Kansas Man Acquitted of Girlfriend's Gruesome Killing After Defense Picked Apart Police Failures in 'Evidence Gathering'

A Kansas man has been acquitted of murder charges related to the March 2021 shooting death of his girlfriend.

Jon Lovell, 43, had faced a first-degree murder charge in the death of Natasha Arvidson. Arvidson was killed in the basement of her home by a gunshot to the back of the head, the Witchita Eagle reported.

A jury returned a not guilty verdict on the murder charges last week. The office of Lovell's lawyer, Gerard C. Scott, released a statement that the Witchita police made failures "in their gathering of evidence, including surveillance video, [that] had deprived Mr. Lovell of critical evidence that would have helped to exonerate him," the newspaper reported.

Sedgwick County District Attorney's Office spokesman Dan Dillon described the killing was a "domestic violence homicide," and told the Witchita Eagle that "the jury was unable to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the murder."

Lovell's previous criminal record included convictions for drug possession and DUI, KAKE reported. Also, Lovell faces a trial on drug possession charges in May, the station reported.

Lovell had called Arvidson's mother and asked her to come with him to check on her after the couple had a fight, according to court records cited by the Witchita Eagle. In the fight, Lovell had kicked in the front door, and Arvidson had allegedly threatened him with a knife and broke some car windows. However, Lovell said he had not harmed her.