Man arrested after 2 stabbed to death at home for addiction recovery in Bremerton
A man was arrested Sunday night after a 911 call was made from a home in Bremerton reporting that multiple people inside had been stabbed, according to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
At 8:45 p.m. Sunday, deputies responded to the report of the stabbings in the 9000 block of Central Valley Road and that the suspect was still inside the home.
The home, according to deputies, is a residence for people recovering from addiction.
As deputies approached the home on foot, they found the suspect crawling away in the brush near the house, holding a butcher knife.
The suspect, 29-year-old Sterling C. Traven, was detained quickly and without incident. Traven lived at the home with three of the victims and others.
Once deputies searched the home, they found a man and a woman dead inside and two others with injuries.
“We’re talking about a scene that was very violent, very bloody. It was a very brutal crime,” said Kevin McCarty with the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies performed medical treatment until medics from Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue arrived.
One of the two injured men was flown to a trauma center for serious and life-threatening injuries.
The two deceased victims were identified as 51-year-old William (Bill) Foust and 59-year-old Retha Price, according to the Kitsap County Medical Examiner’s Office. Both had Bremerton addresses.
The cause of death was multiple stab wounds and the manner of death was homicide, the ME’s office said.
Traven was transported to St. Michael’s Medical Center for minor injuries and booked into the Kitsap County Jail, facing murder and assault charges. He pleaded “not guilty” at his first appearance.
According to charging documents, Traven allegedly admitted to using methamphetamines the morning of the attack and taking “a few swings” at one of the victims.
A motive has not yet been identified. However, prosecutors say Traven told investigators he was “called upon by the person who created me” and believed his roommate was surveilling and recording him without his consent.
Traven’s bail has been set at $4 million.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Detective Tiffany Dobbins at 360-337-5614 or email kcsodetectives@kitsap.gov. Refer to case K23-001913.
