Mandy Stavik: The Case No One Could Forget | Full Episode | Forensic Files

foreign [Music] [Music] they go to the local Diner that have their breakfast lunch or
dinner [Music] and they shop at the General Store [Music] you have that feeling of safety
keep your doors unlocked [Music] on November 24th 1989 Mandy stavic went out running with her dog
[Music] the dog had returned but she hadn't [Music] and when she didn't come back I panicked
[Music] there was a massive hunt for her everybody was out looking it was three days later when we found
her this is the South Fork of the Nooksack River she was just floating lately the only thing I could see were her
tennis shoes and socks when I rolled her over it was kind of a real shock to me because she looked like my daughter
foreign oh you're so strong oh yeah right you can't be strong through something like that and just
rips you to pieces [Music] oh we were in shock people were crying and they were um
oh there was a killer out there somewhere the question is was this person going to
strike again yeah so much unknown [Music] for 25 years we had no viable suspects
in this case you've got to keep working keep persistent keep going Mandy's dead but this case was not going
to die no I absolutely did not think it would ever get solved thank you amazingly enough it was two women
talking in a water park they gave us the break in this case the moms brought her name up I just kind
of turned to merrily and said well I am sure I know who killed her and turned to
her and I said oh I do too [Music] thank you foreign [Music] [Music] 27th 1989 where are we right now
we're Upstream from where I recovered her it's a solemn place for you isn't it it
is really does back then detective Ron Peterson led the search team for Mandy stavic moving upriver in his Zodiac boat
we came around the corner and we got out of the main river and into the little side Channel and I could see pink
something pink it was Mandy wearing only her running shoes when you lifted her out of the water as
a father did you say anything to her assistant you're the first person that asked that
okay I said I got you Pearson and so many others in the small community of Acme Washington are still
emotional even 30 years later what was lost for you in this community with the death of Mandy stavic a sense
of Innocence I think more than anything Jim Freeman was Mandy's high school basketball coach and gave the eulogy at
her memorial service attended by nearly a thousand people you see her smiling back at you
right at your soul with eyes that say I love life he had mentored her off the court as
well becoming a father figure after Mandy's parents divorced Mandy expressed her admiration for him in this card
for Mr Freeman the one person who is inspired and influenced me more than anyone
thank you you're the greatest most sincerely Mandy static class of 89. number 13.
basketball player cheerleader top student once an aspiring airline pilot Mandy stavic truly stood out says her
mother Mary she wanted to do everything she wanted to be very good to the best at everything she did
and she was Mandy's older sister Molly Brighton Mandy she was larger than life she
helped us a lot in the short time that she was here all that promise came to an abrupt end
in 1989 when the college freshman came home from Central Washington University for Thanksgiving the day after the big
holiday meal at her house Mandy set out on the last jog of her life with her German Shepherd Kyra
how many times you've driven this road oh geez probably probably close to 100 over the over the 30 years of working on
the case detective Kevin Bowie who was just a rookie Deputy back then has pieced together Mandy's route from the
few people who briefly saw her that day she always started from the house here and then ran down westbound toward the
west side of the Strand Road the last person to see Mandy alive was a man in a pickup truck who pulled up
right here Mandy ran right in front of him heading in that direction to go around the bend to her home about an
eighth of a mile from here I would say to that wooded area ahead of us is where I believe she was abducted
Bowie says her assailant had to be in a vehicle Mandy was too faster runner to catch on
foot how do you think she was abducted by weapon that's what they used to gain the
controller I believe it was a gun and what points the gun at her and says get him yeah points a gun at her get in at
that point she's compliant investigators believe the attacker had kicked the dog
into a ditch before abducting Mandy he then sexually assaulted her about three and a half miles away from where she was
jogging afterward she tried to flee a scenario suggested by the scratches on her arms and legs I immediately went oh
my God she was running away running through the blackberries blackberry bushes big thorns
