IA v. Alec Jones: Dad in the Ditch Murder Trial

WEBSTER COUNTY, Iowa  (Court TV) — A jury found the elder of two brothers accused in their father’s death guilty of first-degree premeditated murder.

Alec Jones appears in court during his murder trial Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024. (Court TV)

Alec Jones, 26, was charged in the April shooting death of 55-year-old Dennis Jones. Alec’s brother, 21-year-old Nathan Jones, is charged with aiding and abetting murder in the first degree. The brothers were being tried separately, with Alec standing trial first.

A mail carrier found Dennis’ body in a roadside ditch on April 26, according to the Fort Dodge Police Department. An investigation determined Dennis was fatally shot at another location, then dumped in the ditch.

The brothers were arrested that day. An affidavit obtained by Court TV accuses Alec of shooting Dennis “numerous times,” and “committing this act with prior planning and attempts to conceal his activity” with the help of Nathan.

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 8, 2024.

TRIAL UPDATES

DAY 6 – 8/14/24

• Both sides delivered closing arguments
• A Webster County jury convicted Alec Ray Jones of first-degree premeditated murder for the death of his father, Dennis Jones. Jurors began their deliberations just after noon and notified the court they had reached a verdict almost two hours after they started.
• Judge John Haney scheduled Jones’ sentencing on October 8, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. CT / 11:00 a.m. ET.
  • In Iowa, first-degree premeditated murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole for adults. The first five years of the sentence must be served in solitary confinement.

DAY 5 – 8/13/24

• Alec Jones’ attorneys declined to present any evidence, and Jones decided not to testify.
• The defense strategy appears to have changed after the state filed two motions to strike the testimony of Alec Jones’ mother, Shannon, and Shannon’s nephew, Tyler Messerly.
  • Shannon Jones purposely violated the sequestration order and has watched Court TV and its commentary about the trial. In one recorded jail conversation, Shannon told her sons that they can’t stop her from watching and she will continue to watch Court TV. There was also discussion about a “hammer” or “mallet.” Prosecutors expressed concern that her testimony would be based on what she heard broadcast and that she would tailor her answers to what she saw on Court TV.
  • Judge Hanley ruled Shannon would be allowed to testify, but only about violence inflicted on her that her son, Alec, witnessed. The ruling also included that Jones remains under the sequestration order until the end of the trial, and if she violates it or there’s another outburst in court she would be “dealt with accordingly.”
  • The judge ruled that Tyler Messerly could testify about the violence he endured from Dennis Jones on July 19, 2023. When researching court records, Messerly was arrested two days later for public intoxication and interference with official acts. It’s unclear if the incidents are connected.
• The state handed over additional recorded jailhouse conversations and text messages, which the defense asked for the morning to review their content.
• Judge Hanley denied the defense’s motion for a judgment of a acquittal, saying he believed there was evidence to lead the jury to a guilty verdict.

