Bass won’t get hearing on evidence attorney said questioned conviction for Stavik murder
Timothy Forrest Bass was denied a hearing this week to present evidence that a former defense attorney argued would cast doubt on Bass’ 2019 conviction for abducting, raping and murdering Amanda “Mandy” Stavik in 1989.
Whatcom County Superior Court Judge Rob Olson ruled Monday, Nov. 9, that an evidentiary hearing presenting the evidence Bass’ former defense attorney had about a potential suspect who was believed to have never been investigated would not be held because the evidence was available to the defense and could have been developed prior to trial. Olson also denied Bass’ motion for relief from judgment, which would have been a dismissal of his conviction or a new trial.
At Monday’s hearing, Olson said that the evidence presented did not meet the bar required for Bass to have relief from judgment. Olson said there was “no basis” for a new trial based on all the facts and information presented to the court at this time.
Stavik disappeared Nov. 24, 1989, while jogging near her home on Strand Road in Clipper, near Acme in Whatcom County. Three days later, the 18-year-old’s nude body was found in the south fork of the Nooksack River.
On July 2, 2019, Bass was sentenced to nearly 27 years in prison — almost as much time as he was free — for killing Stavik. A jury found Bass guilty of first-degree murder May 24, 2019, after a three-week trial in Whatcom County Superior Court. Bass maintains his innocence and filed an appeal immediately following his conviction. That case is still being litigated.
Bass is currently incarcerated at the Clallam Bay Corrections Center, according to the state Department of Corrections.
Monday’s ruling reversed Olson’s previous decision on Sept. 8 to hold the evidentiary hearing. Bass’ then-defense attorney, Starck Follis, who is also the director of the Whatcom County Public Defender’s Office, had argued that former Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputy Paul Murphy and a woman both had knowledge of a potential suspect in Stavik’s murder who was never investigated. Follis argued that he was unaware of this information until Bass’ mother, Sandra Bass, brought it to him in early 2020, according to court records.
Murphy was fired from his position with the sheriff’s office in 2012 after he allegedly tampered with his work computer and maintained private files on citizens, according to previous Bellingham Herald stories. Murphy sued for wrongful termination the following year. His lawsuit was settled for $300,000 in 2014 and Murphy agreed to resign from the sheriff’s office, Herald archives show.
On Sept. 15, Murphy reached out to Follis and a sheriff’s detective informing them that he had talked with one of Bass’ defense attorneys in 2018, according to court records. At the time and during trial, Bass was represented by Follis, senior deputy public defender Shoshana Paige and deputy public defender Stephen Jackson. Jackson left the public defender’s office after Bass’ trial and now works as a private criminal defense attorney.
Murphy runs a public Facebook page in which he posted statements in 2015 regarding the Stavik case and about a possible tip that was never followed up on. In December 2018, Jackson reached out to Murphy through Facebook messenger about the potential evidence Murphy said he had, court records show. Murphy later informed Jackson about a potential suspect who was brought up during Murphy’s wrongful termination lawsuit, and about an argument a woman said she saw between Stavik and an older man.
On Sept. 16, the Whatcom County Prosecutor’s Office asked Olson to reconsider his decision to hold the hearing presenting the defense’s evidence because Bass’ defense team knew about Murphy’s information and had held a conversation with him about the potential evidence at least five months before Bass’ 2019 trial, according to court records.
Five days later, Follis filed a motion asking to withdraw as Bass’ attorney. Follis stated that continuing to represent Bass in his post-conviction proceedings is prohibited and continued representation would violate the rules of professional conduct or another law, the court records show.
Follis said he was unaware Jackson had spoken with Murphy or had knowledge of the potential evidence, and didn’t learn about the conversation until Murphy reached out to him on Sept. 15, court records state. The public defender’s office’s request to be removed from representing Bass was accepted on Sept. 23. An outside attorney was then appointed for Bass.
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
