Episode 341

Summary

Sword and Scale – Episode 341 (March 1, 2026) Summary & Breakdown

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Episode Overview

In this harrowing episode, the Sword and Scale team unpacks the deeply disturbing case of Sean Lannan—a man whose life of trauma, addiction, and violence propelled him into becoming the center of a string of murders spanning New Jersey and New Mexico. The episode details a chilling chain of events in 2021: the murder of Lannan’s childhood mentor Michael Debkowski, the discovery of four decomposing bodies in a truck at an airport, and Sean’s confessions revealing unthinkable acts within his own family and circle. The narrative intersects cycles of abuse, addiction, and purported vigilantism, ultimately exploring monstrous acts born from pain and the blurred lines between protection and destruction.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Murder of Michael Debkowski (00:42–13:53)

• Introduction to the Crime:

  • March 8, 2021: Police discover 66-year-old Michael Debkowski, a beloved community fixture in Mickleton, NJ, bludgeoned to death in his own home. The only missing item is his car.
  • Mike had spent his life giving back—as a mentor, church volunteer, and friend. Neighbors were shocked, emphasizing that crime of any kind was rare in their close-knit community.

• Sean Lannan: From Mentee to Murderer:

  • Michael had been Sean’s “Big Brother,” a father figure to him since childhood due to Sean’s father's absence.
  • Carol, a close friend, immediately suspected Sean, hinting at a history between them.

• Revelations of Abuse:

  • As the investigation unfolds, it’s revealed Sean suffered sexual abuse as a child—abuse he claims was perpetrated by Mike during their Big Brother-Little Brother relationship (07:45–10:30).
  • Sean's anger and need for revenge festered for decades.
  • “The man that molested me as a child, my big brother, big brothers, big sisters, whatever, they got molesters, too.” – Sean Lannan [11:12]

• Crime Details:

  • Sean sought out Mike, demanding sexually explicit photos allegedly taken during the abuse.
  • When confronted, Mike initially denied possessing the pictures, and Sean beat him before Mike gave him what he wanted—yet the violence escalated.
  • “Could have just gave me the fucking pictures. I'm probably gonna fight about it.” – Sean Lannan [12:21]
  • Sean ultimately killed Mike with a hammer and stole his car to flee.

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2. Unraveling Sean Lannan’s Past: Family, Addiction, and Trauma (14:14–27:58)

• Sean’s Upbringing and Military Experience:

  • Early life marked by poverty, absence of a father, and close attachment to Mike.
  • Served in Kosovo—returning with PTSD. Sean’s mother noted his deepening struggles post-combat and loss of faith. “He told me there could be no God because of what he saw.” [21:09–21:17]

• Marriage to Jennifer (Jen) Whitman:

  • Sean and Jen’s relationship begins with infidelity, eventually culminating in marriage and three children.
  • The illusion of a “normal” family masks severe addiction issues—Jen turns to prescription drugs, loses her nursing license, then escalates to heroin abuse.

• Dysfunction and Child Endangerment:

  • Multiple interventions by New Jersey’s Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS).
  • Sean often leaves children in Jen’s care unsupervised due to work, despite her instability.

• Move to New Mexico:

  • Aimed as a fresh start, the family’s problems only worsen—Sean falls ill (cancer), loses employment, and Jen’s addiction intensifies.
  • The family dissolves further, with legal divorces granting Sean full custody, but Jen continues living with them.

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3. The New Mexico Murders & Shocking Discovery (29:24–39:52)

• Jen’s Disappearance:

  • After a violent altercation, Jen reportedly leaves with another man. Her family grows suspicious after weeks of no contact. “It’s unlike my daughter to go two weeks without calling us.” [28:44]

• Grisly Find at Albuquerque Airport:

  • On March 5, 2021, security discovers a pickup truck stinking of decay, loaded with storage bins, tools, and a chilling children’s toy box containing body parts.
  • The victims: Jen, Justin Mata, and Matthew Miller—all with ties to drugs, as well as the truck’s owner, Randall Apostolon.
  • Details of the remains—dismembered bodies, a sledgehammer beneath a corpse, and tools—are relayed with disturbing specificity.
  • "...In the Thomas the Tank Engine themed toy box, they found a head, two legs, and strands of hair clinging to a bloody hacksaw." [36:47]

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4. Sean Lannan’s Confessions: Motive and Method (41:31–55:08)

• Chain of Killings Explained:

  • Sean claims he discovered Jen and her lover, Justin, drugged the children so they could have sex.
  • Panicked when two children appeared lifeless and one barely breathing, Sean’s medic training could not fully revive them; believing they were dead, he prevented Jen’s suicide and then killed her in anger [43:16–44:55].
  • He goes on to murder Justin and Matthew—allegedly after learning of their involvement in the abuse and exploitation of his son (graphic details provided).
  • “He offered up a trade. His phone had pictures of Shawn Michael sitting there naked in my living room...” – Host, recounting Sean’s confession [46:26]

• Body Disposal & Further Killing:

  • Struggles to dispose of the bodies, resorting to dismemberment and storage in bins.
  • Kills Randall, the truck owner, when he fears blackmail over the contents of the bins.

• Admission of Additional Murders:

  • Sean tells investigators he killed 11 other people associated with Jen’s drug world, dumping their bodies in New Mexico’s lava tubes—though authorities never find evidence to validate these claims.
  • “He claimed there were 11 others... When they came looking for the money she owed and got violent, Shawn would have to step in to protect his kids.” [54:47]

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5. Aftermath for the Children & Luke-Warm Justice (57:10–59:56)

• Impact on Children:

  • The children, born into chaos, suffered neglect and health issues (including heart defects and detox at birth due to Jen's drug use).
  • "Did you ever see a baby coming off drugs? Yes, totally. That was like, so horrible. Just holding him and his bodies racking, and he's screaming." – Jen's mother [57:38]
  • After Sean’s arrest, the children are placed with extended family and begin slowly recovering from malnourishment and neglect.

• Sentencing:

  • Sean confesses fully, pleads guilty in both New Jersey (sentenced to 35 years) and New Mexico (15 years per victim, 60 years total). He serves New Jersey’s sentence first, then New Mexico’s.