DAY 4 – 8/12/24

• The state rest its case-in-chief Monday afternoon.
• Alec Jones’ defense attorneys argued for a Motion of Acquittal. A decision has been reserved until Tuesday.
• The state’s star witness, Makayla McNeilly, returned to the witness stand to wrap up a brief cross-examination.
  • During cross-examination, Maykayla McNeilly said she was aware of the abuse that Dennis Jones inflicted on Alec and his mother, Shannon Jones. Prosecutors objected to the line of questioning.
  • Defense attorney Katherine Flickinger asked to proffer the witness what information she could provide regarding the abuse in the home. Flickinger told the judge that their presentation of evidence would include other witnesses who would testify about Dennis’ abusive behavior.
  • McNeilly said she witnessed Dennis “storming” out of the home and yelling at his wife, Shannon, while Makayla, Shannon, and Alec were sitting in the backyard. Dennis allegedly slammed the door on Shannon’s face but did not see the door hit Shannon’s face.
  • Judge John Haney overruled the state’s objection and will allow information concerning Dennis Jones’ alleged abuse and character as evidence as long as the defendant has direct knowledge of the abuse.
  • Aiden Pate and McNeilly were already friends before she met Alec and Nathan Jones. She was introduced to Alec Jones in December 2023, and they became fast friends. She was also introduced to his brother, Nathan. Nathan and Makayla began dating two months before the incident, and according to McNeilly, their relationship ended the night of the incident.
  • Makayla and Alec have continued to communicate since his incarceration. The last message Alec sent to Makayla on July 7, 2024, appears to show he asked her to help him with his defense, writing, “Remember to say everything in my defense if you love me.”
  • McNeilly told jurors that she was heavily intoxicated that night and remembers only “moments” of the night of April 25, 2024.
  • Makayla McNeilly described one of Dennis Jones’ violent abuse that she and Alec Jones witnessed. McNeilly said that Dennis exited the home yelling and cursing at his wife, Shannon, followed by a door being slammed on Shannon’s face.
  • McNeilly never witnessed any violence towards Alec Jones.
  • After Dennis Jones’ body was removed from the home, Aiden, Makayla, Alec, and Nathan helped clean up the kitchen area.
• Megan Thacker, Alec and Nathan Jones’ sister and Dennis Jones’ daughter takes the stand.
  • Moved out of 1440 2nd Avenue months before the shooting.
  • Residents of the home April 24 through April – Dennis Jones, Shannon Jones, Alec Jones, Nathan Jones, and Dennis’ girlfriend, Kaylynn Julius.
  • Megan last saw her dad on April 24 when they installed new garage flooring.
  • Dennis Jones texted Megan the evening of April 25th, verbatim, “I think mathan is gunna try to so sumthin to me.” EDITORIAL: Translation: “I think Nathan is going try to do something to me.”
  • Megan was unsuccessful in calling her dad. She rode her bicycle over to the family home.
  • Megan attempts to locate her father, Dennis.
  • Megan rode her bicycle a short distance and turned around to look for the keys to her father’s truck to find him. She notices items in the bed of the truck that are not usually there – rugs that have blood-like stains, bullet casings, and her father’s red Budweiser cap that he wears every day.
  • Megan calls 911.
  • Megan and her mom, Shannon, visited the location where Dennis Jones’ body was discarded. While traveling to the location, they noticed a pile of clothing on the side of the road, stopped to take a look, and recognized the clothing belonging to someone in her family.
• Leanna Oberhelman, 911 Operator, Webster County Dispatch takes the stand.
  • Took the call from Dennis Jones stating he thought his “boys are trying to get him.”
• Special Agent Evan Thompson, Criminal Investigator, Iowa Division of Public Safety takes the stand.
  • Authored search warrant for the Jones home and social media accounts.
  • Alec Jones tried deleting Facebook messages sent to his younger brother, Nathan.
  • Messages between Alec and Nathan Jones.
• Lead Detective Molly Anderson, General Crimes, Fort Dodge Police Department takes the stand.
  • Created timeline leading up to Dennis Jones’ murder and the clean-up after.
  • Aiden Pate, Makayla McNeilly, and Nathan Jones at Bootleggers
    • 10:17 p.m. Alec sends Nathan a Facebook message “someone is gunna die”
    • 10:30 p.m. Alec arrives at Bootleggers to pick up Nathan at the bar
    • 1045 p.m. Aiden and Makayla leave 15 minutes later and head to Alec and Nathan’s house
    • 11:21 p.m. Alec enters his father’s bedroom with a flashlight
    • 11:24 p.m. Dennis leaves his room and calls 91111:32
    • 11:25 p.m. Dennis returns to his room and looks out his bedroom window
    • 11:27 p.m. Aiden parks his black Impala outside the Jones’ home
    • 11:31 p.m. Dennis sends a text to his daughter, Megan, that Nathan is trying to harm him
    • 11:32 p.m. Facebook messages between Nathan and Alec
    • 11:32 p.m. Dennis leaves his room for a final time with his cell phone in his left hand, nothing in his right hand, and a cigarette in his mouth
    • 11:34 p.m. Dennis is shot multiple times, 12 to 14 seconds after leaving his room
    • One person is seen running outside the home to Aiden’s vehicle, saying, “Go, go, go”
    • 11:35 p.m. Aiden’s vehicle returns to the home
    • 11:37 p.m. Two people exit the vehicle and go inside the Jones’ home
    • 11:38 p.m. Aiden, Alec, Nathan, and Makayla’s phones show they are at the river where Alec discarded the gun, a black latex glove, and Dennis’ cell phone
    • 11:48 p.m. The group returns to the home
    • 11:51 p.m. Alec enters his father’s room. He appears frantic and looking for something in the room
    • 11:55 p.m. Alec returns to the room wearing work-style gloves
  • April 26, 2024
    • 12:02 a.m. Officer Dominic Morris tells the group to move the car out of the roadway
    • 12:02 through 12:45 a.m. Dennis Jones is dumped in a ditch next to a cornfield
    • 12:46 a.m. The group returns to Bootleggers (Bar)
    • 2:05 a.m. The group returns to the Jones residence
    • 2:06 a.m. Aiden parks his vehicle across the street from the Jones’ home. Alec, Makayla, and Aiden are seen holding cleaning supplies, joking and laughing on surveillance video in Dennis Jones’ room
    • 4:21 a.m. Alec and Nathan remain home. Aiden drops Makayla off at home

