Dr. Steven Errol Pitt, a 59-year-old male forensic psychiatrist, was fatally shot on Thursday, May 31, 2018, outside of his office in Scottsdale, Arizona. Witnesses reported hearing a loud argument followed by the sound of gunshots. The investigation into Dr. Pitt's murder quickly revealed it was not an isolated incident but rather the beginning of a tragic and violent series of events that would unfold over the next several days.
The ensuing investigation linked Dr.
Pitt's death to a wider killing spree. On Friday, June 1, 2018, two paralegals, Veleria Sharp, 48, and Laura Anderson, 49, were shot and killed at a downtown Scottsdale law firm. One of the women managed to stumble out of the office with a gunshot wound to the head and get help before succumbing to her injuries. The following day, the body of 72-year-old hypnotherapist and life coach, Marshall Levine, was discovered in his Scottsdale office. He had also been shot to death. The string of professional victims left the local legal and medical communities on edge.
The suspect in these targeted killings was identified as 56-year-old Dwight Lamon Jones. The motive for the murders was rooted in a contentious divorce and custody battle that had taken place nearly a decade earlier. Dr. Pitt had conducted a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation of Jones during those proceedings. The law firm where the two paralegals worked had represented Jones' ex-wife. It is believed that Marshall Levine was a case of mistaken identity, as he had moved into an office previously occupied by another therapist involved in Jones' case. Jones' violent spree also included the murders of a Fountain Hills couple, 72-year-old Bryon Thomas and 70-year-old Mary Simmons, who were discovered on Monday, June 4. The connection between the couple and Jones was not immediately clear to investigators, though it was later suggested they may have been acquaintances.
Law enforcement was able to connect the murders through ballistic evidence and DNA found on a shell casing at the scene of Dr. Pitt's murder. A description of the suspect's vehicle, a gold Mercedes, was also obtained from traffic cameras near one of the crime scenes. On Monday, June 4, 2018, police tracked Dwight Lamon Jones to an extended-stay hotel in Scottsdale. As a SWAT team closed in and began evacuating surrounding rooms, they heard a single gunshot from inside Jones' room. Upon entry, they found Jones deceased from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His death brought an end to the multi-day rampage that claimed the lives of six innocent people.
