BREMERTON — Bremerton police officers called to a home on North Marion Avenue shortly before 7 p.m. Dec. 13 found two people inside, both dead.
Investigators indicated it was a murder-suicide.
Officers were called to the home at 131 N. Marion Ave. “to answer a report of two deceased individuals at that residence,” Lt. Randy Plumb said the following morning. “What had happened was two of the friends of the individuals came over to check on their welfare and found them deceased inside. Basically from there, detectives obtained a search warrant and processed the scene and at this point we’re attempting contact with one more of the individual’s next of kin. As soon as we get that completed we’ll send out more information on what we think occurred.”
He added, “We can confirm there was a pretty significant assault that occurred. Beyond that, we’re not going to go into a bunch of details. We don’t believe there is a danger to the community… I don’t believe that there is a suspect that fled the scene.”
The department’s official announcement about the deaths:
“On Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, around 6:56 p.m., officers were dispatched to 131 N. Marion Ave. for a report of two people deceased inside the home. Officers arrived and immediately confirmed an adult male and adult female were deceased inside. Evidence of a violent attack existed, so detectives and crime scene personnel responded to further investigate. Detectives interviewed the two individuals who found the decedents and then executed a search warrant at 131 N. Marion Ave. Family notification attempts are in progress.
“More information will be released after those notifications have been accomplished. Anyone with information regarding this investigation [is] urged to contact detectives with the Bremerton Police Department at 360-473-5228.”
‘Everything seemed perfectly fine’
Jena Staples, a neighbor, said the deceased were husband and wife and the husband was a sailor aboard the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), which returned Dec. 10 from deployment.
The Nimitz’s officer of the deck said Dec. 14 he could not “confirm nor deny” that the husband was a Nimitz sailor, but said he was aware of the deaths and that the ship was preparing a press release.
Staples estimated the couple were in their early 20s. “They seemed like they got along really well … Everything seemed perfectly fine,” she said.
Another neighbor, Alexis Gregory, said she learned something had happened that night when a friend who had been invited over called from outside and said, “Hey, guys, I’m not coming in … You’ve got like five cop cars outside your door.”
Gregory said, “We figured a crime had happened nearby and they were just searching the perimeter.” While being questioned by police, Gregory found out that the crime was much closer to home than she thought.
An officer “basically asked us if we knew our neighbors, to describe who we thought lived there,” Gregory said. “When he knew that we knew who they were, he was like, ‘OK, just so you know, those two are deceased in there.’”
According to Gregory, other neighbors who lived closest to the home of the deceased reportedly heard arguing coming from the house.
— With reporting by Nick Twietmeyer
