PORT ANGELES — On a bluff overlooking the Strait of Juan de Fuca, a grave remains unmarked except for four small stuffed animals placed near its head.
It contains the remains of 27-year-old Jennifer Pimentel, who was buried about a month ago at Ocean View Cemetery after she was killed.
The family of the woman who was strangled to death in October have been unable to afford the $4,000 needed for a gravestone, said her stepmother, Tammy Pimentel.
To raise the funds, Tammy, 51, is selling her 2004 Chevrolet Cavalier, bought for $6,000 four months ago.
“I’m just going to see what I can get for it,” she said.
Tammy said selling the car will leave her and Jennifer’s father, Henry, with just one vehicle: a 20-year-old Toyota truck that “starts sometimes.”
She said it’s a sacrifice they have to make for Jennifer.
“I can’t change a lot, but I want to give her a headstone,” Tammy said.
The lack of a gravestone had kept Tammy and Henry away from the gravesite, she said.
Jennifer was buried Oct. 29, and Tammy had not returned until Thursday to show its location to the Peninsula Daily News.
The guilt had been too much.
“I don’t want to go to her grave because I don’t have a headstone for her,” Tammy said Wednesday.
“If I don’t have a headstone, I feel bad.”
“We send people up, and they can’t find her,” Tammy added.
Instead of a headstone, the grave is marked by a chipmunk, a teddy bear, a Hello Kitty and a unicorn — all stuffed animals that belonged to Jennifer, her stepmother said.
The family already had to stretch its dollars to cover $7,000 in funeral and burial costs.
Another $8,000 was covered by Crime Stoppers, she said.
Charged with murder
Kevin A. Bradfield, 22, is charged with second-degree murder for Jennifer’s death.
He was originally scheduled to go to trial Monday. A new trial date is expected to be set at a status hearing at 1:30 p.m. Friday.
Bradfield and his girlfriend, Kendell K. Huether, led authorities to Pimentel’s body in a heavily wooded area near the Hood Canal Bridge in East Jefferson County on Oct. 19, 10 days after she was killed, police said.
Huether is charged with first-degree rendering criminal assistance for allegedly helping Bradfield dispose of the body in the woods.
She is set to go to trial Dec. 19.
Tammy said she and Henry have not gone to any court appearances because it would be “too upsetting.”
It also remains difficult for them to drive over the Hood Canal Bridge.
“I have a panic attack because that’s where they found her,” Tammy said.
To contact her about the car, phone 360-457-9655.
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Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
