PORT ANGELES — Two people charged in the strangling death of a 27-year-old woman in Port Angeles in October went before a Clallam County Superior Court judge in separate hearings Friday.
Kevin A. Bradfield, 22, who is accused of strangling Jennifer Pimentel to death, will undergo a psychological examination before trial.
Kendell K. Huether, 25, a Port Angeles woman accused of helping Bradfield hide the bodies — then trying to cover up the October murder — is expected to get a new trial date Tuesday.
Bradfield’s defense attorney, Loren Oakley, told Judge Ken Williams on Friday that he is looking for a psychologist and moved to continue a pretrial hearing.
Williams reset the status hearing for 1:30 p.m. Feb. 10.
Bradfield is charged with second-degree murder with an exceptional sentence that would give a judge the option of imposing a life sentence should Bradfield be convicted by a jury.
Port Angeles police allege Bradfield strangled Pimentel, a developmentally disabled woman, at Huether’s home and then disposed of her body in a heavily wooded area near the Hood Canal Bridge in East Jefferson County.
In December, Bradfield’s trial was reset for March 5 to allow more time for DNA testing.
He is being held in the Clallam County jail on $1 million bail.
Huether charges
Huether is charged with rendering criminal assistance and two counts of witness tampering for allegedly helping her boyfriend dispose of the body and asking two acquaintances to say they saw Pimentel with others after her disappearance.
Williams on Friday scheduled a review hearing for Huether for Tuesday, when her present trial date of Feb. 27 is expected to be postponed.
Huether is being held in the Clallam County jail on $100,000 bail.
On Friday, Huether’s defense attorney, Karen Unger, moved to hire an expert to evaluate Huether’s competency to stand trial and to allow her client to live with her brother until her trial.
Huether’s brother, a Corrections officer at the Clallam Bay Corrections Center, wrote to the court last month offering his sister to stay at his Port Angeles home.
“If she violates any of the terms of the court’s orders, I will immediately inform the authorities so she can be taken back into custody,” he wrote.
Pimentel was a Port Angeles native who was staying with Huether, a childhood friend, at the time of her death.
Pimentel’s body was discovered Oct. 19.
About 350 people attended her funeral in Port Angeles.
Prosecutors added the witness-tempering charges to Huether’s case after two men told investigators that she asked them to lie about seeing Pimentel alive after her disappearance.
The witnesses said they did not know that Pimentel was dead at the time of their original police interviews.
Both Bradfield and Huether have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
