Im disappointed at the appellate courts decision, his attorney told the Herald. We needed to get to the bottom of it. We are the leaders in Crime Scene Cleanup Acme WA, Specializing in Blood removal and Decontamination of Crime Scenes, and Blood Clean Up from a Death Call Us for Crime Scene Cleanup Acme WA - 1-888-477-0015 And I was praying that that would not happen. Bass had lived just a short distance down the road from Mandys house and along the route shed taken for her run. Ahead of 20/20s rebroadcast of the episode about how her murder was solved 30 years later, heres what you need to know about the crime and how her killer was finally apprehended. It was it was agonizing As hard as it was, I I knew I had to do it. Stavik's murder seemed unsolvable the case hung over the small tight-knit community like a dark cloud. And for the past 25 years, Tim had been living a quiet life in a nearby community, married with three children, and driving a delivery truck for a bakery. The Whatcom County Sheriffs Office has identified another man wanted in a planned robbery that ended in the death of a woman in Acme over the weekend. DAVE MCEACHRAN | PROSECUTOR: This was not a situation where there was consensual sex. Randomly, one of the mothers brought up a notorious case from years ago in Acme the unsolved rape and murder of a beloved local young woman, 18-year-old Mandy Stavik, a recent graduate of. Peter Van Sant: If Tim Bass sitting in his home was lookin' out the window, could he have seen Mandy running by? Det. Three days later, her nude body was found three miles away in the Nooksack River. Some schools closed, others delayed, City to buy 12 acres to expand this trail and park on Bellinghams north side, Man indicted for allegedly embezzling $25,000 from Lummi Nation store, Man arrested after allegedly raping Bellingham victims he met via a dating app, Whatcom man held in attack on woman in rural neighborhood, Suspect rammed Whatcom patrol car and fled. The decision was appealed by the defence. Peter Van Sant: Why did you say Tim Bass? Tim Bass' trial was turning into a family reunion from hell. Would her family and friends finally get justice? Woman." The co-worker had a daughter herself. "And I just said I knew that it was Tim Bass.". he said that he used to drive by our house. Det. Anderson told CBS News that Bass was a friend of her husbands and that one night a few years after Staviks death, he came to their house and made sexual advances toward her. Investigators believe the attacker had kicked the dog into a ditch before abducting Mandy, and then sexually assaulted her about 5 miles away from where she was jogging. Merrilee Anderson: So, I open the door and there's Tim Bass at the door. Gerber said Mulryan asked him for a ride to the park in Acme so Mulryan could meet with a girl who had apparently done something to him in the past, court records state. In 2010, he traveled all the way to Cambodia where Wisnewski now lives to question him. It was June 2013. #2020 #MandyStavik #30YearsSearching #Crime #Murder #Washington #TimBass #DNA #Evidence #MissingPerson #SexualAssault #ABCNews #Investigation #DNAEvidence #ABC2020 #Documentary STREAM MORE EPISODE OF 2020, College student Mandy Stavik found dead, but case goes cold for years I Nightline, Stavik, who was from a rural town in Washington, was missing for three days before her body was found. Mandy Stavik Mandy's family life had not been easy but she loved spending time with them whenever she got the chance. Semen was found on her body and preserved. Kevin Bowhay: He went from denial to, "How did you get my DNA, what are you talking about?". Molly named her daughter after her sister Mandy. She returned to her hometown of Acme, Washington, for Thanksgiving break. Peter Van Sant: Tim says he's an innocent man. Testifying for the prosecution, is the woman who helped retrieve the DNA evidence that linked bass to the crime scene. 30 years later, authorities arrested a. ", Det. The businesses respond, Bellingham requires landlords to give this new notice of rent increases to tenants, Another piece of the puzzle set for connection between Lake Padden, Whatcom Falls Park, Morning snow covered roads in Whatcom. Peter Van Sant: Blackberry bushes got thorns on 'em. The sheriffs office is asking the publics help in locating 23-year-old Tyler James OKeefe. I'm going to do whatever I have to do to not lose my kids. Jay Van Mersbergen | Juror: Maybe a quarter of the people tied up on whether or not there might be reasonable doubt. Acme is a tiny town down Highway 9 in Washington State's Whatcom County. Molly Brighton: It was such a relief. Peter Van Sant: Why would his story evolve like that, in your opinion? Kevin Bowhay: And at that point, he goes, "Well, I don't wanna give my DNA. When police questioned him, he claimed he couldnt remember who Stavik was, which police found suspicious because, in that small community, everybody knew about Staviks case. Hearing Backstrom's story, Anderson told her ownwhich was far more chilling. Peter Van Sant: You must've been scared. The closest similar sized city with FBI crime data is the city of , . An advisory statement says to expect total snow accumulations of up to 10 inches in lowland areas. Unfortunately, while investigators initially had plenty of persons of interest, all the suspects were eventually cleared by the DNA evidence or had a solid alibi. