MURDERED: Michella Welch & Jennifer Bastian
When a 13-year-old Tacoma girl disappears on a bike ride in her local park, the community rallies to find any trace of her. But investigators can’t ignore similarities to a murder of another girl in another park nearby. Is the same killer responsible?
For our friends in the Deaf and Signing community, you can view an ASL version of this episode.
Episode Info:
Episode Source Material
- In My DNA: My Career Investigating Your Worst Nightmares (print edition), by Lindsey Wade.
- Cold Case Files: Taken in Tacoma (season 3, episode 6) via Netflix.
- Dateline: Evil was Watching (season 27, episode 27) via Peacock.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Solving cold cases just ‘a matter of time’ by Stacia Glenn via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Solving cold cases just ‘a matter of time’ by Stacia Glenn via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The Daily Herald (Everett, WA): Girl’s murder casts pall over park where kids play by Associated Press via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Dogs pick up a slight trace of lost child by Bill Ripple via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Dogs pick up a slight trace of lost child by Bill Ripple via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Search for girl focuses on park by Elaine Porterfield and Bill Ripple via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Friends team up in all-out search for 13-year-old by Lila Fujimoto via Newspapers.com.
- The Bellingham Herald (Bellingham, WA): Tacoma police link man with vanished girl by Associated Press via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police: Jennifer Bastian, Michella Welch killed by different people in 1986 by Stacia Glenn.
- Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma, WA): Jennifer Bastian Timeline.
- Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, WA): 135 search Pt. Defiance for missing Tacoma girl by The Associated Press and The Sun Staff via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police provide sketch of man in Bastian case by Nancy Butterfield via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police provide sketch of man in Bastian case by Nancy Butterfield via Newspapers.com. (2)
- Longview Daily News (Longview, WA): Police have lead on missing girl via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police following leads on Bastian girl case via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): ‘Prints’ may point to Bastian murderer by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): ‘Prints’ may point to Bastian murderer by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Cyclist no longer suspect in Point Defiance killing by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Cyclist no longer suspect in Point Defiance killing by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Tacoma schoolgirl slain by Jim Erickson via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Grief travels from dream to nightmare by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Grief travels from dream to nightmare by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (2)
- Longview Daily News (Longview, WA): Tacoma girl killed via Newspapers.com.
- Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, WA): Tacoma police seeking killer of 12-year-old girl by JoAnne Marez via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police: Jennifer Bastian, Michella Welch killed by different people in 1986 by Stacia Glenn.
- Tacoma Police Department (Tacoma, WA): Michella Welch Timeline.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police ask public’s aid in hunt for girl’s killer by Bill Ripple via Newspapers.com.
- Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, WA): 135 search Pt. Defiance for missing Tacoma girl by The Associated Press and The Sun Staff via Newspapers.com.
- Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, WA): Police want to interview man in sketch via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police seek man seen in Puget Park via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police fear for girl missing on bike ride by Bill Ripple via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police fear for girl missing on bike ride by Bill Ripple via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Search for girl widens to B.C. by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Search for girl widens to B.C. by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Bastians’ summer gone painfully awry by Elaine Porterfield via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Bastians’ summer gone painfully awry by Elaine Porterfield via Newspapers.com. (2)
- Kitsap Sun (Bremerton, WA): Man sought in Canada in case of missing girl by Associated Press via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Body in park likely Bastian by Elaine Porterfield and Susan Gordon via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Body in park likely Bastian by Elaine Porterfield and Susan Gordon via Newspapers.com. (2)
- Spokane Chronicle (Spokane, WA): Missing girl’s body may have been found by Associated Press via Newspapers.com.
- The Olympian (Olympia, WA): Autopsy due tonight via Newspapers.com.
- The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA): Police teams scour Tacoma park after body discovered in bushes by Associated Press via Newspapers.com.
- On the Case With Paula Zahn: In Defiance of Evil (season 19, episode 2) via Max.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): ‘He can’t hurt anybody’: Jennifer Bastian’s mother sees man accused of killing her daughter by Stacia Glenn and Sean Robinson.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Park body identified as Bastian by Joseph Turner via Newspapers.com.
- Spokane Chronicle (Spokane. WA): Police task force investigates deaths via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): 10 years later, girls’ murders still baffling by Elaine Porterfield via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): 10 years later, girls’ murders still baffling by Elaine Porterfield via Newspapers.com. (2)
- Longview Daily News (Longview, WA): Detectives still working to solve 10-year-old case by Associated Press via Newspapers.com.
- Pierce County (Tacoma, WA): Man charged with 1986 Murder of Michella Welch.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): A year later, Michella’s killer still free by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): A year later, Michella’s killer still free by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The Daily Herald (Everett, WA): Tacoma girl’s year-ago murder remains unsolved by Associated Press via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): ‘Prints’ may point to Bastian murderer by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): ‘Prints’ may point to Bastian murderer by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Cyclist no longer suspect in Point Defiance killing by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Cyclist no longer suspect in Point Defiance killing by Dan Voelpel via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Black van no longer factor in Bastian investigation by Bill Ripple via Newspapers.com.