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6. Reflections, Judgments & Unanswered Questions (59:38–end)

• Victim Impact Statements:

  • The episode closes with victims’ families condemning Sean, wishing for him a life of misery and, in some cases, the death penalty.
  • “May you live your life miserably. Feel the pain which you deserve to feel daily about taking the lives of innocent people.” – Victim statement [59:40]

• Sword and Scale’s Signature Moral Complexity:

  • Host reflects on the impossibility of sorting right from wrong in such a tangle of suffering and violence.
  • “Sean Lannan believed he was doing the right thing. Isn't that something? How often does that happen in society?” [61:45]

• Final Reckoning:

  • Authorities never find evidence of the 11 additional bodies or the photos Sean claimed existed.
  • Sean's three children remain in family care, while he faces the remainder of his natural life behind bars.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “The man that molested me as a child, my big brother, big brothers, big sisters, whatever, they got molesters, too.” – Sean Lannan [11:12]
• “Could have just gave me the fucking pictures. I’m probably gonna fight about it.” – Sean Lannan [12:21]
• "Did you ever see a baby coming off drugs? Yes, totally. That was like, so horrible. Just holding him and his bodies racking, and he's screaming." – Jen's mother [57:38]
• “May you live your life miserably. Feel the pain which you deserve to feel daily...” – Victim Statement [59:40]
• “Sean Lannan believed he was doing the right thing. Isn't that something? How often does that happen in society?” – Host [61:45]

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Key Timestamps

• Michael Debkowski’s murder details: [03:10–06:37]
• Sean’s childhood and mentorship: [07:14–10:30]
• Sean confesses motive and abuse allegations: [11:12–13:53]
• Sean’s military service and PTSD: [20:29–21:17]
• Jen’s addiction, loss of custody, and move: [23:52–27:28]
• Discovery of the airport truck bodies: [29:41–37:33]
• Revelation of abuse images and chain of NM murders: [41:31–48:43]
• Description of body disposal methods: [49:06–51:18]
• Alleged 11 additional murders: [54:41–55:08]
• Children’s condition post-rescue: [57:10–58:45]
• Victim statements and sentencing: [59:38–60:24]
• Host’s closing reflections: [61:45–end]

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Tone and Delivery

The episode is delivered with Sword and Scale’s signature blend of immersive reporting, unflinching detail, and somber moral questioning. Brutal honesty and raw audio create an environment that is both deeply empathetic to victims and unafraid to explore the monstrous darkness lurking at the edges of society—and sometimes, within those meant to protect us the most.

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This episode is a disturbing meditation on cycles of violence, the complexity of abuse, and what happens when trauma goes untreated for generations. It’s a reminder of how, in trying to fight monsters, we risk becoming them ourselves.

Transcript

[Narrator]

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[Host]

Sword and Scale contains adult themes and violence and is not intended for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised

[Narrator]

that they had a big fight and Jen left with a guy.

[Host]

2026 has been a weird year, hasn't it? And it's barely begun, man. When everyone looks at something and half the population sees one thing and the other half sees something completely different. We're cooked. We are done. Stick a fork in it. This is season 13 episode 341 by the way. And it's all about trying to figure out what's right when nothing is, you know, kind of like 2020.

[Narrator]

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[Host]

It was March 8, 2021 in the small community of Mickleton, New Jersey. Police cars swarmed the neighborhood. Flashes of blue lights darted across the living room windows. The quiet street was swallowed by chaos.

[Narrator]

I look out the window and there are a bunch of police officers were out here and we had to come out, see what the commotion was about and it wasn't good.

[Host]

It wasn't good. In a community with crime rates well below the national average, no one expected a violent crime, let alone the murder of a senior citizen. This rare crime would go down as the only murder in the community for years.

[Narrator]

Never.

[Host]

Issues like this, never see anything like this. Everybody kind of, you know, keeps themselves. The neighborhood's really nice people, everybody. It's just, it's a shock when something like this happens. 66 year old Michael Debkowski was found murdered in his laundry room. He was bludgeoned in the head, his face masked in a sweatshirt. The only thing missing from the home was his car.

[Narrator]

I was really shocked. I was really upset to find out

[Host]

like who it was.

[Narrator]

Mike was a real good Guy, you know, he was the type of guy that would help you out if you need a hand, if you see you out in the yard working. Always we when he go by, always had a kind thing to say to you. Never seen him, you know, mad, just. It's a total shock that it happened to him.

[Host]

Mike never married. Instead, he spent his time away from work as an engineering consultant, volunteering in the community. He was active in his church, taught religious education and was a member of the Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus. He was even a Big Brother of America mentoring youth.

[Narrator]

It's a terrible way for anybody to go. You know, you're in your own home and, you know, to be cut down like that by yourself alone. I just hope it doesn't happen again around here. That was horrible to see.

[Host]

It all started with a call from a woman named Carol. She spoke with Mike multiple times a day, every day. That afternoon at about 1pm she was talking to Mike when his demeanor suddenly changed. He ended the call saying he would call her back. She was left on the other end of the phone wondering what was going on. When she never heard back from him and was only getting to his voicemail, she called police. The police conducted a welfare check at his residence, 85 Myrtle Ave. There was no response when they knocked on the door. They walked around the house looking through the windows for any sign of Mike. Finally, they managed to lift the garage door a few inches. That's when they noticed his car was gone. They ran the plates through the system. They found out that the license plate was scanned by an automated plate reader. Camden, N.J. carol told police that Mike would only ever visit his brother, but that he would take a train. As far as she knew, he didn't have any trips planned. The police decided to go into the home. They lifted the garage door just enough for an officer to crawl underneath. Once in the garage, he immediately noticed the interior door had signs of forced entry. On the other side of the door was the laundry room, and on the floor was Mike in a pool of blood. Mike put up a fight. Though the struggle that ended in his death had started in the kitchen, went through the living room, and ended up in the laundry room. When police told Carol about Mike's death, her first question was whether Sean Lannan had murdered him. Breaking news, the search for a person of interest in a South Jersey murder. We have a scary situation here in Gloucester County. Well, it could be this guy could

[Narrator]

be anywhere at this point.

[Host]

Police are looking for. Sean Lannan is wanted in connection with Yesterday's homicide in East Greenwich Township. Investigators say he's considered absolutely armed and dangerous.