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Ron Peterson: I immediately went, "Oh my God, she was runnin' away. The friends determined Sather had been run over and was dead and left the scene because they were scared, according to court records. When asked about Mandy, Bass pretended he didn't even remember her. Kevin Bowhay: Oh, jeez. Starck Follis: First of all, I don't have to prove it. Merrilee Anderson: I hear the "beep, beep, beep, we're sorry" when you call on the phone and it's disconnected, so I thought, "OK, something's up.". "To accuse someone of something that we don't know for sure is a little scary," Anderson says. Strangely, they had wanted to know details of his daily routes decades ago. Unemployment in Acme is very high and the median home sales price is $0. Bowhay says her assailant had to be in a vehicle. She says it was hardly a fairy-tale romance. Kim Wagner: He never called me Kim. His arraignment is scheduled for April 17. Gina Malone: I was so nervous, and I was shaking I don't even want to see his face. Heather Backstrom: I'm probably 15 and he was in his 20s. Tom Bass: I think potentially more could've been his next victims. She had reportedly gone to college intending to be a commercial pilot, but abandoned the idea after she realised she would rather be looking out the window rather than [at] the instrument panel, a former teacher would say later. Probably probably close to a hundred over the over the 30 years of workin' on the case. GINA MALONE [on witness stand]: She put her hands over her face and like this [covers her face with her hands]. And so, I think it was just overlooked. Mandy expressed her admiration for him in a card. Peter Van Sant: And back in 1989, 1990 Did they go to the Bass household and question people there? She says they all piled into a friend's truck including Tim Bass, who was sitting next to her. Peter Van Sant: And what are you feeling at this moment? What a birthday present.". "No." Many people were looked at for her murder in Acme, Washington, including the Green River Killer. After 30 years of heartache, fear and frustration, the trial of Mandy's accused killer finally begins. The state's case is simple: DAVE MCEACHRAN OPENING STATEMENT: The defendant's DNA was inside her. Points the gun at her says "Get in," that point she's compliant. But when investigators approached him about providing a voluntary DNA sample to exclude him from the crime, he refused, Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney David McEachran told a court at Basss initial appearance on December 13, 2017. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes, A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India, The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC, An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution, A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors, State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya, A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic, A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California, Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Sincerely Mandy Stavik, class of '89, number 13.". And we went through everything just like the attorneys did. Malone says throughout their nearly 30-year marriage, Tim was a controlling and emotionally abusive husband. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. We had posters on the wall and maps. This creek eventually dumps into the South Fork of . Would love your thoughts, please comment. Det. I wouldnt get caught because Im not that stupid, he allegedly told his wife, the Herald reported. "No. And the things that . With a population of 229 people and just one neighborhood, Acme is the 319th largest community in Washington. