FORT DODGE, Iowa — Four people were arrested on various charges in relation to the death of a Fort Dodge man in 2024. Two have already been tried and sentenced, one of them pled guilty to abuse of a corpse this week.

In April 2024, the Fort Dodge Police Department responded to the 2100 block of 280th Street for a report of a body located in the ditch. On scene, deputies found a deceased male, later identified as 55-year-old Dennis R. Jones, who had suffered gunshot wounds.

During the investigation, authorities determined Jones had not been shot where he was found. A search warrant was later executed in the 1400 block of 2nd Avenue South. As a result of the investigation, Fort Dodge PD arrested two brothers.

Alec R. Jones, 26, was arrested and charged with Murder in the First Degree and Nathan T. Jones, 21, was arrested and charged with Aiding and Abetting Murder in the First Degree.

Authorities later arrested and charged 29-year-old Makayla McNeeley and 23-year-old Aidan Pate with Abuse of a Corpse and Accessory After the Fact in connection with the incident. According to police, McNeeley and Pate helped Nathan and Alec Jones move the victim to the ditch.

According to court records, Alec Jones was found guilty of Murder in the First Degree by a jury in August 2024 and later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Court records state Nathan Jones pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit a Murder, Abuse of a Corpse, and Accessory after the Fact in May 2025. Jones was later sentenced to 22 years in prison, according to court records.

McNeeley pled guilty to Abuse of A Corpse on Monday and is scheduled to appear for sentencing in November. Aidan Pate is still on trial and in expected to appear in court in October, court records state.