[Narrator]

Yeah, this is a national manhunt right now. There's a stolen car from South Jersey that he may be using, a blue Honda CRV with Jersey plates. Also, they think he was spotted at the Walter Rand Transportation center, which will

[Host]

likely send off alarm bells all over

[Narrator]

the Philly area, because that is the bus station right next to the Ben Franken Bridge. You can take a bus in the Philly in five minutes. You can take the river line up and down the river, or you could take the Pat Goi speed line to Locust street if you wanted.

[Host]

The manhunt for Sean Lannan was nationwide, but he was from New Jersey. He grew up there. He went to high school and ran track. Nobody thought his name would be in the news for anything like this, though. But the reason Carol suspected Sean was that Mike had been in Sean's life since he was a child. Sean didn't have a father growing up, so his mother, Lynn, enrolled him in the Big Brother program. Mike became his big brother and father figure.

[Narrator]

His father was a career criminal. I married him in 1970. I was a couple years in. I knew I didn't wish to be married to him anymore.

[Host]

She explained. Life was so hard when Shawn was young. And over time, she came to rely on Mike, too.

[Narrator]

Because I was a single parent. Da, da da, da da. I worked. So I counted on Mike to kind of pick up the slack. We were poor. We were just poor because single women are just poor. It's just part of the. And it's just is what it is. So I know Mike was good to him in terms of, you know, possessions, because I couldn't. I couldn't. And it was hard. And I was grateful for Mike that the kids could have clothes that, you know, otherwise. We shopped in Goodwill.

[Host]

Mike became a lifelong fixture in Sean's life, following him into adulthood and even marriage. His in laws even knew the man everyone called Uncle Mike.

[Narrator]

We knew Uncle Mike. Uncle Mike was at plenty of birthday parties and dinners, dinners at the house. And he was a big brother that stayed in his life. He was his father. He was family friend. That was like a father figure to him. I couldn't remember his name while I said, like, oh, Uncle Mike, Uncle Mike.

[Host]

Everyone who knew Uncle Mike knew him as an upstanding citizen and a great man who devoted himself to others rather than selfish pursuits. But years after his big brother mentorship, when Shawn grew up, he started sharing his childhood trauma with his wife.

[Narrator]

I knew Jen had said that he was molested when he was a kid. They never said Uncle Mike. He never showed any dislike of Uncle Mike. Uncle Mike was always wonderful. My sister told me at one point, I didn't know it was him, that Sean had been Melissa as a kid, but I did not know it was him. I didn't connect the dots there, but everything seemed normal. When we met, I met Mike. I didn't see, you know, I knew they were close friends. It was a father figure. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary there.

[Host]

While everyone seemed to know about Shawn's childhood trauma, no one put two and two together. It was too hard to imagine that Mike, the man who gave so much to the Lannan family and asked for nothing in return, could be the one who had molested Sean. But there was one person Shawn shared more with. The longtime nanny to his kids remembers Sean mentioning an old score that needed settling.

[Narrator]

And Mike, I've known for years about Mike. He would never leave his kids alone with Mike. So he had mentioned sexual assault that occurred when he was a young boy, right before his teens, up until, I mean, he went off to the Army. He had said that was an old score that he needs to settle for.

[Host]

The anger he must have felt, the shame that must have lingered with him for years. Two days after the murder, on March 10, the manhunt was over. He was arrested and questioned about his reasons for killing a retired old man.

[Narrator]

The man that molested me as a child, my big brother, big brothers, big sisters, whatever, they got molesters, too.

[Host]

At 47 years old, something snapped in Sean Lannan. He had three young kids. People who knew him say they were his whole world. But somewhere along the line, something in Sean's world shifted. He could no longer live with what he claimed Mike Debkowski did to him as a child. He had to take control back.

[Narrator]

I wanted the pictures from Mr. Michael. Wanted the pictures back. He wanted to give me the pictures, so I started beating him.

[Host]

On March 8, when Mike saw Sean Lannan walking up to his driveway, he ended the call with Carol because he knew it couldn't be good. Mike had been lending Sean money for years, but he never seemed to get back on his feet. This time, Sean didn't want money. He wanted the sexually explicit photos he claimed Mike took of him as a kid. Sean said Mike denied having those photos, so he punched him in the face a few times.

[Narrator]

Could have just gave me the fucking pictures. I'm probably gonna fight about it, Sean said.

[Host]

After a few stiff punches, Mike gave Him the pictures. But Sean wasn't done. He escalated the situation and the two started to scuffle. At 66 years old, Mike wasn't as strong as he used to be and quickly tried to retreat through the living room, but Shawn pursued. The laundry room connects the rest of the house to the garage. Mike was trying to escape, but Sean found a hammer. He struck Mike on the head and he collapsed to the floor. With his mission complete, Shawn locked the house and left, planning to steal Mike's car. But when he got outside, he realized he didn't have the keys. He had to force his way back into the home to get the keys off of Mike's dead body. Problem was, Mike wasn't dead. He lay on the floor, barely breathing. Sean grabbed a nearby sweatshirt and placed it over his head so he wouldn't get covered in blood and swung the hammer a few more times.

[Narrator]

He expired the moment that I realized I had time to finish. Took his life. So am I proud of that? Am I proud of any of it? That's horrible too. No one gave a fuck about me when I was being raped for two and a half years. It doesn't justify it. I feel bad.

[Host]

Shawn took Mike's life. He called this man uncle since childhood. He expressed remorse, but there was no emotion behind the words. What happened to Sean then? After all of these years, he suddenly let all this harbored aggression out.

[Narrator]

He was. He was a nice young man. He ran track, he ran cross country. He was. He was fun loving. I didn't know that he had potential sexual molestation from his big brother. I didn't know that.

[Host]

After his arrest, Sean's mother Lynn said she never knew. She claimed naivety for not seeing it. But there was a lot about Sean she didn't know, didn't see until it was too late. Two days earlier on March 8, before he was was arrested. It wasn't just a national manhunt. It was a national concern. Police standing guard tonight at the scene of yesterday's homicide in East Greenwich Township, Gloucester County. And at this hour, the search continues for Sean Lannan. Not only for this crime, but also in connection with a multiple killing. Turns out that Lannan is also a person of interest in a quadruple murder in New Mexico.