and that's what I thought she was running away from whoever had her I believe whoever was chasing her caught
her and hit her in the head knocking her out and then placed her in the river to
make sure she drowned it occurred to Ron Peterson that Mandy's body May hold other important evidence
he had just recently been trained by the FBI on recovering DNA and based on the position that she was in the water he
knew he had to get her out to preserve it that was the biggest fear of mine is how to get her out without disturbing it
his training paid off so when they did the autopsy they were able to recover male DNA from Mandy the male DNA was
semen suggesting a sexual attack what happened in terms of the investigation from there it was you know you always
look for that person that's strange or odd that doesn't quite fit into the community
tips poured in and deputies check them out this is a standard Road where tsuchi was
observed David Suchi was a local Drifter seen in the area that day Bowie says they got a
warrant and got his DNA and he was ruled out deputies interviewed various Persons of
Interest including Mandy's boyfriend Rick Zender they also looked at him just to rule him out
all dead ends in all some 30 local men gave DNA samples none matched the case went cold and the murder hung like a
dark cloud over this community for the next two decades it was like an assault on all of us then almost 25 years later
a new suspect emerged and he had lived right in Mandy's Neighborhood his name wasn't even on the radar
foreign [Music] just an ordinary person I don't know how I managed to have that child
Mary stavic spent years haunted by the murder of her daughter Mandy and the lack of progress in the case
and I just really didn't have any hope that became more ingredient in me as the years went on
but detective Kevin Bowie same high school as Mandy had never given up by 2009 he was the lead investigator on
this unsolved case we needed some answers we needed to get to the bottom of it he began scouring the case File
pouring over old leads and old suspects and I started going through who's been interviewed who's been talked to
Bowie noticed that a local drug dealer named John Wisniewski had been questioned because he told people he
might know who murdered Mandy although his DNA did not match the crime scene Bowie still wanted to talk to him again
and in 2010 he traveled all the way to Cambodia where Wisniewski now lives to question him
what did your gut tell you about this man I thought he was a good liar just kept
reiterating I don't know who did this you weren't believing him though I didn't believe him but a feeling wasn't
evidence so it's another dead end yes but then three years later the Sheriff's Office got a tip that sent them in a New
Direction coming from of all places a pair of moms chatting at a water park it was June 2013.
where were you guys when you had this conversation sitting on the grass right over there
Heather Backstrom and merrily Anderson had both gone to Mount Baker High and you're just watching your kids coming
down the water slides and things out of the blue one of the other mothers brought up the name Mandy stavic both
Heather and Marilee who barely knew each other held long suspicions about the same man Marilee had never told anyone
in law enforcement of her suspicions I really wasn't ready because we are in a small town and to accuse someone of
something that we don't know for sure is a little scary Heather also never discussed her concerns with anyone in
the area no friend or family in the community that I lived in because of the weight of that but talking to each other
here in this water park decades later they finally felt compelled to say his name out loud and I just said that I
knew that it was Tim that it was Tim Bass Timothy bass had gone to Mount Baker High too
why did you say Tim Bass I thought it was Tim best because of the experiences that I had had with him in
the past disturbing experience very disturbing yes as it turns out both women had experienced creepy run-ins
with him and began exchanging stories I'm probably 15 and he was in his 20s it was after a softball game in the
summer of 1989 a few months before Mandy's murder we decided a bunch of us to go to Dairy Queen she says they all
piled into a friend's truck including Tim bass who was sitting next to her he would talk about my eyes that my eyes
were beautiful then he took like a pen out of the cup holder and would like start rubbing it
along my knees because I was wearing cut off sweatpants you must have been scared
you're 15 years old yeah I was very nervous hearing Heather's story merrily told her
oh it was far more chilly in July 1991 she was at home one night with her young son when she heard a
knock on the door so I opened the door and there's Tim best at the door and he asks if he can use
the phone because he had been hunting all day and wanted to use the phone to call his wife
