GUILTY VA - Nancy Dunning, Ron Kirby, & Ruthanne Lodato, murdered, Alexandria, 2003-2014

belimom

Speak the truth even if your voice shakes~M.Kuhn
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In all likeliness it's a pro hit so it's about finding out who ordered it. Both mobsters and cops would know who to go to for this sort of "service". Could be that Dunning had his wife killed but it's also possible that organized crime figures were pressuring him with threats to his family and acted on it. These crimes are often impossible to solve :(
 
just seeing if anything new has come up in this case recently? i grew up in alexandria...was still living there when this happened and i check in on the case every so often on the city's website but there's never any update...any ideas about what happened?
 
What kind of relationship did the good Sheriff and his wife have before the murder? Were they always together?

I know this would be no indication of innocence or guilt but I am curious as to their public persona as a couple.
 
I don't remember all the details on this case...but IIRC, I thought that the LE showed Target security footage of someone possibly following Nancy into/out of the store. I'm wondering what ever came of that. Was this person eliminated as a suspect, never identified?? Target and the area it is in is such a populated area, how could anyone not identify or give a more detailed description of this person?
 
I know someone who called LE about the person in the Target video. They basically were like, "Yeah, yeah, whatever...". There have been no new developments at all, that I'm aware of.
 
Police absolutely need to focus on her husband...anger management issues, dominating, demands total control...very scary, lots of emotional issues. When his wife's name comes up he goes into "overkill" with his emotions. He was a total drunk at the time she was murdered and everybody knows she was the breadwinner. He is now living the high life in Hilton Head and pretending to be the grieving widower. Somehow the police have to tie him to this. People are probably afraid to talk because of the close friends he still has at the sheriff's department. He has some devient sexual tendencies that I do not need to talk about.
 
Police absolutely need to focus on her husband...anger management issues, dominating, demands total control...very scary, lots of emotional issues. When his wife's name comes up he goes into "overkill" with his emotions. He was a total drunk at the time she was murdered and everybody knows she was the breadwinner. He is now living the high life in Hilton Head and pretending to be the grieving widower. Somehow the police have to tie him to this. People are probably afraid to talk because of the close friends he still has at the sheriff's department. He has some devient sexual tendencies that I do not need to talk about.

Do you know her husband?

No, I do not know him but the picture you paint is exactly how he has been described. Our neighbors have known them for 30+ years, raised kids together, used to have dinner at each others' homes, etc. They believe he is somehow connected, but honestly it's something that's very "hush hush" otherwise. No one will talk about it.

Without even knowing his personality, the circumstances themselves put him at the forefront as far as being involved somehow: she was upposed to be meeting husband/son for lunch but never showed up. When she didn't answer her cell, they headed home to "check on her". Seems a bit of overkill to me. I would've just thought, "Hmmm.... guess she forgot and she has an appt or something." And gone on with my lunch/my day. I never would've thought to go home and check on her, thinking that something suspicious was up. But what better alibi than to be seen AT A RESTAURANT and WITH YOUR SON while your wife is being murdered. Not sure if the husband would have had time to shoot her and then meet the son for lunch w/o raising the son's suspicions, or if he hired someone. No forced entry, nothing stolen, shot from behind as she was headed up the stairs... :(

I'm still not sure if he's involved, but he's at the top of my list of suspects.

With the 7th anniversary of her death approaching, I just wanted to revisit this thread, maybe bump it up...

ETA: for those of you not familiar with the case, her husband was the SHERIFF.
 
Doesn't anybody think it is really strange that THE SHERRIFF didn't take a lie detector...that he is playing golf daily, NOT doing a damn thing to help find her killer? Somebody has to know something.
 
Just wanted to bump this in Nancy's memory since today is the 7th Anniversary of her murder. The neighborhood lit luminaries and lined the sidewalks with them, as they do every year to honor her memory. It was something she thought of doing just before her death - as a way to let folks know that the neighborhood businesses were open during the holidays. She never got the chance to light them so the community has done it for her since her death.