[Narrator]

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[Host]

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[Narrator]

When he graduated high school, he went into the army for five years. He went to Kosovo, which, if you know the history of Kosovo, it was a violent mass grave, ethnic cleansing. I mean, it was just like a nightmare. But he didn't come back the same young man he went over with. I'm sure a lot of soldiers are the same man. They see atrocities. They just do. And I said, sean, you need some PTSD help. You need some help with this. This is too much.

[Host]

Sean was never the same after his tour in Kosovo. Lingering mental scars added to his already damaged mental health. It seemed his whole perspective on life had shifted.

[Narrator]

He divorced his first wife. When he came home, he told me there could be no God because of what he saw.

[Host]

What he saw in combat took a toll on Shawn. But it wasn't long before the old Shawn started to shine through.

[Narrator]

He was in McDonald's one day and he met a girl named Liz. They were a whole other seven years together.

[Host]

For a short time, Sean seemed content. But it wouldn't last. It was while he was with Liz that he met Jennifer Whitman, probably about nine years ago.

[Narrator]

She had been married at that point from her first husband. She was in her home nurse. That's how they met. She was in there working, and that's how they met.

[Host]

It wasn't long after Jen started working as an in home nurse for Shawn and Liz, and a relationship developed and

[Narrator]

they were having a secret, you know, a secret affair at that point, which eventually came out. She was married to somebody else. They had an affair, and then it just. They were just like, you know, star cross lovers and everything was like, wonderful and everything like that. At that point, she left her first husband. They got together.

[Host]

Both Sean and Jen were already married, but that didn't seem to matter. Their fare turned into a full fledged relationship. And then they got married.

[Narrator]

She went off, push on, did what they did. They got married in March of 2013. None of us were there. We found out through Facebook.

[Host]

Their relationship blossomed, and it Wasn't long before they welcomed their first child into the world, a little girl. About a year later, they had a second little girl. Not long after that, Jen was pregnant again, this time with a boy. From the outside, everything was perfect.

[Narrator]

He had a decent job. You know, he was good at his job. He enjoyed his job. He enjoyed the, you know, being able to provide. He liked that. Sean was a hard worker. He was an excellent dad. Yeah, he loved Jen, and he did anything for Jen. I mean, through the years, they seem

[Host]

to be okay, but behind the scenes, the couple was struggling.

[Narrator]

On some level, she wanted that picture of because he grew up in church and, you know, everybody wants to be married and, you know, have that happy little house with a white picket fence and kids running around. She wanted to put on a facade that she was all together and. And she could maintain that for a while until the need for, you know, drugs took over.

[Host]

Jen started to slip into drug addiction.

[Narrator]

Jen was having some troubles with prescription drugs. She hurt her back before she left her first husband, and she was on some pain pillows for her back.

[Host]

It started slowly at first, but then escalated quickly. She lost her nursing license because of her addiction and sank deeper into it. Soon there were issues that couldn't be missed, even through the facade of the perfect life.

[Narrator]

And the first time Dyfus was called in New Jersey was because she was violent. She was on the drugs, she was violent, and she threw, like, bar chairs at him, and the babysitter got mad.

[Host]

Babysitter called him difus, as it's referred to or or. DYFS stands for the Division of Youth and Family Services in New Jersey.

[Narrator]

Then we had to have protection plans in place. So was me and Sean on the protection plan, and she couldn't be left alone with the kids unsupervised.

[Host]

Jen's addiction only got worse.

[Narrator]

In 2016, she had a heroin overdose. Dyfuss took the kids. In 2017. I got the call that night. Sean says, come home, mom. They're taking the kids. I got home, and there was Dyfuss in my house. And so we had the kids for the next 49 days. While she was supposed to be getting herself together, Shawn was getting therapy.

[Host]

And that was their life. A cycle of Jen strung out on opiates, going to rehab, getting out, and eventually relapsing again. All the while, they were trying to convince DYFS that the kids weren't in danger. Sean worked at an oil refinery, putting in a lot of hours. Sometimes he would be gone for weeks at a time, leaving the kids with Jen. This led to a lot of calls to DYFS. Needless to say, they weren't convinced. But in late 2017, Shawn got an opportunity within his company. He was offered another job in New Mexico.

[Narrator]

They were getting ready to move to Mexico about three, four years ago, I think it was.

[Host]

I'm sure they both looked at it as a fresh start in a new state. Sean moved to New Mexico with the kids, and Jen returned to rehab.

[Narrator]

You know, she got out of rehab, she came back, he divorces her. He takes her to, you know, dyfus and get their parental rights taken away. She didn't really deserve any parental rights. They were divorced just by paper. They were still together as a husband and wife. They never left each other. Only the time that Jen was in the rehab for about three or four months. So I knew about it. I didn't know why. Okay, Right. I think from what I understood, it was that they were going to lose custody of the kids if they stayed married. So they got a divorce so Sean could hold full custody of the kids and the kids would be safe so they wouldn't lose because Jen was going through her drug problem.

[Host]

Of course, Jen was still there. She lived in the house with Shawn and the kids. She had no rights on paper. But in reality, when Shawn wasn't home, she had full responsibility for their three small children. Taking care of her kids was difficult for Jen. She often chose her addiction over her children. Then Shawn got sick.

[Narrator]

I wasn't really living nanny these past couple years, but when Shawn got diagnosed with cancer, I was there a lot. I want to say it's his lungs. I think it's mesothelioma. Not sure. I know he's been saved. He was saved seeing a doctor. I used to take him to treatments every day up until October, when he was real bad. When he first started getting chemo, he used to have to be, like, just walked to the bathroom and everything. Like, he could barely stand up. So I would stay there. A lot of times, I would stay there.

[Host]

Sean was so sick that he was physically wrecked. Jen wasn't any help, so they had to hire a nanny to help take care of the kids. Then Sean lost his job because of all the time off. The little money they had started to dwindle fast. And the problems with Jen got worse.

[Narrator]

Jen had run off with somebody after had an argument that she hit him with a frying pan. And he was bruised up and marked up from that. And that she ran off with some guy that went to Arizona that they Had a big fight, and Jen left with a guy.

[Host]

According to Sean, Jen abandoned her family at their lowest point.

