Bremerton resident Christopher C. McInerney, 31, has been charged in Kitsap County District Court with first- and second-degree assault, charges that could lead to life in prison if he is convicted.

Police allege that McInerney beat a man and a woman within inches of their lives Jan. 3. The attack took place in the Milan Apartments in the 1100 block of Burwell Street and left the man with skull fractures and brain bleeds and the woman with brain bleeds.

Detectives weren’t sure that either victim would survive. The man’s condition has continued to deteriorate since the attack and he remains at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, unable to be interviewed. The woman has since been released to Life Care Center in Port Orchard. Although struggling to recover, and unable to remember the entire incident, she identified McInerney as the man that attacked her and the other victim.

When police first responded to the apartment blood was splattered about the residence and broken glass, including the neck of a wine bottle, was also strewn about the home. The man and woman were both bleeding profusely from their heads. While canvassing the apartment, detectives were given McInerney’s name as a possible suspect. As the investigation unfolded, McInerney was arrested the following day in an unrelated incident for possession of methamphetamine.

According to a probable cause statement, McInerney eventually admitted to being in the apartment on the day of the assaults but denied beating the victims.

“Through further investigation, detectives interviewed associates of McInerney’s who said he displayed odd behavior the day of the assaults to include concern whether there was any stains on his coat or shoes and washing his clothes at (1 a.m.) in a bucket in an alley,” the probable cause statement reads.