I hope they are able to build evidence/prosecute whoever is responsible. I heard more rumors yesterday - just don't know if there's any truth in them because there are alot of theories about "why" and exactly "how", but all roads seem to lead to one person.

RIP, Nancy...
 
In all likeliness it's a pro hit so it's about finding out who ordered it. Both mobsters and cops would know who to go to for this sort of "service". Could be that Dunning had his wife killed but it's also possible that organized crime figures were pressuring him with threats to his family and acted on it. These crimes are often impossible to solve :(

Hmm...what's the basis for thinking that this was a "pro hit?"
Why would a "pro" attack her at her home knowing that she was married to a member of law enforcement and might have access to a firearm? Or risk having the LE member either be at home or arrive there? Or, take on a hit that would bring excessive amounts of heat upon themselves?

IMHO, a "pro" would have done the "hit" away from the home and would have planned it to appear to have been a random act of violence,robbery or sex crime. Or, had he/she done it at the home, they would likely tried to do it at a time where the body would remain undiscovered for longer than a few hours,giving him/her ample time to get away unnoticed.

This may have been a contract killing, but nothing that I have read about it indicates the work of a "professional."
 
Hmm...what's the basis for thinking that this was a "pro hit?"
Why would a "pro" attack her at her home knowing that she was married to a member of law enforcement and might have access to a firearm? Or risk having the LE member either be at home or arrive there? Or, take on a hit that would bring excessive amounts of heat upon themselves?

IMHO, a "pro" would have done the "hit" away from the home and would have planned it to appear to have been a random act of violence,robbery or sex crime. Or, had he/she done it at the home, they would likely tried to do it at a time where the body would remain undiscovered for longer than a few hours,giving him/her ample time to get away unnoticed.

This may have been a contract killing, but nothing that I have read about it indicates the work of a "professional."

Interesting topic... I ran into some other neighbors who knew her and her husband well. They said the latest belief is that it was in fact a professional hit... either ordered by her husband or by someone who was trying to get a message to her husband or had something to gain from Nancy's death themselves. It was too clean, no forced entry, absolutely zero evidence in the home. No one has reported any viable tips. So it appears that it could be the work of a professional... which gives me chills... :(
 
Interesting topic... I ran into some other neighbors who knew her and her husband well. They said the latest belief is that it was in fact a professional hit... either ordered by her husband or by someone who was trying to get a message to her husband or had something to gain from Nancy's death themselves. It was too clean, no forced entry, absolutely zero evidence in the home. No one has reported any viable tips. So it appears that it could be the work of a professional... which gives me chills... :(

Hmm...
You are aware that there's a difference between a "contract killing" and a "professional hit", correct?
Anybody can arrange a contract killing.All you have to do is pay someone to kill somebody.
However a truly "professional" hit would require finding someone that kills, if not for a living, then enough to plan and execute what is a fairly complex task.

There are very few people that do hits on civilians (non-criminals) as the task is very difficult and the police tend to take a dim view of non-combatants being killed. Also the planning involved is beyond the skills of most criminals and discovery means life imprisonment or the death penalty, making it an expensive undertaking for all involved.

This appears to be either a random act of violence or a contract hit by an amateur or a dilettante, not the work of a professional killer. A "pro" would be highly unlikely to take a "job" that involved killing the relative of a police officer,especially a female relative. The heat to reward ratio would be just too great.

And the theories that you have poroposed actually contradict one another: If it was "ordered" by the husband, why do it at his home and how did he pay them? If it was to "send a message" to the police chief husband, why kill her? Why not simply shoot up the house or leave a note or card in the bedroom? Equally effective and far less "heat" than the daytime execution of a female LE relative.

And if someone "gained" something by the woman's death, that fact would be readily apparent in the wake of her demise. From what I managed to gather, no one (other than the husband) seemed to "benefit" from her death.

