Man arrested in 1995 cold case appears in court, pleads not guilty

PORTLAND, Ore. - The prime suspect in a Portland cold case pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance on Wednesday.

Shawntell Moses is charged with aggravated murder in the stabbing death of Kala Peterson, who was killed on Dec. 8, 1995.  Her body was found on the sidewalk at Northeast 11th Avenue and Oneonta Street near Woodlawn Park. She died of multiple stab wounds.

Moses was arrested early last month and was extradited from Washington this week.  An anonymous tip led investigators to him. 

"A lot of times, even as time passes, there's one or two small pieces of information that the original investigators never obtained and when that does come to light, it doesn't matter how much time has passed, it is still extremely important to us," said Detective Jim Lawrence with the Portland Police Bureau's Cold Case Homicide Unit.

The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is asked to call Detective Lawrence at (503) 823-0867.

A material witness is also being sought in the case.

Investigators would like to speak to 58-year-old Bruce Edward Murphy.  There are no criminal charges against Murphy in the case.  He is simply needed as a witness.

Murphy may be in the Bend area but could also be living as a transient in the Portland area.  Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Bureau of Emergency Communications (Police Dispatch) non-emergency number.  Dispatchers will assign the call to an officer and the officers who locate and identify Murphy will contact Cold Case Detectives.