JC Dunn

Date Found: October 24, 1973

Location: Ardmore, Oklahoma

Investigating Agency: Ardmore Police Department

(580) 223-1212

On October 24, 1973, JC Dunn’s body was found by his wife in their bathroom. Initially, the police suspected suicide. However, the investigation revealed inconsistencies. JC Dunn was sitting against the wall with a 12-gauge shotgun. The wound was to the back of his neck. Additionally, the bullet casings from the shotgun were missing from the room.

At the time of his death, JC Dunn was a high school basketball coach and shop teacher. Previously, he had been a successful minor league baseball player. On the day he died, JC called Ardmore High School around 10:30 a.m., asking if anyone had tried to reach him. His home phone had rung, but the caller hung up when he answered. He had come to school for his first period classes but left early, saying he felt unwell. He mentioned he might return around 1:30 p.m. When investigators found JC, they saw that his alarm clock was set to noon but turned off. This suggested that someone had either turned off the alarm after it rang or had turned it off before it could ring.

Authorities initially named a suspect in the case: 68-year-old rancher Dewey Lindsay. Lindsay, a friend of JC’s, had spent the night at the Dunns’ home the night before JC’s murder. Investigators found several checks, written by Dewey to JC, in the Dunn home. The purpose of these checks remained unexplained publicly, and investigators discovered them shredded. Dewey and JC were also known to gamble together. Police surveilled Dewey and eventually arrested him, but they released him after he passed a polygraph test. Over a dozen suspects have undergone interviews in the JC Dunn case, but so far, no leads have panned out and investigators have yet to find any real motives.

JC left behind a wife and two sons who have never received any real answers about who took their loved one from them. Nearly 46 years have passed.

If you know anything about the murder of JC Dunn, please contact the Ardmore Police Department at (580) 223-1212