To me, this appears to be the work of a "lucky" amateur rather than a seasoned killer. Leaving the body where it can be easily found, killing a relative (especially a female) of an LE member, attacking at an LE member's home in the daytime and not making the "hit" appear to be an attempted robbery/rape "gone wrong" rather than an intentional killing are all signs of someone that rarely kills or did so for minor financial gain.
 
I actually don't have the opinion of either a contract kill or a professional hit - I have no idea what I believe at this point. I have heard so many rumors that I believe her death could be the result of many things.

When I posted about the professional hit, that is the latest rumor by folks who have lived in the neighborhood for decades and knew both Nancy and Jim for just as long. I'm just the messenger... ;)

I just hope they find whoever did it because Nancy deserves that much.
 
I knew Nancy for many years in Alexandria through the real estate business. From the first time I met her husband, he made my blood run absolutely cold. There was something hard to quantify about him that was positively chilling. I always felt that in my professional interactions with Nancy that she was cleverly covering for him, be it by making sure papers were not dropped off at the house when he was home, or explaining why he wasn't able to attend an event with her, or other similar such things. Yes, there's a large leap from that to murder. But my gut tells me he killed her, had her killed, or knows much, much more about what happened than he has let on. I don't live in the area any longer and find it interesting that so many people have posted similar expressions over the months and years. It's also interesting to hear the tales of how frightened some people are of him. I can understand why. He gave off an unworldly-disturbing vibe.

She was a good woman who did a lot of good in her community. She was so helpful to me personally when I was going through a troubled time, and she never wore her helping others on her sleeve. In fact, most of the time she went out of her way to ensure her anonymity.

Whoever took her life took a really good, valuable life. And they need to be brought to account.
 
I recently thought about this case also and wondered what info has been talked about lately? I agree someone knows and the husband seems to be the only one with something to gain.

Please post more if anyone has heard anything.
 
FBI Investigated Death Threat Mailed to Former Sheriff Jim Dunning
Alexandria Times
January 31, 2013
by Derrick Perkins

More than a decade before Nancy Dunning’s murder, federal authorities unsuccessfully tried to track down the author of a letter threatening the lives of her family, according to recently released FBI files.

Claiming physical and mental scars from the alleged abuse, the author wrote, “I will never be able to rest unconditionally until I get my REVENGE. I’m going to cause you as much pain and grief as you’ve caused me. I will start by killing your wife and children. Then I will kill you. … I will come to you like a thief in the night — soon.”
Nancy Dunning Murder Remains a Mystery Nine Years Later
Alexandria Times
13 December 2012
by Melissa Quinn
Last week marked the ninth year since Nancy, a local real estage agent, was found slain in her Del Ray home after she missed a scheduled lunch December 5, 2003.

At the time, Alexandria police only had a fleeting glimpse of a potential suspect — a man in jeans and a black jacket caught on video following Nancy out of the Potomac Yards’ Target.
With strong community and political ties, police believe Nancy’s death was neither accidental nor spontaneous.
Reclusive Former Sheriff Dies; Mystery of His Wife’s Murder Remains Unsolved
The Connectionby Michael Lee Pope
July 19, 2012

James Herbert Dunning, the once popular sheriff who became increasingly reclusive after the mysterious 2003 murder of his wife, died last week at his home in Hilton Head, S.C. A South Carolina coroner’s office is still awaiting the results of an autopsy, although he told the Associated Press that there was “nothing suspicious” about his death. He was 62.
 

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With the threatening letters, could this be a revenge killing by someone who might have picked up some tips from professional killers (but not be on their level) and used those to exact revenge? He could have even read it in a book rather than directly from such a person.
 
With the threatening letters, could this be a revenge killing by someone who might have picked up some tips from professional killers (but not be on their level) and used those to exact revenge? He could have even read it in a book rather than directly from such a person.

Or could just be that 2003 wasn't the first time he tried to kill her.
 

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