Oregon 8teen year old Cold Case gone hot (Kimberly Jean Dunkin)

CASE NUMBER: CS 08-07

On Friday, January 1, 1993, at 10:30 am, 30-year-old Kimberly Jean Dunkin, was found shot to death inside the driver's seat of her blue 1973 Chevrolet Camaro parked in front of 4927 Northeast Skidmore Street. An autopsy determined the victim died from a gunshot wound to her head.

Kimberly Dunkin reportedly attended a New Year's Eve party alone at a residence near the intersection of Northeast Sandy Boulevard and Northeast 77th.Avenue. Investigators believe she left the party sometime in the early morning hours of January 1, 1993. Dunkin may have stopped at a neighborhood convenience store after leaving the party.

A witness saw Dunkin's car parked in front of 4927 Northeast Skidmore Street at 6:00 am. At the time the witness saw the car, he noticed a person slumped over in the driver's seat, but thought the person was asleep. At 10:30 am, the same witness walked by the car to check on the person and found Dunkin deceased. Homicide Detectives believe Dunkin had been dead since at least 6:00 am. During the subsequent autopsy, it was determined that Dunkin had consumed cocaine and marijuana. Investigators believe Dunkin's connection to individuals involved in the distribution of controlled substances may have played had a role in her death.

There is a cash reward offered for information reported to the Cold Case Homicide Unit that leads to an arrest in this case.

http://www.portlandonline.com/police/index.cfm?a=186111&c=35874

Tricky playing Cards tactic

PORTLAND, Ore. —

A Portland, Ore., man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his guilty plea to the murder of a woman found fatally shot in her car 18 years ago.

A tip generated by "cold case" playing cards distributed in Oregon prisons led police to arrest Brad Richard Ballantyne last summer in the Jan. 1, 1993, slaying of 30-year-old Kimberly Jean Dunkin.

Sgt. Pete Simpson says the now-37-year-old Ballantyne entered his plea and was sentenced Thursday.

Court documents allege that Ballantyne killed Dunkin as he was trying to commit a robbery.

He was arrested in Vancouver, Wash.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2015553242_aporcoldcasesentence.html

http://docpub.state.or.us/OOS/names.jsf

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An investigative technique that traces to the U.S. war in Iraq is getting credit for the solution of a cold-case murder in Portland.

Last year, a tip generated by "cold case" playing cards sold in Oregon prisons led to the arrest of Brad Richard Ballantyne in a 1993 killing.

On Thursday, he was sentenced to 25 years for the slaying of 30-year-old Kimberly Jean Dunkin.

Many American police agencies use the decks that feature brief descriptions of unsolved cases, in hopes that prisoners will provide information. The decks feature a picture and a brief description of the crime.

Florida police led the way, inspired by the Pentagon's effort in 2003 to round up Saddam Hussein's inner circle by distributing decks of cards identifying them.

A spokesman for the Portland police bureau, Lt. Robert King, said the tip generated by the card describing the Dunkin case is the third time the Portland police have gotten a significant break in a case through such a technique.

Dunkin was found dead of a gunshot wound on New Year's Day 1993, slumped in the driver's seat of her blue 1973 Chevrolet Camaro in front of a northeast Portland home.

Police said she left a party after midnight and made a stop at a convenience store. They believe she was shot in a robbery attempt.

In 2008, detectives took another look at Dunkin's murder, encouraged by her family. A year later, the decks began circulating in Portland-area lockups.

By June 2010, members of the cold case squad had enough evidence to arrest Ballantyne

http://www.kval.com/news/local/125373418.html