SEABECK, Wash. — A 51-year-old Seabeck man was arrested by detectives with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday in connection with the death of his older sister.
Deputies said they responded on Sunday night to a report of an unresponsive woman in the 16900 block of NW Indian Ridge Drive.
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When they arrived at the scene, deputies said they tried to give the woman emergency first aid but she did not respond. Medic crews arrived later and pronounced the woman dead.
Detectives said they investigated the woman’s death with officials from the Kitsap County Coroner’s Office.
On Tuesday, the county’s forensic pathologist conducted an autopsy on the 61-year-old woman.
“The coroner issued a determination that the cause of death was from strangulation with asphyxiation and drowning,” officials said in a news release.
Later in the day, detectives served a search warrant at the residence where they said additional evidence was located.
“It was determined that the woman was sexually assaulted before being killed,” officials said.
Officials said the woman’s brother, Michael Andrew Battersby, was arrested and booked into the Kitsap County Jail on investigation of first-degree murder, first-degree rape and second-degree domestic violence.
Officials said his bail was initially set at $1 million.
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