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Three brothers charged in fourth brother’s 2024 death will be tried together in Linn County
Family told police the ‘violent’ brother who died had been restrained to prevent self harm
Sep. 28, 2025 5:30 am
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CEDAR RAPIDS — Prosecutors will try three brothers charged in the death of a fourth brother in one trial — a rare occurrence in Linn County.
The trial has been delayed several times already, and resetting it is difficult because it requires finding a date that works for three defense lawyers and two prosecutors. The trial is now set to begin in February.
Background
Ezekiel Baseme had been dead a few days before police were called Nov. 9, 2024 by family members.
Ezekiel had been “acting out” and being “violent” in the week before his death and had assaulted his brother, Christian Baseme, and threatened other family members, according to court documents. He also made suicidal statements and quit sleeping, eating and wouldn’t drink fluids.
His family told officers, according to a search warrant affidavit, that on Nov. 3, 2024, Ezekiel, who is schizophrenic, was having an “episode and acting erratic.” Two days later, when he became aggressive, Christian and two other brothers, Pierre and Azane, tied him with ropes, straps and twine to a mattress in the back bedroom.
Ezekiel told his family there were snakes breathing fire and were all around the walls and floor, according to the affidavit.
The family told police Ezekial also asked them to kill him and they were concerned he might take his own life, so they restrained him. They didn’t want to hurt him, they said.
He was left tied to the mattress until Nov. 7, when they noticed he had “little to no pulse,” according to the affidavit. They thought he was “slightly stiff” and his head was cold.
At that point, they removed the ropes from his body and moved him to a bed. They then put the ropes in a shed, according to court documents.
By Nov. 8, the family determined he had died, but they didn’t call police until Nov. 9.
Police were called after midnight Nov. 9, to 2504 Roemig St. SW for an unresponsive person, according to court documents. Officers found and identified Ezekiel, who lived with his family at this address. He appeared to have been dead for an “extended amount of time,” the affidavit stated.
According to court documents, investigators may have surveillance video evidence of the incident. The homeowner, Christian Baseme, had installed and maintained cameras at this residence. A total of five cameras were identified, including exterior cameras at the front door, back door, southwest corner of the trailer home, front of the trailer home and on the shed. Police obtained a search warrant for cameras or USB data from the cameras.
A state medical examiner determined Ezekial died from “complications of probable starvation and dehydration in a setting of physical restraint,” according to criminal complaints.
His three brothers, Christian F. Baseme, 30: Azane E. Baseme, 23; and Pierre K. Baseme, 26, all of Cedar Rapids, were charged in March with involuntary manslaughter, assault causing serious injury and false imprisonment. They are accused of unintentionally causing his death.
If convicted, each would face up to 10 years in prison. The three were each released in April on $10,000 bail.
What has happened since
The brothers’ trial has been delayed a few times. It was initially set for October, but then continued to November. It was recently reset again to Feb. 17, 2026 because of scheduling and ongoing discovery issues, Assistant Linn County Attorney Jennifer Erger said.
She is planning to try all three brothers together, but it’s been challenging to find dates that will work for her, another prosecutor and three defense lawyers. she said.
Typically, when there is more than one defendant charged in the same crime, each defendant’s lawyer will ask the court for separate trials.
Linn County Attorney Nick Maybanks said it is rare to try homicide co-defendants together because usually their lawyers want separate trials but this case is different, so he has no real basis for comparison.
He couldn’t recall a case in recent years where the office has charged three people for involuntary manslaughter.
Maybanks recently wrapped up a murder case that has three co-defendants, but they weren’t charged together, so the trials have been severed. Unlike the Baseme case, one of those defendants also didn’t face the same charges as the other two.
Trish Mehaffey covers state and federal courts for The Gazette
Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com
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