FAYETTEVILLE -- A Farmington man who police say shot his wife in the head pleaded not guilty to capital murder Friday in Washington County Circuit Court.
Jason Dunigan, 39, of 95 Dakota Trail, was given a July 13 court date before Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay. Dunigan faces life in prison with no possibility of parole, or the death penalty if convicted of capital murder.
Police were called to a report of a dead woman in a car on Arkansas 16 west of Fayetteville around 10 p.m. May 28. An Arkansas State Police trooper arrived and talked with Dunigan, who identified the woman as his wife, 36-year-old Amber Dunigan.
Dunigan told police he met his wife at that spot earlier in the evening because he was having car trouble and called her for help, according to a probable cause affidavit. Dunigan said after they met, he left his wife there and drove home. He said he later became concerned when his wife didn't arrive home and made multiple calls to her but couldn't contact her. Dunigan said he called his parents and drove with them to the spot where he had left his wife, and he found her dead in her car.
Investigators said in the affidavit they found Amber Dunigan had a gunshot wound to the head. They found cash and other valuables in the vehicle, leading them to believe it was not part of a robbery.
Investigators found a small piece of neon green fabric while examining the woman's head wound that appeared similar to work shirts used by Dunigan. Investigators sent the fabric and one of Dunigan's work shirts to the FBI for analysis and they were found to be consistent, according to the affidavit. Police say they believe one of Dunigan's work shirts was used to muffle the sound of a gunshot.
A search warrant was obtained for Dunigan's home and a surveillance system at the residence was seized and analyzed. The system showed complete footage of the home from days before and after the shooting, but the time between 6:22 p.m. and 8:26 p.m. on the night of the shooting was missing.
Investigators also obtained a search warrant for the vehicle Dunigan was driving the night of the shooting and analyzed navigation logs, location data and functions within the car, such as gear shifts, door openings and closings and phone connections. The vehicle showed no malfunction codes and was parked near the Lake Wedington boat ramp, just east of the spot where the victim was found, at 7 p.m. the night of the shooting, according to the affidavit.
The analysis further showed at 7:07 p.m., the vehicle moved to the location where Amber Dunigan was found and remained there until 7:57 p.m. The vehicle then left that location and was driven to Dunigan's home, reaching a top speed of 88 mph and driving at speeds over 70 mph for long intervals. Information from the vehicle also showed Dunigan arrived home at 8:25 p.m. on the night of the shooting, one minute before the surveillance video resumed.
Investigators questioned Dunigan's roommate and live-in babysitter, who said she and Dunigan were involved in a sexual relationship and Dunigan's wife was aware of it, according to the affidavit.
Investigators also spoke with another person who said Dunigan complained his wife's place of business wouldn't release her life insurance to him, according to the affidavit. That person said Dunigan told them he was the "number one suspect" but said it would come out his wife had actually been killed by a hunter in the area. Amber Dunigan had a $300,000 life insurance policy with her husband and her son listed as beneficiaries, according to the affidavit.
Dunigan was released from jail on $250,000 bond after he was booked in on Feb. 19.
Automotive forensics
Automotive forensics is a branch of digital forensics relating to recovery of digital evidence or data stored in automotive modules, networks and messages sent across operating systems. Electronic control units record vehicle events such as speed, hard braking, hard acceleration and steering input events. Data from connected smart devices can be used to help establish who was in the vehicle when an incident occurred.
Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette