In Dateline (season 7, episode 22), the small Arkansas town of Russellville was privy to a catastrophe on December 15, 2005. The event haunted the locals for years to come. Nineteen-year-old Nona Dirksmeyer was brutally killed in an apartment.Her boyfriend, Kevin Jones, found her body in the living room. Accusations, a trial, an acquittal, and a shocking arrest became part of the case. Ongoing concerns about justice and closure persist despite legal progress. Nona's story drew attention and became a Dateline case probing small-town justice.Continue reading.What happened to Nona Dirksmeyer?Dateline showed the audience what the final moments of Nona were like. Her boyfriend, Kevin Jones, began worrying on December 15 because several calls continued without any return call. He drove to Nona’s off-campus apartment with his mother by his side. Nona was in her living room and covered with blood. Paramedics came, but her injuries became too critical. There was a heavy base of a lamp nearby with blood smeared on the bulb.The description of the situation provided by the police chief, James Bacon, was violent and brutal. There was observed to be no forced entry and no se*ual assault, as stated by the investigators. The wrong suspect and failed justice View this post on Instagram Instagram PostThe episode took the time to retrace the winding trail of the case against Kevin Jones. Police estimated that a bloody palm print on the lamp used in the attack was his. Kevin lived in a state of suspicion for almost two years and was finally tried with the murder of Nona. That palm print and a condom wrapper discovery in her kitchen were the two key points of the courtroom struggle.When jurors judged there was insufficient evidence to condemn Kevin, he was found not guilty. The actual turning point came several years later when the wrapper was at last tested using DNA. The findings led to Gary Dunn, who was a neighbor in the same apartment complex. Dateline clarifies the value of testing every piece of evidence to determine the actual truth.The real killer emerges at lastAccording to the Dateline investigation, Gary Dunn was detained and accused of killing Nona years after Kevin was found not guilty. Dunn had a disturbing criminal past that included assaults on women. He was found guilty twice for attacking a woman on a jogging track in 2002. A few months after being granted parole in 2018, Dunn attempted to abduct Miss Arkansas USA contender Rylie Wagner. Follow Soap Central for more updates!