[Narrator]

It's unlike my daughter to go two weeks without calling us. Then three weeks. It's unlike my daughter not calling us or texting us. Three weeks. January, February, moved forward, talked to my parents about filing a missing person report. Because Sean wasn't really communicating to my parents as much. He gave us a little information, and all of a sudden, once we started pushing the police, it seemed like that's where he started talking. Oh, you know, I saw her two weeks ago. Or she only comes around for money. You know, I'll see her soon. And he even said that he saw her in town. And I just. I just kept saying, this guy. Something doesn't seem right.

[Host]

On March 5, 2021, three days before the murder of Mike Dubkowski and the national manhunt, in the concrete shadows of an Albuquerque airport parking garage, a worn down pickup truck waited for someone to find what was inside.

[Narrator]

Albuquerque International Sun Port. This is James. James, this is Aerospace Defense officer Martinez with scis. I'm on patrol in the garage. I have a vehicle here on the fourth floor. And within five feet of the vehicle, you could smell some sort of rotten, pungent odor.

[Host]

On the fourth floor of the airport parking garage was a maroon Ford Ranger backed into a spot far from all the other cars. While the truck was suspicious, with all the storage bins loaded inside and out, it was the wafts of rot that got the security guard's attention.

[Narrator]

The vehicle is filled with multiple tubs, storage containers, plastic storage containers throughout the bed of the vehicle as well as the cab. All right, well, just keep an eye on it and if anything changes, let us know if anything. Okay. Are you. You going to. No, I'm not sending. No, I'm not sending an officer because a vehicle stinks. Okay.

[Host]

All right, well, thank you very much. The truck didn't have any signs of a break in and no one was inside. It was just very smelly. But the guard couldn't let it go. He finished checking the rest of the garage and then took his suspicion to his boss. His boss couldn't let it go either.

[Narrator]

Come through this. Josh. Hey, Josh. This is Mark 9:1 down at Lanside. How are you? Good. How you doing? Good, good. Hey, I went up to level four. It just looks weird, man. It is. It is packed full of stuff like tarp down in the back. And every seat in the cab is fully loaded, including the past. The driver's seat with like, Rubbermaid totes And stuff, and there is an odor. And he said he talked to you guys. And I understand that the truck is registered and you know, there's really not a whole lot to go on, but I mean, it might not be a bad idea to maybe have an officer look at it. Dude, it just looks weird. Dude.

[Host]

Eventually, patrol officers were dispatched to the fourth level of the Sunport parking garage. The bed of the little pickup truck was filled with storage totes, covered with a deflated air mattress. A broken headboard from a twin bed weighed it all down. The cab of the truck was filled with miscellaneous items. Every surface, even the driver's seat, was packed with stuff. Boxes of loose clothing were scattered in the backseat. A Thomas the Tank Engine themed toy box was ran behind the driver's seat. The passenger seat was piled with stuff and covered by a tarp. It was more than just a little strange that someone would park a truck loaded with personal items at the airport and leave it there. It's not like people usually need to catch a flight in the middle of moving. And I'm pretty sure that people that live out of their car aren't world travelers.

[Narrator]

Yeah. Behind the seat right there. Looks like there's blood on her shirt. Like those loppers right there. I can't tell if it's rust on it or, I don't know, like around the blade part kind of looks red, reddish. Could be rust. But based off what we're looking at,

[Host]

I mean, the patrol officers immediately understood what the security guards were talking about. This truck reeked of decay. They called a forensic investigator to determine if they were justified in their concern.

[Narrator]

We have a suspicious situation here. There's a bunch of Tupperware cuts in the back. Smells off their dad. Now we kind of pulled one over and it looks like there might be ninja body parts. I don't know. Hello. I'm out of here. Just kidding.

[Host]

It was such an outlandish idea that the officer giggled. Body parts, you say? Don't be silly.

[Narrator]

Oh, there is skin right there. Oh, shoot. Okay.

[Host]

When officers peeled back one of the totes lids, they were smacked in the face with the thick stench of decomposition. Patrol officers led the forensic investigator around the truck, pointing out what looked like blood, hair and human skin. The police weren't sure what was going on with that little red truck, but they were going to find out. The truck was registered to 60 year old Randall Apostolon, an Albuquerque local. He had no criminal record. How his truck ended up at the airport was a mystery. The major crime scene team and the office of the medical investigator methodically documented the contents of each tote. The first tote contained a bloody, deflated swimming pool. But underneath was a male torso. The torso was missing a head, a left arm and the legs below the knees. It was covered in tattoos and clothed from the waist down. Whoever dismembered his body was in such a hurry that they cut through the clothes. In the second tote, they found another torso covered by a red and white blanket. It was missing the head, both legs and a right hand. The blade from a reciprocating saw was lodged into the rib cage. It had a tattoo on the right shoulder and was clothed from the waist up. In the third tote, they found a single human thigh. In the fourth to, they found a fully clothed and fully intact body of a female under a blanket. Her hair was dyed blonde with streaks of red. She was curled in a fetal position and crammed into a 50 gallon bin. Each tote added a piece to the story. They found human remains, but also the tools used to dismember them. They found black gloves and multiple knives covered in blood. In the Thomas the Tank Engine themed toy box, they found a head, two legs, and strands of hair clinging to a bloody hacksaw. I don't think I have to stress how unsettling it is to find this gruesome scene inside a children's toy chest. It's downright nightmare inducing. It was already one of the most disturbing creatures crime scenes in Albuquerque's history. And then they pulled back the tarp in the front seat. Underneath was the complete body of a man. He was curled in a fetal position with his knees on the floorboard. His arms were pinned under his body and his head was forced into the seat back. There was evidence of severe trauma to the head and face. When they pulled the crumpled body out of the truck, they understood why. Underneath the body was a blood covered, short handled sledgehammer. It was clear that the body in the passenger seat was the owner of the truck, Randall. From what officers could tell, he looked like his license photo. Detectives now had to find out why Randall was dead in his own truck with the dismembered bodies of three. Three others. They also needed to identify the man caught on airport surveillance cameras parking the truck. But they started their investigation with the address associated with Randall's license.

[Narrator]

Help you, Jonathan? With? He's my brother. Right.

[Host]

You're looking for him? Yeah.

[Narrator]

I really don't know where he is, to be honest with you. Okay.

[Host]

All he does is receive his mail here.

