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The home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Ezekiel Baseme was discovered deceased in November 2024, is highlighted by the local ABC affiliate KCRG. Images feature Azane, Pierre, and Christian Baseme (Linn County Jail).
Three brothers in Iowa were arrested after police accused them of allegedly tying their 18-year-old brother to a bed and denying him food and water.
KCRG reported through a obtained search warrant that on November 9, 2024, police found 18-year-old Ezekiel Baseme dead at the house he lived in with his siblings, Azane Baseme, 23, Pierre Baseme, 26, and Christian Baseme, 30. Authorities noted that Ezekiel’s remains had been there for multiple days before his brothers informed them of his passing.
The investigation into Ezekiel’s demise revealed that during his last days, he was allegedly restrained to his bed following a “violent” schizophrenic episode.
KCRG reported that Ezekiel Baseme experienced a schizophrenic episode on Nov. 3, 2024, after reportedly acting erratically for the two weeks prior to that day. He reportedly threatened his family and said he was hearing voices and hallucinating. At one point, the family told police that Ezekiel Baseme slipped out of his bedroom in the middle of the night and threatened their neighbors. This allegedly prompted the three brothers to restrain their youngest sibling to his bed for his own safety.
After his reported Nov. 3 episode and while he was allegedly restrained, the brothers told police that Ezekiel Baseme didn’t eat or drink, and when they untied him to give him water, he reportedly tried to fight them.
The brothers reportedly told police that Ezekiel Baseme was making noises on Nov. 5 and 6 as he resisted the ropes that kept him tied down, but on the night of Nov. 6, 2024, they noticed that he had stopped breathing. They told police that his heart was still beating, but the following morning, Nov. 7, 2024, the brothers said that their youngest brother was cold to the touch. By Nov. 8, 2024, they determined he was dead after his body began to “swell and smell.”
They finally reported the death on Nov. 9, 2024.
KCRG reported that the coroner determined Ezekiel Baseme’s cause of death was from “complications of probable starvation and dehydration in a setting of physical restraint.”
Following an investigation, all three brothers were arrested on March 28 and charged with involuntary manslaughter, assault causing serious injury, and forced imprisonment. They are all in custody at the Lin County Jail, where they are being held without bond. Their next court date was not available.
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