Updated story:
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Crime lab reports show former Hot Springs Police Chief David Flory’s DNA was not a match in the 2011 murder investigation of Hot Springs Village Dispatcher Dawna Natzke, clearing Flory of any suspected involvement.
The man charged with Natzke’s murder, Kevin Duck, 33, wanted Flory’s DNA to be tested because he believed Flory had a relationship with Natzke and that he was a person of interest in the case.
The order for Flory to submit his DNA came earlier this week from a judge.
Flory obliged with the judge’s order, but before submitting his DNA, he issued a statement making his feelings about it known.
Flory called Duck’s accusation that he had a relationship with Natzke “utterly false and a lie.” Flory said he had no relationship with Natzke and had never even seen her. He said the DNA testing order violated the fourth amendment because there was no probable cause, and he called it a “red herring of the first magnitude.”
In the end of his statement, he said he agreed to submit his DNA to show “how false this all is and put this all to rest.”
As of Friday afternoon, Flory’s DNA was tested and reportedly showed no match to the investigation.
Original story:
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The man accused of the 2011 murder of a Hot Springs Village dispatcher wants evidence to be tested for the DNA of a former police chief.
Kevin Duck, 33, has been charged with murder for the death of Dawna Natzke. Natzke, a Hot Springs Village dispatcher, was reported missing in late 2011. Her body was found in a pond in Garland County by volunteer search teams on Dec. 31, 2011.
Duck’s defense attorneys requested, and the judge issued an order on Tuesday, for law enforcement to collect DNA from former Hot Springs Police Chief David Flory.
The motion by defense attorneys alleges that “David Flory had a relationship with the victim and was a person of interest in the murder of the victim.”
Flory, speaking to Fox 16 News by phone from an out-of-state work trip Thursday morning called the allegation “totally untrue.”
“I have never even met Dawna Natzke. It is the absolute craziest thing I have ever heard in my life,” Flory said. “I was never questioned in the case. The only phone call I have ever gotten regarding this investigation was on Tuesday when I was told I had to provide a DNA sample.”
According to Flory, the only basis he can think of for the allegation is a rumor that began circulating in January 2012.
“It was a few weeks after Ms. Natzke’s body had been found, and an officer in my department informed me that a retiree at the firearms range had speculated to others that I had an affair with Ms. Natzke and probably killed her,” Flory said. “It was a bad joke that became a bad rumor or a purposeful smear campaign.”
According to Flory, he had no notice that his DNA would be sought by Duck’s defense.
“I got the call on Tuesday about the DNA sample, and the next thing I know it is in the paper while I am working out of town. Now, my reputation is at stake based on a bad rumor or a bizarre smear campaign.”
The judge in the case has issued a gag order to limit pre-trial publicity in the case. Duck was slated to head to trial at the end of the month. His attorneys have requested a continuance.
Duck’s trial has been continued multiple times since it was initially scheduled for July 2014. The most recent continuance was in January, when the defense said DNA results were still pending from the Crime Lab and the state had delivered discovery materials less than a week before the slated pre-trial hearing.
According to Duck’s motion, he and his counsel only just became aware of the DNA profile on the victim’s clothing, which the motion alleges has been tested against Duck’s DNA, in addition to the DNA of his mother, son and three other un-named individuals.
Kevin Duck