$25,000 offered for arrest in murder case

-- Kenneth Ma

The city of Huntington Beach is offering a $25,000 reward for information

leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed a

29-year-old Huntington Beach woman last year, a case that sent shock

waves of fear through Surf City.

The City Council last week voted unanimously to dedicate money from the

city’s general fund to supplement a $5,000 reward from the Carole

Sund/Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation to solve the death of

Bridgette Elizabeth Ballas, who was found fatally injured Nov. 27 in the

early morning hours.

A neighbor on his way to work found Ballas lying by the curb in the 900

block of Huntington Street. The official cause of her death is listed as

blunt force trauma to the head.The council is authorized to offer the

reward because Ballas’ untimely death was unanticipated and the reward is

needed to generate information that may lead to the quick apprehension of

her killer or killers, according to a city staff report.

Huntington Beach Police Lt. Chuck Thomas, a 15-year veteran, has said he

couldn’t recall the last time a reward was offered by the city.