WHATCOM COUNTY, Wash. — 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.
[ >> PHOTOS: Crime scenes in the disappearance of Mandy Stavik ]
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The statute of limitations for adults for rape is three years, but McEachran said because Bass was identified through DNA evidence taken from Mandy Stavik's body, prosecutors had a year from identifying Bass - in December - to file a rape charge.
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He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder after sheriff's deputies arrested him Dec. 12.%
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Stavik vanished just after Thanksgiving 1989 while jogging near her home in Acme, east of Bellingham. She was home on break from her freshman year at Central Washington University.
A volunteer firefighter found her body during a search three days later in the South Fork of the Nooksack River.