Mom of 4 killed by bullets that ripped through her Bremerton home, deputies looking to solve her murder

BREMERTON, Wash. - Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies are asking for the public’s help for information that could crack an unsolved homicide nearly a year after two gunmen opened fire at a Bremerton home, killing a mother of four inside. 

Around 1:20 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2023, a home on Chico Way near Crosspoint Academy was calm and quiet. Four children were asleep in their beds while their parents sat on the couch. The husband, Charles Williams, was rubbing his wife Carolynn's feet while the pair were watching TV. 

That tranquility was abruptly shattered as bullets started to fly.

Charles hit the ground and crawled into the kitchen.

"As soon as I heard the first shot, I told her there was shooting and I told her to come follow me, but she had already been hit," Charles told FOX 13 of that night.

Everything happened so fast. 

"Once I heard the gunshots stop, it was the most terrifying feeling in the world because I thought they were coming in to kill everybody," Charles said. 

From the kitchen, Charles grabbed two knives, expecting the suspects to come barging into the home at any second. 

When the dust settled and the shooting stopped, he went back into the living room, only to find Carolynn had been hit. 

"I thought she had gotten shot in her chest because she had very long hair and so I saw blood only coming from there, so I thought. So when I lifted her head up to apply pressure to the wound, I noticed she wasn't shot there [in the chest]," Charles recalled. 

His wife of 16 years had been shot in the head. 

Carolynn was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center, where she later died from her injuries. 

None of the kids sleeping were physically hurt. 

"I think it strikes a chord with anybody. You are in your home, in your sanctuary and they had their family with them, their kids," said Det. Jennifer Rice with the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office. "I think that it struck them in their most vulnerable time. Yeah, you should be able to relax in your home and feel comfortable and safe." 

Investigators believe the home was targeted, but Carolynn was not the intended target. 

The shooting is still impacting the family, even a year after it happened. 

"My daughter is so afraid, I have to sit up and night and stand watch because she thinks somebody is going to come kill her. It's just been hard," Charles told FOX 13. 

The Williams family has since moved out of the home.

Friends and loved ones remember Carolynn as a loyal and understanding woman. She took care of dementia patients in Gig Harbor and started a food program that helped feed families and people in need. 

All told FOX 13 that she didn't deserve what happened to her. 

"Although I lost my wife, [but] I've also lost, too. I've lost security," Charles told FOX 13. "I can't sleep at night. Every time I close my eyes, I see that night." 

Of the 12 homicides that the county saw last year, Carolynn's case is the only one that remains unsolved. 

Despite that, detectives believe the case is solvable. 

"I don't ask you, I beg of you… if you know anything, please say something," Charles pleaded. 

Detectives say until they are caught, there is a very real concern that more innocent victims like Carolynn will be killed.

"There is a potential that they are going to or already have committed other crimes that are similar to this," Rice said. 

Investigators say the suspects left in a four-door black sedan. It's believed at least two people were involved in the shooting. 

"We gotta get these guys off the street because this was not supposed to happen," Charles said.

If you have any information that could help Kitsap County Sheriff's detectives solve this murder, call Det. Jennifer Rice at (360) 337-5616 or email her at jerice@kitsap.gov.

If you wish to remain anonymous, submit a tip to Crime Stoppers of Puget Sound through the P3 Tips app or call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 cash reward for any information that leads to an arrest in the case. 

You will never be asked to give your name.

"Do you feel like these killers have talked to somebody about this and that those people have information you need? Yes, absolutely.  We feel that there are people who know what happened and we encourage those people to come forward," Rice said.