Seabeck man, 51, accused of killing his sister

A Seabeck man has been arrested in the strangulation death of his older sister, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.

Michael Andrew Battersby, 51, was to be arraigned Wednesday in Kitsap County Superior Court on charges of first-degree murder and rape.

Deputies identified the victim only as a 61-year-old woman they said was Battersby’s sister.

A 911 call Tuesday, June 9, brought deputies and Central Kitsap Fire Fire and Rescue paramedics to a house in the 16900 block of NW Indian Ridge Drive in the Seabeck area of Central Kitsap. Deputies found an unconscious woman and tried emergency first aid, but were unsuccessful, according to spokesman Scott Wilson. Arriving paramedics pronounced her dead.

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. The manner of death was listed as homicide.

Later Tuesday, detectives served a search warrant at the residence and obtained additional evidence. It was determined that the woman was sexually assaulted before being killed.

Battersby was arrested at the residence Tuesday evening. He was booked into Kitsap County Jail on charges of first-degree murder and second-degree rape. Bail was set initially at $1 million.

Seabeck is a community on the south shore of Hood Canal, about 5 miles west of Silverdale.

This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 11:12 AM.