A coroner’s investigation into last month’s death of a Los Angeles man appears to have been a suspect in a 2008 child rape case in Washington state who jumped to his death from a Puget Sound bridge several years ago. The authorities announced that it was found that
Bremerton, Wash., police said in a press release Thursday that Christian Robert Basham was living under the pseudonym Mark Clemens when he died on February 26 at the age of 56.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office discovered his identity and notified the Bremerton Police Department on March 13th.
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Police said Basham was arrested in 2008 on suspicion of second-degree child rape and released on $350,000 bail.
According to police, on March 29, 2009, a witness reported seeing Basham jump from the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. A search by boat and plane failed to find any bodies, but a car and a suicide note were later discovered.
In Los Angeles, Basham was known as Clemens and worked for many years as a maintenance man at the downtown apartment complex where he lived.
The sun sets in the smoky air over the Narrows Bridge on August 19, 2018 in Tacoma, Washington. A medical examiner’s investigation into the February 2024 death of a Los Angeles man has revealed that he was the child suspect in a 2008 Washington state crime. Authorities say he is a suspected rape victim who jumped to his death from a Puget Sound bridge several years ago. Witnesses reported seeing a man jump from the Narrows Bridge in Tacoma on March 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Neighbor Tommy Cuellar told KABC-TV that Clemens was already the building’s handyman when he moved in about 10 years ago.
Cuellar said the news about her neighbor’s identity was “very shocking.” “This person was our maintenance guy. This person had the keys to our apartment. As you can imagine, it was annoying to say the least.”
Cuellar told the station that their interactions were always positive.
“He seemed like a normal guy, a little rough around the edges, but that was his personality,” Cuellar said. “There are no other clues that he is the person accused.”
The coroner’s online case information released Friday lists Basham’s cause of death as “adjourned,” meaning further investigation is required.
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“While the criminal case against Basham is closed, Bremerton detectives will continue to conduct a follow-up investigation into Basham’s movements and actions after his death in 2009,” the police statement said.
