Jim Dunaway
James Kenneth Dunaway (September 3, 1941 - May 12, 2018) was an American football player. A defensive tackle, he played college football at the University of Mississippi, and played professionally in the American Football League for the Buffalo Bills, as part of a defensive line that held opposing runners without a rushing touchdown for a pro football record seventeen consecutive games in the 1964 and 1965 AFL seasons.[1]
| No. 78 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive Tackle | ||
| Personal information | |||
| Born: | September 3, 1941 Columbia, Mississippi | ||
| Died: | May 12, 2018 (aged 76) | ||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||
| Weight: | 277 lb (126 kg) | ||
| Career information | |||
| High school: | Columbia (MS) | ||
| College: | Mississippi | ||
| NFL Draft: | 1963 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3 | ||
| AFL draft: | 1963 / Round: 2 / Pick: 9 | ||
| Career history | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||
Murder charge and aftermath
On July 27, 1998, Dunaway's ex-wife, Nonniel Dunaway, was found dead in a half-empty swimming pool.[2] An autopsy revealed that she had a fractured skull and was unconscious when she was placed in the water by her assailant where she drowned. Prior to this event, she had won a divorce judgment which gave her more than 800 acres (3.2 km2) of property that the couple owned, $1,800 a month in alimony and half of Dunaway's NFL pension. They had been divorced since 1995 and Dunaway was planning to appeal.
Dunaway was charged with her murder but a grand jury chose not to indict Dunaway of the charges.[3] In response, his children filed a wrongful death lawsuit, alleging that Dunaway was responsible for their mother's death.[4] In 2002, Dunaway was found liable and ordered to pay $579,000 to his children.[5]
Coincidentally, Dunaway had been a teammate for three seasons of star running back O. J. Simpson, who was similarly found responsible for his ex-wife's death after being acquitted of her murder in a controversial trial in 1995.
References
- https://olemisssports.com/news/2018/6/7/Celebration_of_Life_Service_to_be_Held_for_Ole_Miss_Great_Jim_Dunaway.aspx
- "Ex-Dolphin Charged With Murder". www.cbsnews.com.
- "PLUS: IN THE NEWS; Dunaway Charged In Ex-Wife's Death". Associated Press. 31 July 1998 – via NYTimes.com.
- BabyTate. "Jim Dunaway, the True Notorious Big". Bleacher Report.
- Teitelbaum, Ben (21 June 2013). "Football, Crime, and Allegations Against Aaron Hernandez" – via www.thedailybeast.com.