RIVERSIDE — A 59-year-old Good Hope man who fatally shot his wife was bound for state prison Wednesday to serve a sentence of 25 years to life behind bars.
William Thomas Dunlap admitted a first-degree murder charge under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office in September. In exchange for his admission, sentence-enhancing gun and great bodily injury allegations were dropped against Dunlap.
During a hearing Tuesday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, Superior Court Judge Jennifer Gerard certified the terms of the plea deal and imposed the stipulated sentence.
The defendant gunned down 56-year-old Kimberly Sue Dunlap on the night of June 8, 2024.
According to Sgt. Alberto Loureiro of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the fatal attack happened during an unspecified conflict at the couple’s property in the 25000 block of Highway 74, near Mapes Road. The area is west of Perris.
Loureiro said patrol deputies and paramedics were called to the location and found Kimberly Dunlap suffering from a single gunshot wound. First responders attempted life-saving measures, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Central Homicide Unit detectives assumed the investigation, detaining Dunlap for questioning without incident. The defendant was formally booked into custody a day later.
He had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
