Police were determined to apprehend the killer of 19-year-old Arkansas Tech University student Nona Dirksmeyer after she was brutally murdered on December 15, 2005, at her flat in Russellville, Arkansas. Gary Dunn, Nona’s neighbour, was spoken to during the initial investigation, but nothing suggested that he may have been involved in the murder. The horrifying murder is detailed in “Dateline: Secrets Uncovered: What Happened to the Beauty Queen,” which also demonstrates how the inquiry eventually led to Gary Dunn. So, let’s examine the specifics and learn where Gary Dunn is right now, shall we?
Who Is Gary Dunn?
Gary Dunn, a citizen of Russellville, Arkansas, and his wife shared a residence with Nona Dirksmeyer. In reality, it was later revealed via a police inquiry that Gary could, if he chose, keep a constant eye on the 19-year-old from his window because it was situated directly across from the victim’s home. Strangely, several occupants of the condominium insisted that Gary had just moved in and had kept his background to himself. He even seemed to keep to himself a lot and only occasionally hosted friends at his flat. There was nothing to indicate the impending disaster, although a few locals also commented that Gary and his wife had a tense relationship.
The death of Nona Dirksmeyer, 19, was discovered on the kitchen floor on December 15, 2005, by her boyfriend Kevin Jones and his mother Janine Jones. Nona was pronounced dead by first responders as soon as they arrived, and an examination showed that she had been stabbed numerous times in the neck and chest before being struck on the head with a lampstand. Unexpectedly, the police were able to locate the identical lampstand from the same room, and they discovered Kevin’s handprint on it. A condom wrapper and many bloodstains were among the other pieces of evidence that were utterly disregarded.
The police did question Gary Dunn during the initial investigation, but he quickly swore on his innocence and said he was out shopping with his mother on December 15. The police instead concentrated their attention on Kevin Jones and even arrested him for Nona’s murder because they thought that was a valid alibi. The prosecution’s case was undermined throughout the trial when Kevin’s grandmother stated that he was present when the murder was committed. As a result of the defense’s proof that the prosecution had overlooked several significant pieces of evidence, the jury was finally obliged to find Kevin not guilty on all charges.
Kevin and his family hired part-time police officer Todd Steffy to look into the murder in the months that followed. Todd sent the condom wrapper for testing right away, and the lab discovered several amounts of male DNA on it. Since that DNA did not belong to Kevin, investigators started looking for a match, but Gary Dunn was only obliged to go to the police station because of an unrelated arrest. At that point, Todd Steffy was able to obtain his DNA and discovered a match between it and the condom wrapper’s. Todd also picked up on the fact that Gary had gone shopping on December 13 rather than December 15, which undermined his alibi. As a result, Gary was detained right away and accused of killing Nona.
Where Is Gary Dunn Now?
When Gary’s case was brought up in court, Gary’s counsel argued that since his DNA only partially matched that of the sample discovered at the crime scene, it was hard to convict someone only on the basis of that evidence. Additionally, the defence contended that Kevin was the real murderer and shouldn’t have been given a pass. Such a defence convinced the jury of enough uncertainty to result in a mistrial in the first trial. The court learned about Gary’s prior conviction for attacking a lady in 2002 during the second trial.
However, the evidence was inconclusive once more, and the jury’s verdict was once more split. Gary was released from custody after the second mistrial, but not before he was apprehended and found guilty of kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, and indecent exposure for two unconnected events in 2018. Gary was also sentenced to jail for a different weapons conviction. Gary will be eligible for release in November 2023 and is now incarcerated in the Arkansas Department of Correction-Wrightsville Unit in Wrightsville, Arkansas.
