Who is Nona Dirksmeyer

Nona Dirksmeyer, Miss Petit Jean Valley 2005, a native of Dover and the 19-year-old daughter of Carol and Duane Dipert of Russellville.
Her critical issue platform was, "Break the Cycle - Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness." Her talent was a vocal performance of Con Te Partiro. NONA DIRKSMEYER, ARKANSAS BEAUTY CONTESTANT: "Con Te Partiro" is a song about love and loss. Translated to English, it means, with you, I part, or time to say goodbye. I hope you enjoy my version of this classic song.
A 2004 graduate of Dover High School, reigning Miss Petit Jean Valley, contestant in the 2005 Miss Arkansas Scholarship Pageant, and a well-regarded musical talent, Dirksmeyer's death has shaken her family, friends, the community and the Arkansas Tech University student body and faculty.
She enjoyed vocal music education and was planning on teaching it in the future. Carol said there is no doubt in her mind she would still be competing in pageants. Nona was also the reigning Miss Petit Jean Valley at the time of her death.
"I'm sure she would be more involved in Big Brothers and Big Sisters, too," Carol said as she showed her warm and proud smile. "I think it opened her eyes to these under-privileged kids. She really enjoyed hanging out with Stacey."
The day Nona died, she had a date with Stacey, Nona's "little sister" in the Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. The two planned to eat dinner and see a movie that night.
When talking to Carol, one can sense joy and a strong feeling of faith in her heart, but the heartache and tragedy seeps through as well.
"I'm not saying it's easy. It certainly hasn't been. [God] helped me through it day by day. You don't know how bad it is until it happens," Carol said. "You don't know how bad it feels. He's given me reassurance several times. I know where she is, and I know she's happier than she's ever been."
When Carol says she knows Nona is in heaven, she means it. Her confidence in God and heaven pours off of her. When in her presence, Carol's faith is impossible to ignore.

The trial for Gary Dunn has begun. Gary Dunn is charged in the murder of Nona Dirksmeyer. If convicted they are seeking the death penalty for Gary Dunn. Come back here every day for postings from that day's court.

Four jurors were seated in the first day of the capital murder trial of a man accused of killing an Arkansas beauty queen in Russellville.

Attorneys took more than six hours to pick their first juror, an older man, before adding three more at the end of the day. So far two women and two men sit on the jury for 30-year-old Gary William Dunn, who's charged in the 2005 death of Nona Dirksmeyer.

Read more about Gary Dunn Trial Day 1

CLARKSVILLE -- The focus again shifted to attorneys' trial plans during jury selection -- now in its second day here at the Johnson County Courthouse -- in the capital murder trial for the man accused in the 2005 death of Nona Dirksmeyer.
A former bank bookkeeper whose relative, Brandon Curry, 25, of Fayetteville once roomed with Kevin Jones, Dirksmeyer's boyfriend, said she had met Jones, but denied it would impact her ability to fairly consider the case if selected as a juror. Jones, along with his mother and a friend, discovered Dirksmeyer's body on the night of Dec. 15, 2005, and was the first man charged in the murder.
"I don't have a relationship with him," she said.

Read the full story

The prosecutors spent a couple of hours discussing the guilt of Gary Dunn and also finished selecting the jurors. They are ready to begin opening arguments today.

There are two mid day reports released on the Courier Website. Here and here!

CLARKSVILLE - The panel of 12 that will decide the fate of Gary W. Dunn, 30, accused in the December 2005 murder of beauty queen Nona Dirksmeyer, includes six men and six women of various ages and backgrounds chosen during the course of three full days of jury selection.

Juror No. 1, a white-haired man who wore overalls to the first day of the proceedings, said he doesn't watch much television. He noted he had been a victim of a crime, and at one point said the "death penalty is right" in certain cases.
Juror No. 2, a younger man, wore a T-shirt and jeans when he appeared during Tuesday's proceedings.
Juror No. 3 is a white female who sat slumped as she answered questions.
Juror No. 4, a woman, said of the death penalty, "There's certain times when we need it."

Click here to read about the rest of the Jurors

Both defense and prosecutors spent the day going back and forth talking about Kevin Jones. Not much mention of Gary Dunn through the day. A lot of discussion over the Kevin Jones palm print on the lamp. Plus much discussion over the actions of Kevin Jones before, during and after the day Nona was murdered.
Read more about the 4th day of the Gary Dunn Trial

The trial of Gary Dunn continued on April 20th in Clarksville Arkansas. Discussion focused on DNA evidence found at the scene of Nona Dirksmeter's apartment.