[Narrator]

Oh, okay. Okay, so where do you think he's living? I truly think he's living out of his vehicle. I truly believe. Tell me why you think that. Because he's destitute. He's broke. Okay. He's scraping for gas to put it in the truck.

[Host]

Randall's brother Mark didn't seem surprised when police showed up asking about him. Randall was homeless, living out of his truck. He did random tree trimming to make money. But Mark was adamant that Randall couldn't be responsible for anything that required a police investigation.

[Narrator]

What I will do, gentlemen, is I will give.

[Host]

Can I get your name too?

[Narrator]

Write it down. And if you want to put your number too, I'll tell you. Call these guys. You're a person of interest in a murder. No, I'm kidding about that.

[Host]

You know, being a police officer is hard. Can you imagine having a conversation with someone all the while knowing that their brother is dead? But you can't tell them because they haven't been positively identified yet. Just imagine how painful that would be. But I'll just tell them your person of interest.

[Narrator]

Yes.

[Host]

And to talk to him.

[Narrator]

So I don't know what's going on.

[Host]

And even if you don't hear from

[Narrator]

him, but hear from somebody else that

[Host]

might know where he is, please call us.

[Narrator]

Yeah.

[Host]

The police still couldn't divulge that information. Not until they knew the connection to the other murders. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long. The Sheriff's office from Cibola County, New Mexico called to explain that the descriptions of the dismembered body parts matched the descriptions of the three missing persons in their jurisdiction. Police have identified four bodies that were found in a vehicle at the Sunport on Friday.

[Narrator]

Three of the victims, 21 year old Matthew Miller, 40 year old Justin Mata

[Host]

and 39 year old Jennifer Lannan, had been reported missing out of Grants back in January. Officials are investigating how the fourth victim,

[Narrator]

61 year old Randall Apostolone, is connected to the other.

[Host]

The heavily tattooed torso was identified as 40 year old Justin Mata, last seen by his girlfriend on January 17. The torso with a single shoulder tattoo was identified as 21 year old Matthew Miller, last seen by his grandmother on January 24. The intact female body was identified as none other than 39 year old Jennifer Lannan, Shawn's ex wife. The Cibola Sheriff's office also told Alex Albuquerque detectives that all three were tied to drugs and that their main suspect, Sean Landon, had already likely fled to New Jersey.

[Narrator]

Word just in that the multi state

[Host]

manhunt is now over for A man

[Narrator]

wanting the connection with five murders. Minutes ago, we learned that federal marshals

[Host]

captured Sean Lannan in St. Louis, Missouri. Shawn fled New Mexico with his kids on March 4. The bodies in the truck weren't found until the following day, March 5. By March 7, the local police in New Jersey were already taking the kids from Sean's family. Sean was on the run in Virginia. He spoke with police that night. They told him they wanted to talk to him and that they had already found the body of his wife. He agreed to return home, but never did. Instead, he made a beeline for Mike's house. He arrived on March 8th. By the time Sean was arrested on March 10th, he had already made it all the way to St. Louis in Mike's car. He was caught sleeping inside. He had some questions to answer.

[Narrator]

One day I took a walk to Walmart pushing Devil's Trawler, empty to go get groceries. A half hour into the Walker relatives and have my food cards turn around. Came back, went the front door. Went down the hallway to get my food card off my dresser. I noticed it was quiet. Kids opened the door. Jen and Jess turned in there fucking. I knew they were. They were divorced. Whenever I was like, idiots, the fuck are the kids? Grab my card.

[Host]

Seeing Jen fucking another man didn't really phase Shawn. He was just worried about the kids. He didn't see them or hear them.

[Narrator]

So call the kids. Nothing opens on the door across your mind. Pile of blankets. Behind the blankets are the kids.

[Host]

Sean runs to his kids and picks up one of his daughters.

[Narrator]

Doesn't seem like a breathing. So flip now. I put her against her. I could feel her. She's got shallow breaths.

[Host]

His daughter is non responsive, barely breathing. He looks at the other two kids. Neither one seemed to have a pulse.

[Narrator]

I'm flipping out, like, what the fuck did you do? Justin's putting on his clothes. Comes in like done this a hundred times. And you're like, they're fine, they're fine. I'm like, they're not fine. They're not breathing. Fuck you do. That's when they drugged them. Something in their medicine.

[Host]

Justin assured Sean that he and Jen had done this a hundred times. They drugged the kids so they would go to sleep, so. So they could fuck. Shawn was livid.

[Narrator]

Justin ran out the room, out the house. Immediately.

[Host]

Jen picked up their son, the youngest. He showed no signs of pulse or breathing. Their baby was dead.

[Narrator]

She kisses the kids on the forehead, all three of them. I'll see you in a minute. She goes to jaw all of her Shit.

[Host]

Jen, believing she was responsible for the death of her kids, didn't call for help. She went to the bedroom and prepared her heroin. Sean, with his medic training from the military, didn't give up so easily.

[Narrator]

They said they also blew heroin smoke in their faces. So I don't know if Narcan would work. I looked around the garage and I found one.

[Host]

In case you don't know, Narcan is a brand name for a drug called naloxone, and it reverses the effects of opioids. A person overdosing on opiates and near death can be brought back in seconds with this drug. But Shawn only found a single dose. So in a matter of moments, he grabbed some straws and some duct tape and rigged a dual applicator. He placed it under the noses of the two kids without a heartbeat. Normally, people who overdosed snap awake, but with Sean's kids, nothing happened. He was convinced they were beyond saving. He placed the barely breathing daughter on the couch so the nanny would see her when she arrived. With the other two kids dead, Sean felt like a failure. He no longer had a reason to live.

[Narrator]

Talking about see him in a minute bedroom. John was already out with the with heroin was enough to take her life. So as I realized, she would breathe in. She wasn't an od.

[Host]

Jen had shot up the rest of her heroin in an attempt to end her life. But it wasn't enough. She was breathing and she wasn't going to die. Shawn psyched himself up for what he was about to do. He blamed her over and over for their children's deaths.

[Narrator]

And then I put the pistol behind her head and I pulled the trigger level. Couple secolator was positioned on the bat, too. I put the pistol on my mouth. My hand held up. As I slid past my teeth, my son cried out. I was like, what the fuck do I do now?