when she handed him the phone he started dialing but something wasn't right I hear the the beep beep beep we're
sorry when you call on the phone's disconnected so I thought okay something's up then she says things got
scary so then he walks through the kitchen and back to my bedroom he said that he used
to drive by our house and that he had always been in love with me and wanted to make love to me
right then and there yes Marilee says she demanded that Tim leave but he refused and what are you feeling
at this moment uh terrified eventually after she threatened to call the police Tim left
later the two women now realized they had to speak up merrily contacted another Mount Baker High graduate
detective Ken Gates she had a gut feeling that Tim bass was responsible for killing Mandy where did
Tim Bass Live he lived right in this house right here a home less than two miles from Mandy's
house right along her running route back in 1989 1990 did they go to the bass household and question people there
they looked at him like no it wouldn't be this family because they're well liked in the community
and so I think it was just overlooked Tim bass along with his brother and father had never been asked to give a
DNA sample 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 any criminal record anything that
would have call attention to Tim bass no he kept to himself and for the most part
worked and came home but now police decided to pay Tim a visit at home very non-threatening in your approach correct
when asked about Mandy Bass pretended he didn't even remember her at least not at
first so he just looked up and was like Mandy Mandy Mandy um oh yeah she was a girl that they found
on the river it was kind of like okay I think we're being played here he who could who could forget Mandy stavic
police asked bass for a saliva sample to get his DNA and at that point he goes well
um I don't want to give my DNA I watch those crime shows I see how many people go to prison because they've given DNA
so they tried a new plan at this point we decided we need to get a surveillance team on him and follow him on his route
they followed Tim Bass All Night Long on his Bakery delivery route police were hoping bass would throw away
an item with DNA on it but no luck the investigation stalled yet again until police received an unexpected helping
hand I wasn't really going to take no for an answer I'm gonna find something I'm gonna get you something
oh 24 long years had passed without an arrest and police finally had a prime suspect back in 1989 Tim bass lived down
the road from Mandy stavic and she often jogged past his house on her regular running route which is how he fixated on
her police believe if Tim bass sitting in his home was looking out the window could he have seen Mandy running by
easily 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 they got some background from his
younger brother Tom as kids they piled around together like most Brothers very competitive we had a lot of fun together
playing you know different sports Tim had always been a loner but as a teenager he began to reveal deeper
issues social interactions never really been natural to him Tom remembers a harrowing night after a high school
girlfriend had broken up with Tim he was on the phone with her in his bedroom and
he apparently had a pistol with him at some point said I'm gonna kill myself he actually ended up firing the gun
Tim had fired into the air from that night on Tom says people close to Tim noticed a change in him
it just the disgust the disrespect towards women Robin did you ever see this oh yes
bobbin is Tom's wife I think that he really thinks that women are inferior to him
Tim got married young at 22 just six weeks after Mandy's murder he married another Mount Baker graduate Gina Malone
she says it was hardly a fairy tale romance I married him basically to get away from
home Gina says throughout their nearly 30-year marriage Tim was a controlling and emotionally abusive husband I felt
like his servant go get me a drink go get make me food I personally witnessed him tell Gina to shut up you know eight
million times it didn't feel like a marriage I felt like I went into a prison actually
but Gina stuck with Tim and had three children with him why did you stay with him uh I was scared and I did leave I
actually I got a restraining order and left for two months at that point I had started divorce proceedings and he's
like I'm gonna lie to the judge and get the kids taken away from you anything with my kids
I'm just like okay I'm gonna do whatever I have to do to not lose my kids in Tim
bass detectives believed they had their killer but they wanted to cast a wider net of potential suspects to be sure
they were on the right path we developed this list we call it a DNA sweep investigators got DNA from three dozen
