A Poulsbo man previously convicted of manslaughter has been sentenced to 11 years for killing his girlfriend while he was out on bail for another crime.
On Aug. 10, 51-year-old Stephen Harvey pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of his girlfriend.
On Feb. 6, the victim's coworkers had called for a welfare check at her Bremerton home. They said their coworker had not called in or shown up for work and that she was a "very responsive and diligent" employee, according to court documents.
Her friends and coworkers said that she doesn't like to leave her home and that she didn't have a history of suicidal ideation, nor did she have substance abuse issues, court docs said.
These coworkers also informed 911 that she had a "contentious relationship that seemed to be progressively failing," court docs said.
When a Bremerton officer entered the home, he found the 48-year-old woman dead in the bedroom. There didn't appear to have been a struggle anywhere else but the bedroom, and there was no sign of forced entry, court docs said.
She was found with severe bruising throughout her arms, chest, neck and face.
After the officer found her body, he learned that her boyfriend, Harvey, had been booked for felony DUI the day before.
According to officers, Harvey was driving erratically on State Route 3 in the early morning hours of Feb. 5. During that time, he hit 10 different vehicles near Poulsbo.
He eventually crashed his vehicle and tried to carjack another. Harvey jumped onto the truck bed of a slowed vehicle, court docs said.
He was arrested near State Route 3 and State Route 303.
Responding officers said Harvey showed obvious signs of intoxication and had "bloodshot and watery" eyes and would have severe "mood swings" when they spoke to him, according to court docs.
According to court documents, living room surveillance footage from inside the victim's home showed Harvey assaulting his girlfriend.
Court documents detail the following timeline:
Feb. 5, 2024 at 6:20 a.m. - Video shows the victim walking from the dining room toward the hallway. She was seen wearing an item of clothing that was found near her body.
Feb. 5, 2024 at 6:31 a.m - Harvey is seen entering the living room from the hallway. He is heard screaming "call 911. [Victim], call 911." The victim can be heard in the background saying, "what the f*** is wrong with you, man? Get the f*** out."
Two minutes later, Harvey is still heard yelling "call the cops" to which the victim replied "I already did." It's unclear if she managed to call 911. In that clip, he is heading toward the door, but when the victim said she called 911, he turned around and went back into the hallway.
At 6:33 a.m., the victim keeps telling Harvey to leave. At one point, she walks into the kitchen where they presumably had an Echo device (Harvey yells "Alexa, call 911."
When she reaches for the device, Harvey is seen violently pushing the victim.
The video ends with the victim falling backward into the hallway and is heard screaming "oh my go..."
Court documents say she was not seen or heard from on camera after that.
At 6:48 a.m., Harvey is seen quickly leaving the home.
He was arrested 11 minutes after leaving her home.
Harvey was convicted in 2009 for a 2008 deadly drunk driving incident. He crossed the center line on Clear Creek Road and hit a Port Orchard woman head-on.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Harvey was sentenced to four years in prison.
In April 2022, Harvey was arrested for another DUI, where he was driving erratically and being aggressive with a woman driving on State Route 3 near Chico Way.
According to court documents, he followed her and tailgated her and honked on the horn relentlessly, following her through town as she tried to get to the police department.
The woman feared the "erratic vehicle driver may rape or kill her," court documents said.
Court docs say Harvey had an open bottle of vodka in the front passenger seat but denied drinking it. Officers said they smelled a strong odor of alcohol on him, docs said.
He was booked for DUI but was out on bail for that case when he killed his girlfriend.
Harvey was sentenced to 136 years- or 11 years- in prison for his girlfriend's death.
It appears Harvey pleaded to a manslaughter charge instead of second-degree murder, according to court docs. It's unclear what his sentence would have been if he pled guilty to second-degree murder.