[Host]

Right before he pulled the trigger and blew his own brains out, his son woke up and cried out, the kids weren't dead. Sean immediately abandoned his suicide attempt. Now the only problem was that he had already shot his wife anyway.

[Narrator]

I was living on borrowed time at that point, so I needed to get my kids somewhere safe back home.

[Host]

Shawn knew he would eventually get caught, but he wanted to get his kids to his family so they wouldn't be taken away. He starts preparing for their trip, but can't shake his anger for Justin. He blames him for the whole situation. He decides to kill him. He used Jen's phone to text him that everything was fine and to Come

[Narrator]

over all the while still beating Justin Melta. He's responsible for the jogging and doing it to my kids took like a week. I came to the house in the laundry room connected to the garage. That's where I killed him. Just before I killed him, he offered up a trade. His phone had pictures of Shawn Michael sitting there naked in my living room with I don't know what the fuck his name was. William, or Matthew Miller, whatever the fuck his name is, with his fucking dick on my son's shoulders.

[Host]

In an attempt to save his life, Justin offered pictures to Shawn. The pictures were of his naked son. On one side of his son was Matthew Miller. On the other was a man named Daniel Lemos. Both had their exposed penises resting on the little boy's shoulders. Sean's childhood trauma must have flooded back at that moment. He was tempted to let Justin go until he confessed he was the one who took the picture. Flashbacks of Uncle Mike probably flooded his brain along with all the unresolved feelings of anger and shame. Then he realized why Justin had the pictures. He was selling them.

[Narrator]

He wanted. He wanted to know if he could do a shot of harem for it. So I was like. So I said, well, if you find any in the vent. So he literally was looking down in the vent. He didn't see it coming. And I shot him in the back of the head. It disgusted me. It was gross.

[Host]

Sean now had two murders to clean up, but he wasn't done yet. Sean wanted to kill the two men in the picture abusing his son. He tried to lure them to the house one at a time. Eventually, Matthew Miller showed up alone.

[Narrator]

I asked him about the thing with my son. He said that it wasn't his idea. And I was like, do you have an erection in the picture? Like, can you force someone to have an erection in your child? Shot him in the garage. Put up the bag with it. Picture disgusting.

[Host]

This time, Sean planned ahead and lined the garage floor with tarps and whatever he could find so there wouldn't be much to clean up. But Matthew's body missed the fat kid.

[Narrator]

Felt kind of weird. My hand was, I guess, in part of his brain and picked up by his head. His hair kind of wiggled the back onto it when I had to contain it, you know. It's disgusting.

[Host]

Sean was running out of time. Ever since he lost his job, he'd been living off of unemployment. But with Jen's, let's say, spending habits, they were getting kicked out of the house. The water and the electricity had already been shut off. He didn't have time to get to his next target.

[Narrator]

I had been trying to get Daniel Amos to the house for fucking weeks. He just wasn't that stupid.

[Host]

His original idea when he started to dismembering Justin and Matthew was that maybe he could get away with it. Maybe he could cut them up small enough that he could get rid of the pieces discreetly. But after he started, he found out how hard it was and also how utterly disgusting. He tried using a reciprocating saw to cut through Matthew's torso, but rather than cut through the bone, it got stuck and started violently shaking the corpse instead. That's terrifying. So he resorted to knives and hand saws and settled for just making them small enough to fit in storage totes. He spent the better part of the month cleaning the home. He ripped up the carpet and scrubbed the garage floor. He used so much bleach that he got blisters. Then came the time when he needed to dispose of the bodies. He had a literal truckload of storage bins. That's when he met Randall Apostolon.

[Narrator]

And they'll meet up with Randy says he could move in.

[Host]

Sean didn't have a car, so he needed help moving the totes. He asked around the street until he heard about Randall or Randy. Randy was living out of his truck and was always looking to make a quick buck. Randy told Shawn he could not only move his stuff, but also store it. But it would cost 150 bucks. He took him to one storage unit, but it was full. So after driving around for a while, Randy changed his mind. He told Sean it was going to cost him another 150 bucks.

[Narrator]

He just fleeces me for the 150, drives me back like, get your shit out. And I'm like, what? And he's like. He's like, yeah, you're lucky. I don't say nothing about what's in the boxes. So at that point, we get in a fight.

[Host]

Of course Randy knew what was in the boxes. It had been weeks at this point. Even in the chilly temperatures of Albuquerque in February, the smell was starting to point to signs of something. Something sinister.

[Narrator]

I think death has a smell that you're not gonna forget anytime soon.

[Host]

Randy knew. As Sean slowly realized, Randy knew he was left with only one option. He had to kill him. If he ratted him out, he'd never get his kids to safety. He had to. For his kids.

[Narrator]

He was in the driver's seat. I hit him two or three times with my hands, flipped the key to dissolve position. At some point, my hand got sore. He hit him with a hammer. Blood was splattered. It was pretty fucking disgusting. Huge puddle underneath the truck coming out the side door. Hard to feel. Horrible. Pretty horrible. I'm taking a pleasure in the hands. Disgusting. I want my kids to be safe. Because he failed that in the last year and a half.

[Host]

He claimed he took no joy in what he did and that he did it all for the safety of his kids. But Sean's story didn't end with Jen or with Mike in custody. He would make a claim so staggering, so horrifying, that investigators couldn't even believe it at first. He said there were more, many more. Sean's childhood was marked by sexual abuse. His adult life and marriage to Jen unraveled under the weight of addiction and violence. He killed four people in New Mexico, including Jen, and tried to hide their bodies in a truck at the airport. Days later, he showed up at Uncle Mike's house. Mike was a mentor, a father figure, but he had abused Sean as a child. That night ended with another brutal murder. When caught, he confessed. But when police thought he was done, he had more to say.

[Narrator]

The one time I stayed in the back with the kids, someone came in, started beating the fuck out of Jen, fucking some dudes like. She was on the ground. She punched her in the face. I don't think he realized I was there.

[Host]

Sean saw the violence in his home against his wife, near his children, and he lost it. He claimed this was the first time he took a life.

[Narrator]

It was always, always something relative to Jen. Violence near my kids.

[Host]

He claimed there were 11 others he killed connected to Jen through drugs. When they came looking for the money she owed and got violent, Shawn would have to step in to protect his kids.