more men in the area but Tim bass wouldn't cooperate so cops called the bakery where Tim worked and spoke with
his boss Kim Wagner the Tim bass I knew he was different I don't know he was weird how is he
weird though you just never knew what Tim was going to be at work that day the smallest thing would anger him
and so you tend to kind of stay away from people like that and Kim says she experienced Tim's low regard for women
he never called me Kim he always called me a woman woman and um which you know whatever
as Kim chatted with investigators she realized they were looking at the Mandy stavic murder and figured out what they
were really after Kim said well you guys want DNA don't you and I said well yes and she says I can
get it for you at this point I'm thinking I'm working with somebody that potentially did this to Mandy and I
gotta know she kept an eye on Tim day after day watching if he discarded anything that
might have his saliva on it you'd empty the garbage so it would be empty yeah in
case he dropped a cup or a bottle yeah well a cup yeah it took three long months and then
finally she saw him throw away a plastic cup and later a Coke can and I just stood there and went
it's game time I'm like there's a jackpot and so this time my heart was like oh I was I was dying because
there's a lot of people around so I grabbed it and then I was like I threw it in my desk drawer and then she gave
it to police my gut said it was him my heart said it wasn't because I just didn't really want to
think that we were all betrayed so about three months later we got the results from the state crime lab and
Katie from the crime lab says Kevin we've got a match you hear those words what was that
moment like you hear them but you're not sure you're you're it's almost like I'm
dreaming I'm gonna wake up at any moment in time I was just like this is the biggest thing that's ever happened to me
a lot of Tears DNA match they paid another visit to Tim as he was leaving work I'm questioning my life did you have any
relationship with her no so you didn't even kiss her or anything no never then why would your DNA be inside her he went
from denial to well how did you get my DNA what are you talking about right after that conversation on December 12
2017 28 years after Mandy had been found dead police arrested 50-year-old Tim bass in
the bakery parking lot they charged him with kidnapping rape and murder as my partner's cuffing them up I say
you're under arrest for the murder of Mandy stavic and he says we've got him that's all he
says we've got him and he says who I really I really never dreamed I really never dreamed it Mandy's sister Molly
was overwhelmed too isn't what a birthday present detective Bowie called Kim Wagner with
the news her first thought was about Mandy and I asked if her family knew what'd he say
that they knew and so that's that's why I did it I just never forgot about Mandy
but it's a big leap between thinking you have your man and convicting him in a court of law were you trying to get me
to admit to something I didn't do is that what you're trying to do right now Tim says he's innocent and that he had a
secret that explains everything he said I just want to let you know I slept with
Mandy I was like what to what lengths would you go to get someone's DNA hear more from Kim Wagner
on Facebook at 48 hours for prosecutor Dave mceachron it's been a long road to Justice she was such a
good kid and it just shouldn't have happened it just shouldn't have happened at all
Akron was 44 when Mandy stavic was murdered and now at 73 ladies and gentlemen the
jury he's come out of retirement and insisted he not be paid as he leads the prosecution team in this deeply personal
case in your heart as well as in your head you wanted to finish that you bet all right
foreign Years Of Heartache fear and frustration the trial of Mandy's accused killer
finally begins the state's case is simple the defendant's DNA was inside her and we know that she was kidnapped
she was raped and then she was killed case closed no Tim bass is not guilty says defense attorney Stephen Jackson he
didn't kidnap anyone he didn't rape anyone he certainly didn't kill anyone foreign
floats a theory to jurors that if true would be shocking the suggestion that Tim bass and Mandy stavic had consensual
sex in the hours before her murder there were no signs of a struggle evidence of
sexual contact is not evidence of rape everything I've said is the truth in this interrogation after his arrest bass
claimed he had been having a secret affair with Mandy it was more of a friendship type thing we just talked
and uh then it just got grew into more more of a physical thing and we didn't even really do it that much so it
was more kissing and stuff DNA can only tell you that there was contact starkfallis is one of bass's defense
attorneys Mandy had come home for Thanksgiving break are you saying that when she came home they met somewhere
