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It’s a fascinating case. There’s a missing person (assumed dead, but no body has ever been located); a rogue suspect who just happens to be a policeman; blood stains in the seat cushions of the police car stains that match well with DNA from the missing man’s parents; an unsolved arson at the policeman’s home; a confession to the arson signed by the missing man just before he came up missing; a police response log that shows the rogue cop responding to a 911 call from the now missing man; and a girlfriend (of the police officer) who just happens to be a cop as well. There’s also a prosecutor who’s trying to match all the puzzle pieces together and form a picture of a murder.
It began in the wee hours of the morning of July 9 when the home of King County police Sgt. Mathias Bachmeier was set on fire by a purported arsonist. When questions were raised to Bachmeier about certain collectibles and valuable items removed from his home prior to the fire (and thus not damaged), he explained his good fortune by telling authorities that burglars had broken into his house two days earlier, stolen the items and then sent him a ransom note for their return. After he paid the $500 ransom, the items were returned. They were still in boxes in the garage when the house burned down.
There were further questions raised. Why did Bachmeier tell a fellow police officer that he (Bachmeier) had traveled to Yakima one weekend, trying to find an informant who knew the identity of the arsonist who had since left the country. And why did Bachmeier’s girlfriend insist that Bachmeier had not left town on the weekend in question but had been with her both days?
Things were heating up. Detectives asked Bachmeier to take a lie detector test. He agreed, then refused, then agreed, then never showed up to take the scheduled test on July 31.
On August 10 James Bradley Wren phoned 911 and requested police assistance because he was being threatened by a neighbor. Three patrol cars responded, one of them Bachmeier’s. Bachmeier reached the scene first and radioed that he had the situation well under control. Later, neighbors of Wren would report that the last time they had seen him was when he was getting into the back seat of Bachmeier’s patrol car, allegedly to be taken to the police station so that he could make a statement.
Later in August, Bachmeier told a colleague that he had a confession on the arson from a guy named Wren. Bachmeier insisted the burning was in retaliation for a June roadside drug bust during which Bachmeier had seized $50,000 in drugs and $4,000 in cash from Wren. The bust was never reported, Bachmeier insisted, because he’d buried the drugs and given Wren the cash back. So Wren had teamed up with another man, Jesus “Pepe” Hernandez, torched Bachmeier’s house and then fled the country.
The stories were beginning to overlap and the inconsistencies were mounting. Things began happening very quickly thereafter.
On September 2, Bachmeier’s girlfriend, officer Roberta Meyers, spoke to a neighbor, who related that Bachmeier had told him Meyers was an intended kidnap victim of the arsonists, Wren and Hernandez. Bachmeier’s explanation was that he’d lied to protect her he then produced a five page written confession, allegedly signed by Wren, in which Wren took the blame for the arson.
On September 4, Bachmeier turned the written confession over to a detective assigned to the arson investigation.
On September 5, Wren’s mother filled out a missing person’s report. The last reported sighting of Wren was on August 10, when he got into the back seat of Bachmeier’s police cruiser. Bachmeier insisted that Wren had probably just fled the country; the detective had a hunch he was dealing with a homicide.
On September 11, Bachmeier was put on paid suspension and ordered to turn in his equipment.
No body has been found, only blood: blood soaked into the seat of Bachmeier’s police car; blood on the county issued camera bag found in Bachmeier’s personal car; blood on a briefcase and evidence kit in his garage.
The results of DNA test samples obtained from Wren’s mother and father placed the odds of the blood being from anyone other than Wren at one in a million.
Bachmeier has pled not guilty to aggravated first-degree murder. He now resides in the King County Jail, separated from other inmates for his own protection. The ultimate decision will be up to a jury.
And Wren? What began as an arson for profit may have escalated into murder. One can only wonder…
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