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Suspect accused of child rape living under fake name in Los Angeles discovered deceased

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The death of a Los Angeles handyman took a twisted turn when authorities discovered the man who had been living a quiet, unassuming life was actually wanted in connection with the rape of a child in the Seattle area more than a decade ago.

The body of a 56-year-old man originally identified as Mark Clemens was found at a residential building in the 700 block of South Spring Street on Feb. 26. The Los Angeles Fire Department had responded to a dispatch call to the area with an ambulance around 3 p.m. that day, although the circumstances surrounding the man’s death and how his body was discovered were not immediately clear.

The Los Angeles Police Department said his death did not appear to be a homicide, and the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner’s office deferred citing his cause of death pending additional investigation. But a routine scan of the man’s fingerprints uncovered his true identity: Christian R. Basham.

Basham had been working as a building supervisor at the residential complex in the Fashion District where his body was discovered. His neighbors say that he had been working as an independent contractor since a recent ownership change with the building.

But they were unaware of his infamous past.

Police in Bremerton, Wash., say Basham raped a 13-year-old child in September 2008. He was out of jail on $350,000 bond when, six months later, a witness saw Basham jump off the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. He had left a suicide note in his vehicle, which police found at the scene, Bremerton police Capt. Aaron Elton said.

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“Several agencies engaged in a search … but Basham’s body was never found,” Elton said in a news release posted last week on the agency’s Facebook page.

Elton, who was on the Bremerton force in 2008 but was not assigned to the Basham case, said that because there had been no confirmation of his death at the time, the criminal case against Basham remain opened — until now.

Bremerton detectives are still hoping to piece together how Basham came to be living in Los Angeles under a pseudonym, Elton said. They also are working to reach the now-adult victim in the rape case, who was not related to Bashman, or the victim’s family member, he said.

“It’s important to us to let the victim know [he died] if they don’t already know,” Elton said.

Tenants and neighbors of the downtown L.A. building where Basham lived and worked were shocked by his alleged criminal past. Petra Wright, gallery director of Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts, said all she knew about Basham was that he was helpful.

“He was a trustworthy, dependable, hardworking, kind person who was always willing to be there if I needed anything,” Wright said of the man she knew as Mark Clemens.

He often helped Wright install or remove cumbersome pieces at the gallery that were too big for her to handle alone, she said. Several of its curated pieces are 10 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

“He always was super respectful of removing the art, making sure it’s not near any hardware … so nothing gets damaged,” she said. “And he was a consummate professional.”

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Tommy Cuellar found the news about his former next-door neighbor “very shocking,” he told ABC-TV Channel 7. “This was our maintenance guy. This was the guy who had keys to our apartments. It was troubling, to say the least, as you could imagine.”

The building’s previous owners could not be reached for comment about Basham’s employment.

Police in Bremerton are asking anyone with information about Basham during the years since his faked death in 2009 to contact Det. Derek Ejde at (360) 473-5497 or [email protected].

Intellectuals Insider

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Is now the right time to invest in gold as prices have cooled?

Now may be the time to buy gold following a recent lull in its price.

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The price of gold has climbed to record highs recently and has remained strong through much of April. And, that growth continued until the precious metal traded at around $2,390 per ounce on April 19, 2024. But since, growth in the price of the precious metal has cooled, with gold’s price now hovering around $2,300 per ounce.

This lull in gold’s price may represent an investment opportunity.

In general, investing is centered around buying assets when prices are low and selling them when prices are high – generating a profit on the difference between the two. So, considering the declines in gold’s price over the past few days, now may be the time to make your investment. But is buying gold during this lull in prices really a good idea?

Compare your gold investment options among leading brokers now.

Gold prices have cooled. Should you buy in now?

With gold’s price down from recent highs, you may be wondering if now is the right time to buy in. There are several reasons the dip in gold’s price may represent an opportunity to buy. Here are some of the biggest:

Prices may rise again

If looking at a gold price chart shows anything for certain, it shows that changes in the overall growth of the medal come in fits and spurts. Periods of price growth are typically followed by periods of declines and vice versa.

But with inflation rising in recent months – and with gold’s reputation as a safe-haven asset that can hedge against inflation – it only makes sense that the price of the precious metal will eventually start to head up again in the future. While attempting to time that directional change may be tricky, buying the precious metal while the price is down gives you the opportunity to take advantage of any upward movement that may be ahead.

Add gold to your portfolio now before prices have a chance to rise.

You may be able to make a quick profit

Gold isn’t known as an asset in which you can earn a quick return, but in today’s market, that may be the case. Don’t forget that in January, gold was trading at just $2,000 per ounce. And, by mid-April, the commodity’s price had climbed to around $2,400 per ounce. That’s about 20% growth in a matter of months, much of which happened since March 1 – an impressive climb for any investment asset.

Perhaps more importantly, gold’s price growth through the beginning of 2024 shows that the commodity doesn’t have to be a buy and hold style investment that you keep in a safety deposit box or precious metal depository for years to come. There’s also the possibility that the commodity’s price could climb further ahead, making it a compelling way to potentially generate a quick profit.

There are other benefits of investing in gold

There are other benefits of investing in gold that have little to do with the price growth seen thus far in 2024 – or the lull in prices seen over the past couple of days. Those benefits include:

Inflation protection: Gold has long been considered an inflation hedge, and for good reason. When inflation drives the prices of consumer goods and services up – and the value of the dollar down – gold’s price tends to rise. So, it could be used to maintain the value of your portfolio during inflationary economic conditions. That’s important in today’s economic environment as stubborn inflation continues to weigh on the value of the dollar.
Portfolio diversification: Gold’s price doesn’t always move in the same pattern that bonds or stocks do. So, mixing a reasonable amount of gold into your portfolio (up to 10% of your portfolio assets) as a diversifier could protect you from losses should one or more of your traditional portfolio assets fall in value. “If you have less than 5% – 10% of your net worth in commodities & FX (forex), you should absolutely consider adding exposure to gold and other precious metals,” says Vijay Marolia, money manager and managing partner at the wealth management firm, Regal Point Capital.

The bottom line

Gold’s price has fallen from recent highs – which may represent an opportunity to tap into growth ahead. However, gold isn’t simply a “buy while it’s low and sell while it’s a high” kind of investment opportunity. The commodity can also protect your portfolio from the stubborn inflation we’ve seen thus far in 2024 while acting as a diversification tool that could increase your risk-adjusted portfolio returns. So, consider adding gold to your portfolio today while it has the potential to grow in value.

Joshua Rodriguez

Joshua Rodriguez is a personal finance and investing writer with a passion for his craft. When he’s not working, he enjoys time with his wife, two kids, two dogs and two ducks.