and had intimacy that's exactly what I'm saying and what do you say to those who
say prove it that no one saw the two of them together there are no telephone calls made between the two of them first
of all I don't have to prove it the burden of proof is on the state of Washington not on the defense
remember when Tim bass was first questioned in 2013 he said he barely remembered who Mandy was now they were
lovers why would his story evolve like that in your opinion because he's making it up he's trying to cover himself
good afternoon Ms Wagner come on step right up here if you would testifying for the prosecution is the woman who
helped retrieve the DNA evidence that linked bass to the crime scene terrified but Kim Wagner knew she had
one more job to do if Tim was potentially involved in that crime I wanted to do the right thing for Mandy
but the defense is hoping science can support bass's account they call Dr Elizabeth Johnson a forensic expert to
the stand she says the semen could have been deposited up to two days before Mandy's
death I would say most consistent is ours to days and probably within up to 48 Hours the prosecution
experts the original medical examiner from 30 years ago Dr Gary goldfogle disagrees he says various indicators say
it was much sooner she was raped and then was killed and deposited in the river and drowned in the river would
your findings be consistent in all regards with that hypothetical yes they would
now it was time for a woman to testify who bass knew very well please have a seat you've been sworn his
now ex-wife Gina she divorced him after his arrest and his claims about his affair with Mandy I was so nervous and I
was shaking I don't even want to see his face Gina testifies that she witnessed him ask his mother to lie for him to
point the finger at his own dad he's asked her can we say Dad did it bash's father had
died more than a decade earlier she put her hands over her face and like this and and pause for a minute and
then said no Tim bass's trial was turning into a family reunion from Hell his brother Tom
took the stand as you're about to go take the stand what's what's going through your mind did you sleep the
night before very little it was it was agonizing as hard as it was I I knew I had to do it I'd like to direct
your attention to February 24 2015. Tom recounted that when Tim was under investigation he told Tom he had
slept with Mandy decades ago and then asked Tom to tell police he had also slept with her I guess to make it look
like she got around that would be my only you know that's probably why he said that and then he asked me again
he said you believe me right but I was I didn't know what to say and Tom describes another damning incident
after Tim was arrested he said that the cops are lying everyone's out to get him he said I need
a strong Alibi or I'm going to prison he said mom maybe you can say that we were Christmas shopping
Tom do what you can despite that testimony defense attorney shashana page has an explanation for his behavior even
innocent people when they're under that great weight of Suspicion can do things that can be interpreted as well only a
guilty person would do this as the nine-day trial wraps up both sides make their final appeal to the jury it's easy
to make the assumption that this pretty young woman would never have anything to
do with Mr Bass but this is Mr Bass Circa the late 80s just because somebody hadn't seen them together doesn't mean
that they hadn't been together at some point this is an investigation based on the faulty assumption that this is a
sexual assault and it may well not have been a sexual assault this was not a situation where there was consensual sex
there was no contact between these people she was abducted she was raped and she was killed hold him accountable
the DNA was at the heart of Tim bass's trial it would now be at the heart of the jury's deliberation one of them said
teenage girls can sneak out at night maybe there was a secret relationship issue the burdens
[Music] ambassad's defense chat now with the 48 Hours team on Facebook and Twitter
30 years of wondering two weeks of trial five hours of deliberations I was terrified as the jury in the Mandy
stavic case deliberated the hours felt like an eternity I was every chair please do the right thing to
the right thing do the right thing they have to have a hundred percent agreement
if one person doesn't agree they've got a hung jury and they have to start all over again and I was praying that that
would not happen although no one testified to ever seeing Tim and Mandy together juror Ed Beeman
says they had a lot to discuss when we go in and deliberate we had to turn in to be investigators and attorneys too
and we went through everything we had posters on the wall and maps and we went through everything just like the
