Jury finds Bravo guilty of manslaughter
Richard Byrd/Columbia Basin Herald Arnulfo Bravo, 66, was convicted of manslaughter in the death of a Moses Lake woman in 1991.
EPHRATA — The verdict is in and a Grant County jury has found a man not guilty of the crime of murder in connection with the 1991 death of a Moses Lake woman. The defendant is not off the hook however, as the jury did return a guilty verdict for manslaughter.
66-year-old Arnolfo Bravo was on trial for the 1991 murder of Moses Lake resident Barbara J. Kipp. Grant County Prosecutors charged Bravo with second-degree murder, as well as the lesser charge of first-degree manslaughter. The jury found Bravo not guilty of the murder charge, but returned a guilty verdict for the manslaughter charge.
Manslaughter differs from murder in that, according to Revised Code of Washington, manslaughter is characterized as a person recklessly causing the death of another person. To be guilty of second-degree murder a person must act with intent, but without premeditation to cause the death of another person. A sentencing date was not set, but the Grant County Prosecutors Office says they are eying a date in May for the sentencing hearing.
Kipp was found dead in her residence on South Adams Street on Oct. 1, 1991, by her roommate. Court documents relay several instances of the people associated with Kipp telling police she was planning on breaking up with Bravo before she died. Kipp reportedly told at least one person that Bravo threatened to kill her “if anything came between them.”
During the trial prosecutors offered evidence that Kipp’s cause of death was strangulation. After Kipp’s death Bravo stole jewelry, money and a 1987 Ford Tempo from her Adams Street home. Bravo later contacted a friend and told him he was in the Sacramento area and returning to Moses Lake to talk about Kipp’s death.
Bravo admitted to a MLPD detective he stole items out of Kipp’s house, as well as the Ford Tempo, but he did not admit to killing the woman. Warrants were issued for Bravo’s arrest after the interview, but he was able to avoid authorities for 25 years until his November 2016 arrest in Texas in the Fort Worth area.
Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.