December 15th 2005 Dirksmeyer was
found dead in her Russellville apartment. Someone had beaten her and slashed her throat. Her boyfriend Kevin Jones his mother and a friend discovered Dirksmeyers body and called 911.
March 31st 2006
107 days after Nona's death prosecutors
charged boyfriend, Kevin Jones with first degree murder.
July 9th 2007 Jones went to trial and the jury found him
not guilty. As the not guilty verdict came in Kevin Jones rejoiced with family members and friends inside the courtroom. Outside he thanked the jury and commented briefly on his year as a murder suspect.
Jones' attorney Bill Bristow said he believed his client got a fair trial that the judge allowed in evidence relevant to the case and kept out evidence that was not. But he went on to say that the prosecution failed to follow up on evidence like DNA found on a condom wrapper and a finger nail found at the scene that didn't match jones.
“Today justice was done for Kevin Jones. Justice needs to be done for Nona Dirksmeyer and her family. I call for the Pope County sheriff's department, for the state police to locate the real killer of Nona Dirksmeyer," Bristow said.
While Nona Dirksmeyer's family was relieved the trial was over they still believed Jones got away with murder.
Although a jury acquitted Jones this case continues to affect his life Arkansas Tech denied him admission for the fall semester. According to Jones, the school said it rejected his application because he didn't send the proper transcripts and that there were safety concerns about having him on campus.
August 22 2008
Gary Dunn was arrested Friday afternoon in Conway County for the murder of Nona Dirksmeyer. He is being held without bond in the Pope county jail. He's expected to make a court appearance next week.
