Once Jones was made a suspect, a DNA sample was obtained from a relative of Jones and matched to a DNA sample from a recovered shell casing. The perpetrator was identified as Dwight Lamon Jones (56) who had previously been arrested. According to Rich Slavin, an assistant chief with the Scottsdale Police Department, Jones was arrested in 2008 or 2009 on charges of domestic violence, alleging that he mistreated his wife and a child. Jones had been living at Extended Stay hotels for the past nine years. His former wife told reporters that she "feared for my safety for the past nine years." In her statement she continued with "He was a very emotionally disturbed person as the court records will confirm." Less than a week before the spree killings Jones used social media to attempt to bring forward allegations that his ex-wife was the abuser and not Jones. Jones created almost 10 hours of content outlining what he viewed as a conspiracy by his ex-wife, psychiatrists, lawyers and the Maricopa County Judicial system to rig a divorce and custody case to steal his son from him.