Kitsap County man arrested for suspected fatal assault with steel pipe

A 61-year-old man who's suspected of fatally assaulting a woman with a steel pipe was arrested by Kitsap County deputies Monday morning.

Deputies said at 8:40 a.m., they were dispatched to the 2400 block of Northlake Way NW for a report of an assault in progress involving a steel pipe. When deputies arrived, they confronted a man who was holding a steel pipe while standing over the victim in the driveway of the residence.

Deputies then arrested the suspect and began performing lifesaving aid to the female victim, who'd suffered "grievous injuries," according to deputies. Medics from Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue arrived shortly after and took the woman to a nearby landing zone to be lifted to a trauma center.

"Sadly, the female victim died before she was able to be airlifted," wrote the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office in a media release. "Her name is not being released until proper notifications are made to her family. She is a 60-year-old North Kitsap woman."

Deputies said the suspect, a 61-year-old Central Kitsap man, was taken to the Kitsap County jail, where he was booked for first-degree murder. His bail was set at $1 million, according to the KCSO.

KCSO detectives remained at the scene to process evidence and interview witnesses, deputies said.

"At this point, the incident does not appear to be random, and detectives believe the suspect and victim knew each other," the KCSO continued in their media release.

Northlake Way had been closed for most of the day while detectives processed the scene, but the roadway is now open, deputies said.