Police thought a rape suspect died in 2009 in Pierce County. He was living in California
Bremerton police believed a rape suspect died 15 years ago after he allegedly jumped off the Tacoma Narrows Bridge.
That same suspect was found dead in California last month.
In a March 14 news release, BPD said they arrested Christian Robert Basham in 2008 and prosecutors charged him “with second-degree child rape.”
He did not show for court after he posted bail, which was $350,000, the Kitsap Sun reported.
The Kitsap Sun reported that he would have faced six and a half years in prison if convicted.
Then, in 2009, a witness reported that they saw Basham jump from the Narrows Bridge, according to the BPD press release, and officers found his car on the bridge and a suicide note.
“Several agencies engaged in a search for his body using a WSP airplane, Tacoma, Gig Harbor, and Tacoma Fire Department boats, but Basham’s body was never found,” the BPD press release said.
At some point Basham went to California and lived under the name Mark Clemens, the press release said.
The Kitsap Sun reported he was living in a Los Angeles apartment, and was close with a neighbor, Tommy Cuellar.
Cuellar told The Kitsap Sun he moved into the same apartment complex as Clemens in 2014 and knew him as the “maintenance man” who lived above him.
Later on, Clemens moved onto the same floor and they shared a wall, and they occasionally interacted because their cats hung out sometimes, The Kitsap Sun reported.
“Nothing ever seemed out of the ordinary,” Cuellar told the Kitsap Sun. “He was a good maintenance guy and he fixed things pretty quickly.”
The BPD press release said Clemens died in California on Feb. 26.
The Kitsap Sun reported that his body was found in his apartment.
“The LA county Coroner discovered his true identity” and told Bremerton police on March 13, the press release said.
The release said “the criminal case against Basham will be closed,” but that “Bremerton detectives will be doing follow-up regarding Basham’s movement and actions since his supposed death in 2009.”
This story was originally published March 14, 2024 at 5:38 PM.