Defense attorneys admit the findings, determined by an expert employed by Jones' defense, are a match to their client, but dispute the state's interpretation of their significance.

Except from Courier Article
"You cannot say that the condom wrapper - that the DNA on the condom wrapper - belongs to Gary Dunn, is that right?" Jeff Rosenzweig, a court-appointed public defender for Dunn, asked Kevin Noppinger, director of DNA Labs International, the private firm that did the testing.
Noppinger, who testified he compared the DNA discovered on the wrapper to "various individuals," including Dirksmeyer; Dunn; Jones; and, defense attorneys later revealed, Jared Berry, a friend of Dirksmeyer's, agreed the findings more accurately suggested Dunn could not be excluded as the donor of the sample, and that there was at least a 1 in 2,100 chance that, as Rosenzweig summarized, "any other random person off the street" would present the same profile.

Read the full story

The jurors for the Gary Dunn trial taking place in Clarksville Arkansas saw and heard testimony from Janice Jones and Ryan Whiteside. Both sides are still focusing on Kevin Jones involvement during the discovery of Nona Dirksmeyer on the night of Dec 15th 2005.

Read the full story on the mid day report from the Courier Newspaper

April 22, 2010

Dirksmeyer's boyfriend weeps as he recalls finding body;
attorney for Dunn alleges Jones' story 'ain't what happened'

Except from the Courier
"For Kevin Jones, the morning of Dec. 15, 2005, started out similarly to a dozen other Thursdays that had come before. He ran errands for his mother. Had lunch at a local cafe. Worked at his family's full-service gas station south of Dover.
But the day derailed into unfamiliar territory, Jones testified Wednesday, when he realized he hadn't heard from his longtime girlfriend, Nona Dirksmeyer, for hours. By late afternoon, he was growing concerned. By 6:30, he would discover her nude, lifeless body facedown and bloodied on the living room floor of her apartment."

Read the full story

Gary Dunn is "left handed" says the cops.... Nona was murdered by a right handed person says the medial examiner...

Except from Courier Mid Day Report
"A state police investigator testified Monday that Gary Dunn appeared to be left-handed during an interview in 2005 -- an important point in light of a medical examiner's testimony last week..... Dr. Charles Kokes, the state's chief medical examiner, testified Friday cuts and stab marks on Dirksmeyer's neck and shoulder were likely inflicted by an attacker wielding a weapon in his right hand."

Read the full mid day report

The mid day report is out now.... Wow what a day in court. Jennifer Dunn had some things to say and i don't think it is going to help Gary Dunn any at all...
Except from the report...

"The wife of Gary Dunn claims he sexually abused her during their marriage to the point she was forced to undergo an emergency hysterectomy prior to their separation."......
"The wife broke down in tears as she described acts Dunn committed during sex, including "choking, putting his hand over your face, putting his elbow or arm over the back of your neck and shoving (your face) into the pillow or floors.
Jennifer Dunn also testified her husband began using condoms after he forcibly engaged her in acts of sodomy while they resided at the same South Inglewood Avenue apartment complex where Dirksmeyer lived and died."

Read the full story from The Courier

Circuit Judge Bill Pearson declared a mistrial at 12:35 p.m. Saturday in the capital murder trial of Gary Dunn.
Jurors were unable to reach a unanimous decision despite more than 10 hours of deliberation.

Story date: March 16

April 12 trial date nears
in Dirksmeyer murder case

By Adam Franks
newseditor@couriernews.com
A judge ruled Monday prosecutors can use an analysis that estimates a one in 120 million likelihood DNA found near Nona Dirksmeyer's dead body belongs to someone other than Gary W. Dunn, 30, of Dover.

Read the full story

A new arrest has been made in the murder case of Arkansas beauty queen, Nona Dirksmeyer.
Gary Dunn is charged with capital murder, according to the State Special Prosecutor Jack McQuary.

Dunn is being held in the Pope County Detention Center.

No other details are being released right now.

Dirksmeyer was killed in December 2005. In 2007, a jury found her ex-boyfriend, Kevin Jones, not guilty of the murder in 2007.

