Timothy Bass sentenced to 27 years in 1989 murder of Mandy Stavik

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — A man found guilty of kidnapping, raping and murdering a young woman nearly 30 years ago near Bellingham has been sentenced to nearly 27 years in prison.

The Bellingham Herald reports Judge Robert Olson sentenced 51-year-old Timothy Bass of Everson Tuesday in Mandy Stavik's death.

A jury found Bass guilty of murder May 24 after a three-week trial, as well as guilty of special verdicts for rape, attempted rape, kidnapping and attempted kidnapping.

On Nov. 24, 1989, Mandy Stavik went for a jog near her home east of Bellingham and never returned. Her body was found three days later in the Nooksack River.

A co-worker of Bass collected a cup and Coke can that he discarded and gave it to detectives. Authorities matched Bass' DNA to evidence found on Stavik's body and arrested him in December 2017.