Mental exam delays Dunigan murder case

FAYETTEVILLE — A Farmington man charged with shooting his wife in the head had his capital murder case moved to this summer in Washington County Circuit Court on Jan. 2.

Jason Ross Dunigan, 41, of 95 Dakota Trail, now has a July 16 court date before Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay. Dunigan faces the death penalty or life in prison with no possibility of parole if convicted of capital murder.

Prosecuting Attorney Matt Durrett said the delay is due to waiting on a court-ordered mental competency exam at the Arkansas State Hospital. Durrett said the hospital is backed up and cannot do Dunigan’s exam until April.

The case was set for trial in September 2022, but Dunigan’s attorneys raised a defense of mental disease or defect and the case has been reset multiple times since then while waiting for the exam.

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, 2021. An Arkansas State Police trooper arrived and talked with Dunigan, who identified the woman as his wife, 36-year-old Amber Dunigan.

Jason Dunigan was formally charged with capital murder in February 2022.

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 Dunigan used. Investigators sent the fabric and one of Dunigan’s work shirts to the FBI for analysis, and they appear to match, 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. 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 Jason 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. 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.

Jason Dunigan is free on $250,000 bond while awaiting trial.

Dunigan