Husband stabbed wife to death before hanging himself, Bremerton police say

BREMERTON, Wash. – A man and a woman were found dead inside a Kitsap County home, and police said Thursday it was a murder-suicide.

Police say they received a call to 911 at about 7 p.m. Wednesday that a man and woman both in their 20s were dead inside their rental home on North Marion Avenue near the Bremerton School District headquarters.

"Investigators believe the two victims were married. During the crime scene processing, detectives found the 22-year-old female victim had been stabbed multiple times. Investigators believe after fatally assaulting his wife, the male then hanged himself. The male was identified as a 23-year-old, Navy Sailor, assigned to the USS Nimitz," police said in a news release Thursday.



Some neighbors who spoke to Q13 News say they had heard fighting coming from the house days before.

“I have a teenage son that lives here with us, it’s frightening,” said neighbor Jena Staples. “I didn’t hear anything, nothing. They seemed really sweet.”

Other neighbors told Q13 News off camera the man had just returned from a deployment in the Navy. Bremerton Police confirmed the husband had been assigned to the USS Nimitz.

“I guess it just hasn’t settled in because nothing like this had ever happened to me before,” said neighbor Alexis Gregory.

Gregory says she didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary Wednesday night but was surprised to find Bremerton Police officers at her neighbor’s home.

“We thought maybe a crime had happened nearby,” she said.

Staples says the couple living at the home only moved in a few days ago.

“I walked her dog for her when she went into the city and that’s pretty much it,” she said.

Police searched the home early Thursday morning and notified the victim's family members about what happened.

Neighbors were left reeling after the violence happened so close to home.

“I immediately thought domestic violence, that’s the first thing that went through my head,” added Gregory.

Anyone who might have information about what led up to the incident are being urged to call police.