Family of murder victim wins settlement of nearly $1 million from state

Published 12:01 am Friday, June 16, 2006

PORT ANGELES — The family of a woman who was beaten to death by her live-in boyfriend in December 2004 has settled a claim against the state Department of Corrections for nearly $1 million.

Amber Bulus-Steed, 26, was brutally beaten by her boyfriend, Nathan Eugene Hipsher, 26, in a Sequim motel room and was then driven to his parents’ house outside Port Angeles with her two small children in the car.

She died of the injuries.

Hipsher was already a convicted felon who was under the supervision of the state Department of Corrections.

When attorneys representing Bulus-Steed’s family began requesting records in preparation for a lawsuit, state lawyers approached them and they began negotiating a resolution.

That resolution was reached June 6, said civil attorney Steve Bulzomi of Tacoma.

The total amount the state will pay is $975,000.

The money, less attorney fees, will be held in trust for Bulus-Steed’s two young children.

Bulzomi said he could not disclose how much of the settlement will go to attorneys.