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port, A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador, A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk, The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron, Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus, A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. A lotta tears. After I asked if it was that case and who it was, I felt a basic human moral obligation to help, the woman would later testify, according to the Bellingham Herald. Anderson and Backstrom had creepy encounters with him around the time of Stavik's murder, but they had never come forward with their suspicions. Tips poured in and deputies checked them out. Mandy ran right in front of him while heading towards her home, about an eighth of a mile from where he saw her. It was after a softball game in the summer of 1989, a few months before Mandy's murder. Heather Backstrom: Sitting on the grass right over there. Peter Van Sant: As you're about to take the stand, what's going through your mind? The Staviks' home was on a dead-end street, a mile from the highway. Acme is a tiny town located in the state of Washington. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy, Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq, A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France, A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. He didn't kidnap anyone. Investigators knew Mandy didn't jog by the Bass house the day she disappeared, but Tim was in their crosshairs, so they wanted to know more about him. Peter Van Sant: What was lost for you and this community with the death of Mandy Stavik? Last Friday, Bass learned his final appeal over the evidence had been denied. And a man who helped the Whatcom County Sheriffs Office with search and rescue, Allen Pratt, testified that he noticed Mandys dog, Kyra, who had gone with Mandy on her run and returned home without her, was cowering with her tail tucked when he got to the Stavik residence and that there was silt from the river on the dogs hindquarters. The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office has identified another man wanted in a planned robbery that ended in the death of a woman in Acme over the weekend. On August 10, 2017, the co-worker watched Bass toss out a plastic cup and a Coke can. Gerber is suspected of driving the vehicle that hit and killed Sather Saturday morning, April 4, at the South Fork Park in Acme, according to Whatcom County Superior Court records. Anderson had never told anyone in law enforcement of her suspicions. Gina Malone: It didn't feel like a marriage. Anderson says she demanded that Tim leave, but he refused. What do you say to someone like that? Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Acme-area historical earthquake activity is significantly above Washington state average. Tim's mom Sandra Bass insisted that her son never tried to blame his father for Mandy's death: SANDY BASS: That is totally false. Heather Backstrom and Merrilee Anderson had both gone to Mount Baker High. Kevin Bowhay: No. And to me, it can't be enough time. When authorities tested the cup, Bass DNA matched the DNA taken from Staviks body. I got a restraining order and left for two months. Police arrested Timothy in December 2017 after his DNA matched with the DNA found on Mandy . On December 12, 2017, Bass was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Kevin Bowhay, who was just a rookie deputy back then, has pieced together Mandy's route from the few people who briefly saw her that day. Det. They told her: Bass was a suspect in the 1989 rape and murder of 18-year-old Mandy Stavik, one of the regions most infamous unsolved crimes. Brent Scott Gerber, 47, of Maple Falls was arrested Monday, April 6, by the sheriffs office on suspicion of first-degree murder. Kim Wagner: And I just stood there and went, "Oh, s---. If one person doesn't agree, you've got a hung jury and they have to start all over again. Acme is a rural village in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. After the DNA match, they paid another visit to Tim as he was leaving work. This week on Reasonable Doubt, the team takes on the Raul and Cathy Sarinana were sentenced to death for abusing Would love your thoughts, please comment. Hours later, the dog returned home, but Ms Stavik did not. Peter Van Sant: And you were just watching your kids coming down the waterslide? Acme is located in the South Fork Valley between the northern Cascade Mountains and Lake Whatcom. Kevin Bowhay: Yeah. More Cost of Living or Compare Acme's Cost of Living. Detective Ron Peterson, left, pictured with "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant, led the search team for Mandy Stavik. When Mandy jogged with her dog, the route that she would take would take her past Timothy Basss residence.. Now, it was time for a woman to testify who Bass knew very well: his now ex-wife Gina Malone. All the factors contributed to the polices interest in Bass as a suspect by 2013. Kim Wagner: I wasn't really gonna take no for an answer. The community was repeatedly asked for assistance solving this case, Elfo said last December, according to a video. Bass had lived just down the road from Stavik. All that promise came to an abrupt end in 1989, when the college freshman came home from Central Washington University for Thanksgiving. Det. 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