Verdict: Jones found not guilty
The courtroom was quiet as Kevin Jones stood to hear the verdict in the first degree murder trial last week in Ozark. Defense attorney Bill Bristow of Jonesboro reached over and grabbed his client in a bear hug as they waited for Circuit Judge John Patterson to read the verdict. Finally, after a year and a half the Jones family heard the words they had been praying for - NOT GUILTY!
Following the decision, the courtroom suddenly became animated as Jones rushed to embrace his brother, Russell Jones, a news reporter for KFSM-TV, Channel 5, in Fort Smith. (Russell is also a former employee of The Dover Times.) Hugs and tears flew abundantly as members of the Jones family along with friends felt a surge of relief.
Emotional tears were seen from the Dirksmeyer family. Dewayne Dipert, step-father to Nona, said, "You got away with it, didn't you, Kevin?" Someone from the Jones side responded and an official stepped between them.
Defense Attorney Michael Robbins of Russellville had tears flowing down his face, in absolute joy, Kevin's mother, Janice Jones, said. "Robbins, Bristow and lead attorney Kenneth Johnson of Monticello are like family to us," said Janice.
The jury, eight women and four men, deliberated for eight and a half hours Wednesday and Thursday before jury foreman Kimberly Willhite turned over the verdict. Both the prosecution and the defense attorneys praised the jurors for their attentiveness during the long trial.
One juror said "there just wasn't enough evidence." Defense attorneys told the jurors throughout the trial that the Russellville Police Department used "tunnel vision" while investigating the case.
The prosecution focused on a palm print found on a light bulb as its primary evidence. The print on the bulb matched that of Kevin Jones. The floor lamp was determined as the murder weapon and was found in Dirksmeyer's Russellville apartment close to the body. The lamp was broken into three pieces. The prosecution presented witnesses such as former Russellville Police Chief Kevin Bacon and Bobby Humphries with the State Crime Lab. Both men are certified latent print examiners. They testified that the print belonged to Jones. Tom Bevel, a forensic expert, told the jurors that in his opinion the blood on the light bulb was placed at the time of death because there were no blood clots found on the bulb.
Prosecuting attorneys, Gibbons and Jeff Phillips, referred to an interview with Jones on Dec. 15, the night of his girlfriend's death. In the interview Jones denied touching anything in the apartment other than Nona and a greeting card.
The defense team questioned Bacon about a report he had submitted following his initial investigation. Bacon wrote that the blood on the light bulb appeared to have a "appearance of tacky."
Jones's attorneys argued that if the blood was "tacky" then it would still be wet and could not have been placed at the time of death, but was done when Jones discovered the body six hours later. The defense presented several forensic scientists who conducted an experiment on the drying time of blood on a light bulb. They concluded that the blood on the bulb in the Dirksmeyer apartment at 60 degrees would dry in 30 to 45 minutes.
The defense attorneys introduced the possibilities of several suspects whose DNA and fingerprints were not acquired by the Russellville Police Department. They also noted that there were several blood stains in the apartment that were not processed and also that other fingerprints on the murder weapon did not match the fingerprints of Kevin Jones.
The defense also called Dr. James Lordison, former chief medical examiner for the state of Alabama to the stand. He said that there were no scientific guild lines to accurately determine the time of death. He criticized the state crime lab for waiting four days before performing the autopsy.
Lordison reenacted what he believed to be the final minutes leading up to Dirksmeyer's death. Cynthia Green, niece of Robbins, assisted the defense in acting out the sequence of events leading to the death. Lordison believes that the killer was standing behind Dirksemeyer and had her hands pinned. With the other hand he made knife wounds in Dirksmeyer's neck and shoulder. Lordison said that he felt that the victim had been tortured with threats of throat slashing. She was then turned around and hit in the face three times causing her to loose consciousness. At this point, she is lying on the floor face down. The killer had time to search for a weapon. He picked up the base of the floor lamp and "struck her twice on the head."
Following the trial Defense Attorney Bill Bristow made the following statement: "Today justice was done for Kevin Jones and his family. I feel justice needs to be done for Nona Dirksmeyer and her family."
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An Interview With Janice Jones
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