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A Healdton man accused of illegally dumping a local woman’s body at an oil lease last December pleaded guilty to unlawful removal of a dead body Wednesday in District court.
In a short hearing, Roy G. Bassett changed his not guilty plea to guilty. He made a blind plea (no plea bargain). Prosecutors did not offer the court an immediate recommendation for Bassett’s sentence. Bassett faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
District Attorney Craig Ladd took the time to question Bassett during the hearing. He questioned him about his decision to dump Brandi Baird’s body, and why it took him so long to come to that decision.
“I panicked,” Bassett responded. “It’s not something people deal with on a regular basis... It seemed unreal.”
Baird was staying with Bassett at the time of her death. He said he went to bed Dec. 11, 2007 and woke up the next day to find Baird on the living room floor. He said he knew she was dead, but did not know how to handle the situation. He then left for work and returned later to dump Baird’s body.
Bassett was taken into custody less than 24 hours after Baird’s body was found Dec. 12.
“While the circumstances surrounding Bassett’s decision to move her body, rather than contact the authorities, are very suspicious, the official cause of death listed by the state medical examiner, after completing an autopsy, is ‘unknown,’” Ladd said. “Such a finding by the medical examiner is extremely frustrating to me as a prosecutor because of its failures to answer a very critical question.”
Ladd said the medical examiner’s findings hamper any attempt to pursue any charge beyond the unlawful removal of a dead body.
Bassett remains free on a $50,000 bond. His sentencing hearing will be at 10 a.m. September 11.
A Healdton man accused of illegally dumping a local woman’s body at an oil lease last December pleaded guilty to unlawful removal of a dead body Wednesday in District court.
In a short hearing, Roy G. Bassett changed his not guilty plea to guilty. He made a blind plea (no plea bargain). Prosecutors did not offer the court an immediate recommendation for Bassett’s sentence. Bassett faces up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
District Attorney Craig Ladd took the time to question Bassett during the hearing. He questioned him about his decision to dump Brandi Baird’s body, and why it took him so long to come to that decision.
“I panicked,” Bassett responded. “It’s not something people deal with on a regular basis... It seemed unreal.”
Baird was staying with Bassett at the time of her death. He said he went to bed Dec. 11, 2007 and woke up the next day to find Baird on the living room floor. He said he knew she was dead, but did not know how to handle the situation. He then left for work and returned later to dump Baird’s body.
Bassett was taken into custody less than 24 hours after Baird’s body was found Dec. 12.
“While the circumstances surrounding Bassett’s decision to move her body, rather than contact the authorities, are very suspicious, the official cause of death listed by the state medical examiner, after completing an autopsy, is ‘unknown,’” Ladd said. “Such a finding by the medical examiner is extremely frustrating to me as a prosecutor because of its failures to answer a very critical question.”
Ladd said the medical examiner’s findings hamper any attempt to pursue any charge beyond the unlawful removal of a dead body.
Bassett remains free on a $50,000 bond. His sentencing hearing will be at 10 a.m. September 11.
