A 26-year-old woman was found dead in a car outside a Port Angeles-area residence early Wednesday morning, and her boyfriend was arrested in connection with her death, investigators say.
Amber Rae Bulus-Steed might have died in a Sequim motel room, where detectives located blood and evidence of a struggle, Clallam County Undersheriff Fred DeFrang said.
Initial evaluations indicate she suffered severe trauma to her head, DeFrang said.
Bulus-Steed’s boyfriend, Nathan E. Hipsher, 25, turned himself in to authorities later Wednesday morning and was booked into Clallam County jail that afternoon for investigation of second-degree murder.
He likely will make his first appearance today in Clallam County Superior Court.
Bulus-Steed, a lifelong Port Angeles resident who has two young daughters, was pronounced dead at Olympic Medical Center shortly after midnight.
Medics were dispatched to a 9-1-1 call at the Scrivner Road residence south of Port Angeles where she lived with Hipsher and his parents.
Found in passenger seat
Bulus-Steed was found in the passenger seat of her car outside the residence after the call came in about 12:07 a.m., DeFrang said.
He said she might have died hours before her death was reported. He couldn’t say if she was beaten with fists or with an object.
“Clearly she had been deceased for awhile,” he said.