Melissa Brooks Batten (March 2, 1972 – July 29, 2008),[1] a software development engineer, was murdered by her husband Joseph Eugene Batten (January 23, 1972 – July 29, 2008),[2][3] a video game programmer, in Redmond, Washington, United States. Joseph immediately committed suicide after the murder.
Melissa had taken out an order of protection against her husband on July 21, eight days before he murdered her.
Melissa worked as a public defender on domestic cases for the Mecklenburg County, North Carolina Public Defender's Office from 2000 to 2002.[4][5] Melissa moved to Washington state in 2002, and soon after got a job at Microsoft Game Studios, where Joseph was employed as a video game programmer.[4] Melissa was credited on Halo 3 and Gears of War as a Software Development Engineer in Test, and was also working in a support role with the Xbox 360 developer Rare.[5][6] Joseph later worked at Wizards of the Coast as a Senior Project Manager.[3][4] Joseph was also the head of the Gleemax project; on July 28, 2008, Wizards announced that they were shutting down Gleemax to concentrate on D&D Insider.[7]
On June 5, 2008, after learning of an affair Melissa had, Joseph confronted her and at one point he pointed a gun at her, and then at his own head.[8][9] Melissa moved into a friend's apartment in Redmond, Washington, soon after, but Joseph learned where she was staying.[8] A mutual friend was able to convince him to sell his .22-caliber handgun back to the dealer, but Joseph later purchased a .357 Smith & Wesson revolver and a 9-millimeter Taurus semiautomatic.[10] Joseph broke into her place of work at the Microsoft campus on July 16 while she was not in town, and when security guards caught him he was told he was not allowed to return to the campus.[8] Melissa told police that he tried to call her over 30 times on July 19 and 20.[8] Melissa got a protection order against Joseph on July 21, which said he was not allowed to come within 100 yards of her, and was served to him on July 25.[8] She had begun the process of filing for divorce.[11]
Shortly after 9 AM on July 29, 2008, Melissa left the apartment to go to work.[12][13] Joseph approached her in the parking lot and shot her several times in the torso with a 9-mm handgun, and then shot himself in the head.[12] Investigators at the scene discovered fuzzy handcuffs, hardcore pornography, an 8-inch cutting knife, plus $6,000 in the trunk of Joseph's Mercedes sedan.[4]
Microsoft provided grief counseling to Melissa's surviving relatives, and helped organize memorials for family and colleagues.[13] Washington state legislator Roger Goodman cited the Batten case in the passage of a 2014 state gun control law that involved domestic violence.[14]
^"United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JGG3-83PArchived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine : accessed 19 December 2015), Melissa C Brooks, 29 Jul 2008; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
^"United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JTJF-RMCArchived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine : accessed 19 December 2015), Joseph E Batten, 29 Jul 2008; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
^ abMorris, Betsy (November 24, 2008). "You have victims working for you. You have batterers working for you too.", Fortune158 (10); entire article reposted at "Domestic violence". Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-03-26.