Get the full story
Fox 16 story
The Courier Story
NWAransas News

Murder suspect pleads not guilty

Story date: Sept. 23, 2008
Public Defender Commission appoints Little Rock lawyer to represent man accused in 2005 Dirksmeyer murder
The Dover man suspected of killing Arkansas Tech University student Nona Dirksmeyer pleaded not guilty to charges of capital murder at a hearing Monday morning in Pope County Circuit Court.
Gary W. Dunn, 29, is accused in the Dec. 15, 2005, slaying of Dirksmeyer at her home on South Inglewood Avenue in Russellville. Dunn was arrested in August near Center Ridge in Conway County, and is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond at the Pope County Detention Center.
Dunn is scheduled to stand trial April 13-24, 2009.

Read the full story....

A man suspected of murdering a Dover girl is being held at the Pope County Detention Center in lieu of a $1,000,000 cash bond. Gary W. Dunn, 28, was arrested Friday and is charged with capital murder in connection with the December 2005 death of Nona Dirksmeyer, an Arkansas Tech University student.
Dunn was convicted of second-degree battery in 2003 and sentenced to six years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections for an assault on another Russellville woman at a jogging trail in Russellville.

Read the whole story

New Story 08/26/08

In an affidavit, Arkansas State Police Special Agent Stacie Rhoads said for the first time evidence at the crime scene indicated a possible sexual assault - a charge prosecutors previously denied - and said a condom wrapper found near Dirksmeyer's body indicated "a mixture" of DNA matched to Dirksmeyer and Dunn.
At Jones' trial, Kevin Noppinger, a lab director from DNA Labs International, a private consulting firm, testified he analyzed the condom wrapper in December 2006 at the defense team's request.
Noppinger testified he found Y-chromosome DNA evidence on the condom wrapper, which Terry Rolfe, chief resident DNA expert with the Arkansas State Crime Lab, testified earlier in the trial would "point to a lineage rather than a particular person."
She said such evidence could be used to exclude certain suspected donors, assuming they did not share an ancestry with the donor of the DNA.

Read the rest of the story

Gary Dunn seems like a person who could have committed this terrible act of violence

A pre-trial hearing is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 17 in the case against a Dover man suspected of killing an Arkansas Tech University student. The hearing will be held at the Pope County Courthouse before Circuit Judge William Pearson.
Gary W. Dunn, 29, is accused in the Dec. 15, 2005, slaying of Nona Dirksmeyer at her apartment on South Inglewood Avenue in Russellville. Dunn was arrested in August near Center Ridge in Conway County, and is being held on a $1 million cash-only bond at the Pope County Detention Center.
Dunn is scheduled to stand trial April 13-24.

Read the full story

Client's defense still 'that of innocence,' attorneys say; results would be admissible only during penalty phase of capital murder trial

(AP) - A man charged with killing an Arkansas Tech student at her South Inglewood Avenue apartment wants a judge to allow him to have an independent medical examination, which would come into play if he is convicted.
Gary Dunn, 29, of Dover, pleaded not guilty to capital murder for the 2005 killing of Nona Dirksmeyer, 19. A hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. today in Pope County Circuit Court before Circuit Judge Bill Pearson in advance of an April 13 trial.
Lawyers for Dunn, Jeff Rosenzweig and William O. James Jr., both of Little Rock, said in a motion that prosecutors can ask for the death penalty if Dunn is convicted.

Read the full story

Prosecutors seeking death penalty

Pope County Circuit Judge Bill Pearson granted a motion for continuance in the capital murder trial of Gary Dunn, 29, on Tuesday.
Dunn is accused in the 2005 murder of Nona Dirksmeyer, 19.
During Tuesday's hearing, prosecutor Jack McQuary also indicated the state would seek the death penalty against Dunn.
A new trial date has not been set.

Fifth Judicial District Circuit Judge William "Bill" Pearson granted two motions last week for a Dover man charged with capital murder in the 2005 slaying of Nona Dirksmeyer, which will give the defense counsel access to evidence for testing as well as allow the defendant to receive a psychiatric examination.
The order will give the defense of Gary Dunn, 29 - who is scheduled to stand trial Sept. 28 in connection with the Dec. 15, 2005 homicide - access to a condom wrapper and its biological matter, which was obtained from the crime scene, according to court documents.

