‘Redmond 5’ killer resentenced to life; can seek parole in 15 years

One of five teens convicted in a Redmond-area woman’s brutal murder 15 years ago received a new life sentence Thursday in a Deschutes County courtroom — this time with the possibility of parole in 15 years, having served 30 years.

Justin Link, now 33, was sentenced by the same judge — Circuit Judge Alta Brady — as he appeared by video for his sentencing hearing from the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton, where he’s served his time.

Link had been serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for his role in the killing of Barbara Thomas, 52, of Redmond.

Link was among the five teenagers, known as the ‘Redmond Five’, who murdered Thomas back in March of 2001 at her home on the Old Bend-Redmond Highway.

Link was 17 years old at the time of the crime, and one of the attackers was the victim’s own son, Adam Thomas.

The teens were captured at the Canadian border while attempting to flee in Thomas’ car.

Link’s case was sent back for a third time to Deschutes County in 2013, when the Oregon Supreme Court reduced the number of aggravated murder convictions he faced and ruled that Link was entitled to a new sentencing hearing.

Brady heard a week of testimony earlier this year, once again reviewing what role Link played in the murder.

The evidence proved that Link, while not inside the house when Seth Koch, 15, shot Barbara Thomas, was the mastermind of the killing.

Earlier, as the teens trashed the home, they had talked of and and even made some preparations to kill the woman by various means such as putting a toaster n a bathtub, beating her with wine bottles, setting the house ablaze or injecting her with bleach.

The victim’s family was in court Thursday morning, but declined to comment about the case.

Link has 30 days to appeal the judge’s new sentence.

The district attorney’s office told NewsChannel 21 that this sentencing doesn’t change the tragic and senseless nature of this homicide.

Link will be eligible for parole when he turns 63 years old.