DAY 3 – 8/9/24

• Proceedings resumed at noon Friday to allow the attorneys to review new evidence and question the witness about its content.
  • One of the Jones family neighbors, Robin Graves, had already provided home surveillance video capturing the audio and flashes of a gun firing inside the home and two people running out of the house, notified the Webster County Attorney’s Office that there were additional videos that were not given to investigators.
  • While on the witness stand during cross-examination, the witness said that police had been to her home three times to retrieve the evidence from her.
  • Graves was contacted, assumedly during the trial, to see if she had additional videos.
• Nathan Jones’ friend, Aiden Pate, was called to the witness stand.
  • On April 25, Pate picked up Nathan Jones from his home and then picked up Jones’ girlfriend of two months, Makayla McNeilly, at her home. The three went to Bootleggers, a bar in Fort Dodge.
  • Alec Jones met the three – Aiden, Nathan, and Makayla – at the bar to pick up Nathan. Pate described Alec Jones as “upset,” and his face was “red.”
  • After Alec and Nathan left the bar, Aiden and Makayla remained at Bootleggers. Shortly after Alec and Nathan left the bar, Aiden and Makayle headed to the Jones family home. Aiden parked outside the house and turned off the vehicle, and he and Makayla waited in the car.
  • Aiden heard 6 or 7 gunshots.
  • Alec instructed Aiden to drive, telling him to “Go, go, go,” but he soon returned to the home. Aiden was then instructed to drive back to the Jones family home and asked back into the driveway.
  • Alec, Nathan, and Aiden moved Dennis Jones’ body from the home and placed him in the trunk of Aiden’s black Chevrolet Impala. Aiden said Alec and Nathan carried their father by his arms, and he carried Dennis out by his legs. Makayla remained in the vehicle during this time.
  • Alec instructed Aiden to drive to the river, presumably the Des Moines River, to discard the weapon.
  • Pate drove the four – Aiden, Alec, Nathan, and Makayla – 26 miles away to Webster City, IA, and stopped at a cornfield to discard Dennis Jones’ body.
  • Aiden, Alec, and Nathan placed Dennis’ body in a ditch next to the cornfield. At some point, while the trio were carrying and dragging the body, Dennis’ pants came off. Alec removed his sweatpants and placed them on his father.
  • After disposing of the body, Aiden suggested that they return to Bootleggers.
  • The four returned to Alec and Nathan’s home and cleaned up the crime scene. Aiden alleges that he did not participate in the cleaning.
  • Aiden drove Makayla home after the cleanup.
  • WATCH: Friend Describes Moving Dennis Jones’ Body, Cleaning Crime Scene
• Makayla McNeilly testified that she and Nathan began dating two months before the incident, and according to McNeilly, their relationship ended the night of the incident.
  • Nathan Jones was on his phone texting and talking to someone while at Bootleggers. Jones told Makayla it had something to do with his mom and Alec.
  • Alec came to the bar and picked up Nathan.
  • An hour after the brothers left the bar, Aiden Pate told Makayla that they needed to go and pick up Nathan at his home.
  • McNeilly said she never heard screaming, yelling, or fighting before hearing the gunshots.
  • Described Alec Jones’ gun as having a laser and a flashlight.
  • McNeilly said she never saw Dennis Jones’ body at the Jones home or in the trunk of the car while in Fort Dodge, Iowa.
  • After the three men moved Dennis Jones’ body from home, Alec instructed Makayla to “clean up the blood.” She grabbed a rag in the kitchen and cleaned the blood off the floor and walls.
  • McNeilly witnessed “all the boys” move Dennis’ body through a field.
  • Makayla said that after the four of them returned to Bootleggers, she began to drink more and cried the entire time.
  • The four then returned to Alec and Nathan’s home, where they covered bullet holes and painted. Makayla said she did not remember painting anything, but when she woke up the following day, she was covered in paint.

