Ellis, Hollie Silverman and Nick Watt contributed to this report.