Read the full story

The Dover man charged with capital murder in the 2005 slaying of Nona Dirksmeyer will face a jury trial Sept. 28, according to court documents filed earlier this week.
Gary W. Dunn, 29, who remains in police custody, was previously to stand trial in connection with the Dec. 15, 2005, homicide April 13. Defense attorneys Jeff Rosenzweig and William O. James Jr. requested a continuance in the case Feb. 17, citing the "huge amount" of information gathered as a result of two investigations into the 19-year-old Dirksmeyer's death - an initial one that culminated in the arrest of Kevin N. Jones of Dover, Dirksmeyer's boyfriend, who was later acquitted of the crime, and the subsequent one that led to Dunn's arrest.
Little Rock attorney Jack McQuary, appointed as a special prosecutor in the case last year at the request of 5th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons, indicated at the Feb. 17 hearing the state was seeking the death penalty against Dunn "at this point in time."

Read the full story of Gary Dunn Trial Set for September

The trial of Gary Dunn is set to start in April 2010. Gary Dunn is charged with First Degree Murder in the death of Nona Dirksmeyer.

Who is Kevin Jones?

Kevin Jones attended Dover High School in Dover, Arkansas, graduating in 2004 at age 18. Kevin will turn 21 in 2007 on November 20. He has always had a great love of the outdoors and athletics in general, with a particular emphasis on baseball. Like Nona Dirksmeyer, Kevin had a record of achievement in high school. In fact, he had been elected president of the Arkansas State Beta Club, an honors society for high school students, by the time he graduated. Kevin's parents, Janice and Hiram Jones, own a gas station located between Dover and Russellville, Arkansas.
*source* Huffs Crime Blog

Kevin Jones was a likely suspect in the murder of Nona Dirksmeyer. She was beaten severely, which made it appear to be a crime committed by someone with strong feelings towards her. As in any murder case the police usually look very hard at people who had direct contact with the victim. Husbands and boyfriends are very often prime suspects in murder cases involving women.

In this case it seems that the Russellville Police Detectives focused on Kevin Jones right from the beginning. Maybe leading them to over look evidence that didn't point towards Kevin as the guilty party.

Kevin Jones has been found NOT GUILTY and a new suspect has been arrested

ATU won't admit man acquitted in slaying

Story date: Aug. 20, 2008
(AP) - The man acquitted in the death of a former Arkansas Tech University (ATU) student said he'll appeal the university's decision to deny him admission for the fall semester.
Kevin Jones, who was acquitted in the 2005 death of his girlfriend Nona Dirksmeyer, said he believes his murder trial was the reason he was denied admission to the university.
"It feels like if this didn't happen to me, they would have let me in," Jones told Little Rock television station KATV.

Read the full story about Kevin Jones

Like the murder itself, questions surrounding leak of confidential information from DIRKSMEYER investigative file remain unanswered.
Following their release of information suggesting experts may have found a match for DNA found on a condom wrapper at the scene of a 19-year-old college student's violent death, attorneys for Kevin Jones - the man tried for, and acquitted of, Nona DIRKSMEYER's murder - are now leaving more questions than answers.
Gibbons: 'Misunderstanding' provides portion
of unreleased DIRKSMEYER case file to television show
The many twists and turns of the ongoing investigation into the murder of Dover High School graduate and Arkansas Tech University student Nona DIRKSMEYER - now entering its third year - perhaps lend themselves, in their complexity, to misunderstanding and confusion.
Apparently, elements of those states may have spilled over into other arenas surrounding the case.
Special prosecutor appointed to Dirksmeyer case More than two years after her murder - and nearly seven months after a Franklin County jury found her longtime boyfriend, Kevin Jones, not guilty of the crime - a special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate the death of Nona DIRKSMEYER, ....more

Life has continued for Carol Dipert, Nona DIRKSMEYER's mother, after Kevin Jones was acquitted for DIRKSMEYER's first-degree murder at the Franklin County Courthouse in July. DIRKSMEYER's body was discovered in her Russellville apartment Dec. 15, 2005. The cause of death was multiple blunt- and sharp-force trauma.
As Dipert now tries to re-enter her own life, she recalled DIRKSMEYER's relationship with Jones and the couple's breakups and makeups.
Dipert said Jones and DIRKSMEYER began hanging out together in junior high school,....

OZARK - At 2:21 p.m. Thursday in the Franklin County Courthouse, 581 days after former Arkansas Tech University student Nona DIRKSMEYER was brutally murdered in her South Inglewood Avenue apartment, the jury in the State v. Jones trial returned a verdict of "not guilty" to heavy silence in the courtroom.
Kevin Jones, DIRKSMEYER's high school sweetheart, was arrested in March 2006 in connection with DIRKSMEYER's murder.

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