DAY 2 – 8/8/24

• Jurors hear the final 40 minutes of Alec Jones’ police interview.
  • After almost two hours of speaking with law enforcement and asking to lie down to go to sleep, Alec told police he decided right after his father struck his mother that he knew what he wanted to do that evening.
  • Alec claims he had the gun in his pocket, pulled the gun out of his pocket, and shot his father, Dennis Jones.
  • Law enforcement seems skeptical that Alec shot his father and is covering for his younger brother, Nathan.
  • WATCH: Jury hears Alec Jones’ police interview
• Prosecutors presented evidence collected from the victim’s home and where his body was located in Webster City, Iowa.
• In addition, the owner of Bootleggers (Bar) verified surveillance video from his establishment. The video was not shown to the jury.
• Jurors heard from the owner of Buck’s Guns, Buck Boring, who verified that Nathan Jones purchased a 9mm Smith and Wesson handgun on January 4, 2024.

DAY 1 – 8/7/24

• Prosecutors contend that Alec Jones was not happy with the situation in his home, with his mother being abused by his father, his father using drugs, and his father moving his girlfriend into their home.
  • Assistant Webster County Attorney Bailey Taylor says that part of the evidence will show that Alec sent a text message that “someone was going to end up dead that night.”
  • Dennis Jones’ called 911 seeking help. He told the operator that his two sons, Alec and Nathan, “were up to something,” wearing black gloves and walking around the home. Dennis expressed that he thought his sons were going to shoot him.
  • The investigation led to possibly incriminating surveillance video from a neighbor’s home of what appears to be gunshot flashes, someone yelling, “Go, go, go,” and a car fleeing the location.
  • Prosecutor Taylor says that Alec Jones’ story changed several times.
  • WATCH: Dad in the Ditch Murder Trial: Prosecution Opening Statement
• Postal worker Steven Sorensen, who discovered Dennis’ body, testified that a co-worker flagged him down and asked him to check out something he thought he saw on the side of the road. He called police after realizing it was a body in a ditch.
• Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Rory Deol testified that Dennis died as a result of multiple gunshot wounds, and the manner of death is homicide.
  • Dennis was shot three times – once through the center torso and exited center back, once just above his left ear and exited out the back of his neck, and once through the left forehead and exited out the back of his head.
  • Dennis had scrapes on his back and scrapes on his forehead.
  • An internal examination determined there was no bullet fragments or debris inside his body.
  • A toxicology report revealed that Dennis had 1100 nanograms of methamphetamine and 220 nanograms of amphetamine in his system.
• Investigators walked the jury through evidence photos taken of the Jones residence.
  • A bullet hole was found on the deep freezer in the kitchen of the home.
  • A room off to the side of the kitchen had bullet holes that had been recently patched and painted.
  • There was a bullet hole through a American flag inside the home’s entryway.
  • Investigators tore down the wall using their hands and a hammer found in the home to search for evidence.
  • Red stains that appeared to be blood were located on the screen door.
  • Two towels were found soaking in the washing machine.
  • Investigators turned on their body cameras during the initial “sweep” of the home but turned them off after it was declared cleared.
  • The hammer used to tear down the wall was not collected as evidence.
• During the testimony of Lt. Larry Headland, jurors heard about an hour and 51 minutes of a two- and half-hour audio recording of Alec Jones’ police interrogation.
  • Investigators asked Alec about the family dynamics with the victim’s girlfriend living at their home. He told investigators that there was a lot of fighting over drug use and other “stuff.”
  • Alec admitted to smoking marijuana through a vape and a smoke pipe but had never drunk alcohol before the night of the shooting.
  • Dennis was arguing with his wife on April 25. Dennis “smacked” her with an open hand, which left a red mark on her face.
  • Alec claims he called his brother to ask when he was returning home. The two left the home and went to a local bar. He met up with his brother’s friend, Aiden, and drove around town for about two or three hours.
  • Alec claims that when he returned home just after 2:30 a.m. on April 26, he saw a “mess.” There was water all over the place, the walls had been patched, and the white rug from the kitchen was missing.
  • Alec told police he thought it was weird when he got home because the door was unlocked, and no one was inside the home.