- Spokane Chronicle (Spokane, WA): Black van ruled out in probe of slaying via Newspapers.com.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Tacoma girls’ slayings not tied to others, police insist by Michael Gilbert via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Tacoma girls’ slayings not tied to others, police insist by Michael Gilbert via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police link 1986 deaths of 2 girls to same killer by Michael Gilbert via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police link 1986 deaths of 2 girls to same killer by Michael Gilbert via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): All blue binders: Homicide detective retires with all cases solved by Stacia Glenn.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police collect tips on 2 area girls killed in 1986 by Stacia Glenn via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police collect tips on 2 area girls killed in 1986 by Stacia Glenn via Newspapers.com. (2)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): All blue binders: Homicide detective retires with all cases solved by Stacia Glenn.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Killer was abnormal, knew North end by Stacia Glenn via Newspapers.com.
- KOMO News (Seattle, WA): Tacoma police hope new profile will crack cold case murders by Kara Kostanich.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police collect tips on 2 area girls killed in 1986 by Stacia Glenn via Newspapers.com. (1)
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Police collect tips on 2 area girls killed in 1986 by Stacia Glenn via Newspapers.com. (2)
- KIRO 7 (Seattle, WA): New tips collected in 1986 murders of Tacoma girls.
- Fox 13 Seattle (Seattle, WA): Detectives profile suspect in 1986 murders of 2 young girls by Vickie Ilmer.
- Fox 13 Seattle (Seattle, WA): Tacoma police think same killer murdered two young girls by Vickie Ilmer.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Tacoma police release composite images of suspects in 1986 slayings by Stacia Glenn.
- KOMO News (Seattle, WA): High-tech DNA analysis yields sketches of Tacoma girls’ 1986 killers.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): ‘After all this time, justice is Jenni’s’: Bastian’s mom speaks about arrest in daughter’s death by Stacia Glenn.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Suspected killer of Tacoma girl who disappeared in 1986 has been arrested by Stacia Glenn.
- KOMO News (Seattle, WA): Police: Suspect detained in 1986 murder of Tacoma girl.
- The Seattle Times (Seattle, WA): Suspect arrested in 1986 death of Tacoma girl, police say.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): It was the DNA: Man charged with killing Jennifer Bastian voluntarily gave police his by Stacia Glenn and Sean Robinson.
- Fox 13 Seattle (Seattle, WA): Robert Washburn charged with murder in 1986 death of Tacoma’s Jennifer Bastian.
- KOMO News (Seattle, WA): Suspect in Tacoma girl’s 1986 murder pleads not guilty by The Associated Press.
- Pierce County (Tacoma, WA): Man charged with 1986 Murder of Michella Welch.
- KOMO News (Seattle, WA): Court file: DNA on restaurant napkin led to suspect in 1986 killing of Tacoma girl.
- Fox 13 Seattle (Seattle, WA): Cops: Old-fashioned police work, sophisticated technology solved 32-year-old Tacoma murder by Hana Kim.
- Fox 13 Seattle (Seattle, WA): Tacoma police used DNA, ancestry services to solve 1986 murder of Tacoma girl by Hana Kim.
- KOMO News (Seattle, WA): Family comes face to face with man accused in 1986 killing Tacoma girl by Patrick Quinn.
- The Washington Post (Washington, D.C.) A 12-year-old’s murder went unsolved for decades. Police just used a napkin to find a suspect by Lindsey Bever.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): Man who killed 12-year-old Michella Welch in a Tacoma park in 1986 has been sentenced by Stacia Glenn.
- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA): The man who killed Jennifer Bastian in 1986 in Tacoma has been sentenced by Alexis Krell.
- KOMO News (Seattle, WA): Man gets 26-plus years in prison for 1986 murder of Tacoma girl.
- KOMO News (Seattle, WA): ‘I’m so sorry,’ Gary Hartman apologizes after conviction in 1986 death of Michella Welch by Keith Eldridge and Danny Stritch.
- Office of the Inspector General: Audit Report 06-32 (Combined DNA Index System Operational and Laboratory Vulnerabilities.
- The Olympian: Piecing Together the Portrait of a Serial Killer by Stacey Mulick.
- Strongyloides stercoralis: A Neglected but Fatal Parasite by Viravarn Luvira, Tanaya Siripoon, Danabhand Phiboonbanakit, Kollawat Somsri, Dorn Watthanakulpanich, and Paron Dekumyoy (Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases).
- The News Tribune: Who was Robert Washburn in the 1980s? Police Have Few Details on Suspect in Bastian Case, by Stacia Glenn and Sean Robinson.
- Murder of Michella Welch (Tacoma Police Department).
- The News Tribune: 3 Decades After Michella Welch’s Death, a Picture Starts to Emerge of Suspected Killer, by Stacia Glenn and Alexis Krell.
- Police1: DNA’s Delayed Justice: The Fight to Fill the Gaps in CODIS, by Lindsey Wade.
- Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act, S. 3805 (2010).
- AK Stat 44.41.035 (2023).
- Pennsylvania House Republican Caucus: Hogan, Tomlinson, and Farry Unveil Legislation to Expand DNA Samples in PA Criminal Justice System.
Suggested Episodes
WANTED: Justice for MMIP
May is Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Month, and we want to highlight some of the many cases involving members of Native American communities that so often go underreported and underserved, and thus unsolved.
WANTED: Justice for David Carter
Ohio State Highway Patrol were identifying unknown remains along the side of a highway in northern Ohio at the same time a man in Michigan was being reported missing.
WANTED: Justice for Hassani Campbell and Tianna Kirchner
Five-year-old Hassani Campbell disappears without a trace, leaving behind a community desperate for answers.
Join our Fan Club to listen to this episode and more!
Unlock all of the exclusive benefits and dynamic listening experience as a Crime Junkie Fan Club member.
Join the Fan Club now to reap the rewards!
