Richy Maria Jacob
ABC’s ’20/20′ highlights the elaborate efforts that went into the capture of Timothy Bass, who is allegedly responsible for the kidnapping and murder of Mandy Stavik, an 18-year-old who was just growing into the prime years of her youth. The route to justice here spanned 30 years of mixed outcomes. While Mandy Stavik can no longer come back, the investigators did everything they could to make sure that she would get the due justice she deserved.
Who is Tim Bass?
Timothy (Tim) lived on the same street as Mandy Stavik. Stavik was never really known to be acquainted with him, but was more familiar with his younger brother, Tom Bass, as they were friends. In the initial part of the investigation, Tim Bass did not really stand out as a suspect, even though most males around the area were being rounded up as possible suspects. His DNA, too, was not part of the multitude of samples that were sent for testing.
Tim Bass’ name popped up after a seemingly normal chat between two mothers. As they spoke on, the topic of discussion panned to Mandy Stavik’s murder. The two had a strong hunch that Tim Bass was the murderer. This is because of some sexually weird and threatening experience they themselves faced with Tim Bass. Without wasting much time, in 2013, they informed this to the police, who by then was on the verge of losing hope on the case. Upon receiving the new lead, they conducted their search to find that Tim had moved out from where he lived with his family shortly after Mandy’s murder. In addition, he later got married to a woman named Gina Malone and moved to Everson. He has three children out of that marriage.
The detectives soon approached him regarding his involvement in the case and asked him if they could collect his DNA. He blatantly refused to say that he does not trust the police. His wife, who later divorced him, said that she was in an abusive marriage with Tim, as he had both physically and verbally abused her. She also said that he would often watch cold murder cases on TV and stated that the killers were stupid to get caught.
Arrest and Trial
Tim Bass was working in Franz Bakery as a local delivery driver. The bakery manager, Kim Wagner, had initially refused to cooperate without a court subpoena. However, knowing that Tim Bass always stuck out as an odd individual, combined with her goodwill, as a mother, she decided to help. On her own accord, she collected a cup that was used by Bass and gave it to the police. The officers who gave it for DNA testing found out that it was a match.
This was soon followed by his arrest in 2017. During interrogation, he came to know that the police had his DNA sample. After this, he changed his story. He said that he had a casual sexual relationship with Mandy Stavik, and had a sexual encounter with her shortly before she went missing. Gina Malone submitted herself as an alibi for the day Mandy went missing, but later retracted it and even testified against him in court.
Tim Bass was charged with first-degree murder and first-degree rape. However, due to concerns over the statute of limitations, the rape charge was dropped. During the trial, which took place in 2019, Bass’ defense team argued that there was no evidence to indict him over the murder of Mandy Stavik. His defense attorney, Steven Jackson, said, “… I’d submit to you that you’ll be confident that no one knows what happened to Ms. Stavik. There is no evidence that Tim committed a crime. Period.” However, things odd balled against Tim, when his own brother, Tom Bass testified against him in court, stating that Tim had asked him to lie about Tom having sexual relations with Mandy as well. Furthermore, he apparently even went to the extent of asking his family to say they had gone Christmas shopping that day.
The Former District Attorney, Dave McEachran, presented the DNA evidence and used the testimonies given by Tim’s brother and wife to state that he not only wanted to make people lie but also did not have a credible alibi for the day Stavik went missing. In any case, the long-drawn case trial came to a close when the specially selected jury found Tim Bass guilty of first-degree murder. Additionally, they also found him guilty of first-degree rape, attempted first-degree rape, first-degree kidnapping, and attempted first-degree kidnapping. He was then sentenced to 27 years in prison. At the time of sentencing, Tim Bass maintained his innocence.
Where is Tim Bass Now?
Tim Bass is currently serving his sentence in Clallam Bay Corrections Center in the Olympic Peninsula. His tentative release will be in 2036. Bass’ legal team said they have plans to appeal, but nothing has come of it yet. (Feature Image Credit: Bellingham Herald)
Read More: Where is Tim Bass Ex-Wife Now?