[Narrator]

Their bodies are in the Malpi. Malpi? The Lavitubes lava.

[Host]

Sean claimed to have dumped all 11 others in the Malpais. Apparently, that part of New Mexico has old lava tubes traveling deep underground. If he threw any bodies in there, they'd never be found. He admitted that if he hadn't been caught in St. Louis, he would have returned to New Mexico to hunt down Daniel Lemus and kill him. Sean didn't blame Jen for everything. He blamed himself a lot, too. But the kids deserved better, and that was his driving motivation. Jen's drug associations put the kids in danger, but so did her neglect.

[Narrator]

But, yeah, she was always heavily involved with drugs. When I first met her, it was pills. And then she had lost her nursing license because of it. And it just got. She just got in deeper and deeper and deeper with it. I know that he talked all the time about her having boyfriends, that at some point he felt she was prostituting herself for drugs. She would be like a drug mule. Like, if she came to New Jersey, they. I didn't even know they did stuff. They hide things in their bodies. I didn't even know about that. Jennifer. I mean, I've seen her get high in front of the kids, leave her kids for hours. She never used to change their diapers. Like, they'd sit for days. They wouldn't eat nothing.

[Host]

Jen's addiction affected their kids before they were even born. Their second daughter was born with a heart defect. What a mom. And yes, I am victim blaming Susan. Victim blaming the drug addict. Horrible mother that's probably better off in the ground. Go tell your friends.

[Narrator]

Becca and Savannah both have heart problems. Becca's way worse off than Savannah. I mean, she almost died when she first was born. Like, she has one vengeful in her heart. She requires a lot more medical attention

[Host]

than the other children.

[Narrator]

If she makes it to 15, 20 would be. Unless they come out with some new medical technique. Savannah has heart issues also? Yes. Savannah's not expected to have a full life. She's gonna need a. A pacemaker sooner than later. And Shawn. Michael had to be detoxed when he was born, but the baby was born drug addicted. So when the baby was born, Shawn and myself, we had to hold. Did you ever see a baby coming off drugs? Yes, totally. That was like, so horrible. Just holding him and his bodies racking, and he's screaming.

[Host]

The short lives of those three children sound like utter turmoil. Before Shawn's arrest, the kids were taken by the state. After his arrest, the children went to Jen's brother Chris. He noticed the neglect immediately.

[Narrator]

I mean, when they came in here, you could tell they were all malnourished. I mean, you could see it in their face. And like I said, you could see their colors. Like, their eyes were, like, sunken in almost like all around here. They look like they were not fed. You can tell there's some. Definitely neglect there, some malnourishment. They had trouble eating when we sat down for dinner or anything like that. And they're getting better. You can see in their face. They got better color. They're eating better. They're. They're growing. It seems like God knows what they've been through. I mean, you know, if they were left alone, defend for themselves.

[Host]

It's heartbreaking to think of what those kids must have experienced. But now they're safe. The way Sean Lannan was arrested was about as peaceful a way as a national manhunt could end. And when he was caught, he confessed. And he didn't just confess once. He confessed in every jurisdiction in which she committed a crime. He pleaded guilty in New Jersey to the murder of Michael Debkowski. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He pleaded guilty in New Mexico for the murders of Justin Mata, Matthew Miller, Jennifer Lannan and Randall Apostolon. He was given 15 years each for 60 years total. He'll serve the 35 years in New Jersey first, then be transferred to New Mexico.

[Narrator]

Murderer.

[Host]

May you live your life miserably. Feel the pain which you deserve to feel daily about taking the lives of innocent people.

[Narrator]

I can only wish it be hell

[Host]

on earth for your actions you committed.

[Narrator]

I don't know what evil poisoned your

[Host]

heart and mind that caused you to murder my brother, Ram lapostla.

[Narrator]

What deranged state of mind consumes you to murder your ex wife, Jennifer Lannan, or Justin Mata or Matthew Miller or Michael Zapkowski?

[Host]

I do wish that New Mexico had the death penalty.

[Narrator]

The murderer deserves the death penalty.

[Host]

Sean committed horrible, deplorable acts. He said he did it for the sake of. Of his children. But was he right? I don't know. This is a tough one. What I do know is this. If someone had harmed my kids, I would be pretty relentless in protecting them. Not sure if I'd murder someone, but you could probably push me there. With enough trauma, I think a lot of parents would feel the same way. Sean loved his children. That much is undeniable. But the love became twisted into enabling Jen into endangering the very kids he wanted to protect. And finally into violence he couldn't take back. He saw horror. He carried trauma. And he became a monster. In trying to fight monsters, I guess it's a good lesson for us all. I don't excuse what he did, but I also don't mourn every life he took. I can't feel sympathy for people who prey on children or people who put their own children in danger. That's the tension in Shaun's story. Love twisted into vengeance, protection warped into destruction. And maybe the scariest part is this. Sean Lannan believed he was doing the right thing. Isn't that something? How often does that happen in society? When people who think they're doing the right thing are just misinformed or tricked by those with ulterior motives? You could do a lot of harm trying to do the right thing.

[Narrator]

I think what happened there was when he went to New Jersey. I think seeing those pictures of that situation might have triggered something to do with Mike. And he was like just one of those pictures out, you know, out of Mike's possession. And I don't know if there's truth to that, but, I mean, I just heard that he's had pain in his life, and that might. That. That probably makes sense, knowing that, okay, if this happened to him as a kid, maybe that's why he stand off. I guess it just makes sense if that really did happen. I mean, you know, I can imagine. I've never been through that, but, I mean, I could imagine that would really torment him. And that's why he felt like he

[Host]

needed to control certain situations in the end. Authorities searched but never found evidence of the 11 bodies Sean claimed were hidden in the lava tubes. Whether it was truth, exaggeration or manipulation, no bodies were ever recovered. And those questions remain unanswered. They never found any proof of any of the pictures either. Sean said he destroyed Justin's phone and burned the photos Mike gave him. His three children were placed in the care of family, far from the chaos their parents left behind. And Sean Lannan, a man who said he killed to protect his kids, will spend the rest of his life behind bars, unable to protect anyone from anything ever again. After 13 years of doing this, I'm still trying to figure things out. Still trying to figure out what's moral and just and what isn't. So I just wanted to say that I appreciate all of you who stick around for it.