In the late afternoon of February 24, 2022, what appeared to be a single-car accident on a quiet road in Port Angeles, Washington, quickly unraveled into a double homicide investigation. Inside the vehicle, which had struck a tree on Wild Currant Way, authorities discovered the bodies of Bryana Emila Presler, a 43-year-old Caucasian female, and 60-year-old Clay Lee Haltom.
First responders noted that the injuries sustained by Presler and Haltom were inconsistent with a low-speed collision, prompting a deeper look into the circumstances of their deaths.
The Clallam County Sheriff's Office confirmed the grim reality that both Bryana and Clay had been shot in the back of the head. The couple, who had been in a relationship and lived together on Wild Currant Way, were not the victims of a tragic accident, but of a calculated act of violence. The investigation into their deaths became a top priority for local law enforcement, who were assisted by the Washington State Patrol Crime Scene Response Team in processing the cluttered vehicle for evidence.
The investigation led to a significant breakthrough with the arrest of Christopher L. Haltom, the 41-year-old son of Clay Haltom. Evidence found at the scene suggested that Christopher may have been in the vehicle at the time of the murders. He was located a short distance from the scene and initially arrested on unrelated outstanding warrants. As the investigation progressed, detectives with the Clallam County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigations Bureau developed probable cause to believe that Christopher Haltom was solely responsible for the deaths of his father and Bryana Presler.
In November 2022, nearly nine months after the discovery of the bodies, Christopher L. Haltom was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Bryana Emila Presler and his father. The community was left to grapple with the violent end to the lives of two of its residents, a tragedy that began as a seemingly minor car crash and concluded with a son being accused of the ultimate betrayal. The investigation into the double homicide is ongoing.