attorneys did juror jay van mursbergen maybe a quarter of the people tied up on whether or not there might be
reasonable doubt deliberations lasted a little over a day Madam clerk issue the verdicts
29 years and six months to the day had passed since Mandy stavic was killed would her family and friends finally get
Justice we the jury find the defendant Timothy Forrest bass guilty guilty foreign of murder rape and kidnapping it
was such a relief it was such a relief for you that moment when you're seeing the family Embrace
and the tears did you think this is what Justice looks like yeah at that point I
thought this is why we do what we do the harm at this cost is incalculable he has finally received Justice and and
to me it can't be enough time he should never get out later it was time for sentencing my
family will never be healed never be normal Mary and Molly were too emotional to speak so Molly's husband Mike
Brighton spoke for them Timothy Forest bass must never be allowed to walk the earth as a free
person never ever the defendant's mother would like to address the court then it was the bass
family's turn to speak Tim's mom Sandra bass insisted that her son never tried to blame his father for Mandy's death
is totally false I do know my son is not guilty of this crime then if you would like the opportunity now is the time I
will convicted murderer Tim bass whose DNA had sealed his fate spoke in court for
the first time I would first like to say that I'm 100 innocent of this crime furthermore I don't believe I received a
fair trial saying that though the better man in me says I should say very little today okay give this day to
the Staffing family on swayed the judge sentence passed to the maximum sentence nearly 27 years
he couldn't get life because prosecutors did not charge him with premeditated murder they were not sure they could
convict him of that charge for 30 years you have lived free from the responsibility for your acts but
that life has been a lie and tragically it has caught your family your mother your brother your ex-wife and your
children in its web Tim says he's an innocent man what do you say guilty as hell
I lived in prison for 28 years with him and now it's his turn for Mary who once thought she'd never
see Justice bass's sentence gave her some salts definitely closure I feel after all they've got the guy that did
it he'll spend enough years in jail so if he ever does get out his life will be practically over
Tom Bass now wonders if his brother considered other killings possibly even Heather or Marilee
I think potentially more could have been his next victims you sometimes think we're lucky to be
alive yep Heather and Merril Lee are proud of their roles in putting Tim bass away
in the end three women's word or experiences are what took him down and I love that
Kim Wagner part of that Trio of women credits Mandy's hometown acne it really took a village it took a
whole Community the Sheriff's Office never gave up on Mandy [Music] we got the right guy
sorry [Music] I guess the community could feel safe and and be whole again [Music]
and I'd hoped at that point the family could heal in some ways you could be whole again
too right yeah foreign [Music] [Music] Floyd's death has inspired a movement we are witnessing it right now where do
things go for you now we have to talk to people listen why is it important to you
guys to come out if we just stayed home nothing would change what do you hope no
one comes from this this is what's coming from me the change is here CBS News original reporting

How a bakery worker’s secret plan to recover DNA from a discarded Coke can helped investigators solve the cold case of a college student murdered over Thanksgiving weekend. "48 Hours" correspondent Peter Van Sant reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

For video licensing inquiries, contact: licensing@veritone.com

Brief Summary

Mandy Stavik's murder case spans decades, culminating in Tim Bass's arrest and trial for her abduction and murder.

Key points

The Disappearance of Mandy Stavic. Mandy goes missing during a run, sparking a massive search effort.
Discovery of Mandy's Body. Three days later, Mandy's body is found in the river, shocking the community.
New Suspect Emerges After 25 Years. A new suspect in Mandy's murder emerges after decades of investigation.
Tim Bass's Arrest. Tim Bass is arrested 28 years after Mandy's murder, charged with kidnapping, rape, and murder.
The Long Road to Justice. Prosecutor Dave McEachron reflects on the case and its impact on the community.
Trial of Mandy's Accused Killer Begins. The prosecution presents a simple case against Tim Bass, asserting his DNA was found on the victim.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Mandy's dead but this case was not going to die.

2:44WatchNov 1, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.