Software development engineer for Microsoft Melissa Batten was killed yesterday in an apparent murder-suicide when her husband, Joseph Batten, murdered her before killing himself. Joseph has been described as “obsessive and verbally abusive” and as of July 21, 2008 Melissa obtained a restraining order after learning that he owned a handgun. Joseph Batten had also previously worked at Microsoft but, more recently, held a position at Wizards of the Coast. Melissa Batten's most recent work was with Rare on their upcoming Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts, but she has been credited on titles such as Halo 3 and Gears of War. 

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