GUILTY WA - Michella Welch, 12, murdered, Tacoma, 26 March 1986 *arrest in 2018*

Jennifer Bastian was riding her bike in Point Defiance Park in August 1986 when she disappeared. The 13-year-old was never seen again.

In March 1986, 12-year-old Michella Welch was playing in Puget Park with her sisters. Police found her body later that night in a nearby gulch.

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August 16, 2013
TACOMA, Wash. —
Cold case detectives said they've collected more than 60 new tips about who may have killed two girls in Tacoma in 1986.

THE KILLER’S PROFILE
Characteristics of Michella Welch and Jenny Bastian’s killer:
• Might have lived in Tacoma’s North End about 1986 or had family who lived there.
• Would have been very familiar with North End parks, trails and wooded areas.
• Might have been semi-transient in 1986 and stayed in the parks, causing a disheveled appearance.
• Probably got around on foot or bicycle; possibly used the bus.
• Routinely carried a knife.
• Likely had mental health issues and could have been jailed or institutionalized since 1986.
• Might have shown assaultive behavior toward family and might have become estranged from them.
• Probably did not have stable employment and might have turned to petty thefts and foraging.
• Had a disease called Strongyloides stercoralis, which eventually would have caused abdominal pain, heartburn, a dry cough, rashes and intermittent episodes of diarrhea and constipation.

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A computer program designed to help manage emergencies is now helping Tacoma Police work to solve cold cases. The system is called WebEOC.

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That’s when she realized how valuable it could be in identifying a suspect in the murders of 12-year-old Michella Welch and 13-year-old Jenny Bastian. Both were sexually assaulted and murdered just five months apart in 1986. Tacoma police think the same man killed both girls and have been searching for him for almost 30 years.

“I’ve been able to enter, so far, over 600 records into this cold case that I’m working on and each one of those records is a person and I’m able to not only track that person, but I can prioritize them on my list of collecting DNA, figuring out where they are and I can also add documents to each record," said Det. Wade.

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KING 5 News has learned Tacoma Police are about to release new information about Jennifer Bastian’s murder and the murder of another child around the same time. The Police Department is taking the unprecedented step of activating their Child Abduction Response Team to seek new leads in the two cold cases. A news briefing is scheduled for Thursday, followed by a joint event April 6 involving the FBI, Tacoma Police, the Pierce County Department of Emergency Management Center and South Sound 911. A phone bank will be taking tips and detectives will be standing by to respond to leads immediately, according to Tacoma Police Detective Lindsey Wade.

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Jenny and Michella’s stories faded from headlines years ago, but Pattie Bastian said she’s confident police never gave up.

“In 30 years, I’ve never lost track or hope or knowledge of the fact that this police department is all over this case,” she said.

Now, Detective Wade said she’s uncovered brand new information that she fully expects to turn up new leads.

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On Thursday, the cases took a surprising turn when police announced they no longer believe the same man killed Welch and Bastian.

“There are two separate suspects for two separate cases,” police spokeswoman Loretta Cool said.

Few details about the new twist were released but more information is expected to be released Wednesday. That’s when the department will activate its Child Abduction Response Team (CART) and begin investigating the deaths of Welch and Bastian as if they just happened.

CART typically activates when an Amber Alert is sent out regarding a child abduction. This is the first time Tacoma police will use it to work on a cold case, a practice they said they might continue if it proves successful in the Welch and Bastian cases.

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In an effort to shake loose new leads in the slayings of two Tacoma girls in 1986, police are using DNA to predict what the men responsible for the killings might have looked like.

Police on Wednesday released two composite renderings of the men who are believed to have sexually assaulted and killed Michella Welch, 12, and Jennifer Bastian, 13, in two North End parks.

Detectives last week said for the first time that they no longer believe the same man killed both girls, giving new direction to two of the most heart-wrenching cases in the city’s history.

The images were created by Parabon NanoLabs Inc., a Virginia-based company that analyzed the DNA samples, identified genetic markers, such as eye and hair color, and used phenotyping to predict what the men might have looked like.

“After 30 years, we’re using the most advanced technology that’s available now to provide the public with descriptions of possible suspects that will trigger a memory and prompt them to call in a tip,” police spokeswoman Loretta Cool said Wednesday. “Then we can go out and contact them and hopefully make an arrest.”

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JusticeWillBeServed said:

Tacoma police release composite images of suspects in 1986 slayings

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/crime/article70289402.html

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“These are some of the first cases in which this technology is being employed,” Parabon founder and CEO Dr. Steven Armentrout told KIRO 7 from his office.

“Essentially we’ve reverse engineered the human genome such that the algorithms can predict appearance from those DNA samples.”

Tacoma police released the images as they mobilized the Child Abduction Response team in a bold effort to treat two cold case murders as though they just happened.

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Alexsea said:

News just broke that they've made an arrest in this cold case.

Suspect arrested in 1986 murder of 12-year-old Tacoma girl

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Slawsb said:

I was going to post this yesterday, but had trouble locating this thread.
So GLAD the Bastians AND Welchs are finally getting answers.

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Niner said:

In one of the articles posted above it said LE will have press conference on Friday, which is today. Anyone seen anything?
Also, wasn't his arraignment supposed to be today too?

TIA!

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