Ex-wife of serial murder suspect 'feared for her safety'

PHOENIX (AP/KSAZ) - The former wife of a 56-year-old man authorities believe to be responsible for a string of murders in the Valley has issued a statement, following the man's death.

On Monday, authorities say they believe Dwight Lamon Jones also killed a man and a woman whose bodies were discovered in Fountain Hills. Police say the killings began Thursday with Steven Pitt, a forensic psychiatrist who assisted in the JonBenet Ramsey mystery in Colorado and a notorious Phoenix serial killer investigation. Authorities also say the deaths Friday of paralegals Veleria Sharp and Laura Anderson were related to Pitt's shooting, as well as the Saturday killing of 72-year-old counselor Marshall Levine.

The statement by Connie Jones was released Monday afternoon.

Authorities were closing in on Jones at a Scottsdale extended-stay hotel Monday when he fatally shot himself.

The Associated Press (AP) contributed to this report.