PORTLAND, Ore. -- The man accused in the death of a Portland woman on New Year's Day in 1993 told a judge he's not guilty in court Thursday.
Brad Ballantyne, 35, was arrested in Vancouver, Wash. in mid-June in connection to the death of Kimberly Dunkin. He was extradited to Oregon Wednesday and made his first court appearance Thursday, pleading not guilty to the charges of aggravated murder and murder.
Dunkin was found shot to death in her car in the 4900 block NE Skidmore St. in Portland on Jan. 1, 1993. Court documents obtained by KGW Thursday said that Ballantyne caused the death of Dunkin as he was trying to commit a robbery.
The court room was packed with relatives of the victims as well as Ballantyne's family Thursday.
“I pray for that family every day and for Brad Ballantyne, believe it or not,” the victim's mother, Sharon Pilgrim told KGW. "But he made a decision and this case needs to be resolved."
Ballantyne was being held in jail without the possibility of bail.
Dunkin was 30 years old when she reportedly attended a New Year's Eve party the night before she was killed, according to the bureau's Unsolved Cases website. The site said an autopsy showed that Dunkin had consumed cocaine and marijuana before she was killed, and investigators believed that her involvement with drugs may have had a role in her death.
Dunkin's daughter, Alexis was a young child when her mother was killed. The family recently celebrated Alexis' graduation from high school in Lacy, Washington.
