BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) _ A Whatcom County man accused of killing an 18-year-old woman in 1989 is now facing a first-degree rape charge in the case.
The Bellingham Herald reports that the charge was filed Tuesday by Whatcom County prosecuting attorney David McEachran.
The statute of limitations for adults for rape is three years, but McEachran said because Timothy Bass was identified through DNA evidence, prosecutors had a year from identifying Bass – in December – to file a rape charge.
He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder after sheriff’s deputies arrested him Dec. 12.
Amanda “Mandy” Stavik was home on break from her freshman year at Central Washington University when she vanished while jogging near her home in Acme just after Thanksgiving 1989.
Her body was found in the Nooksack River three days later.
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