3 siblings starved 18-year-old brother to death, then let his body rot for days

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.

According to a search warrant obtained by KCRG, a local ABC affiliate, Ezekiel Baseme, 18, was found dead by police on Nov. 9, 2024, in the home he shared with his three brothers, Azane Baseme, 23, Pierre Baseme, 26, and Christian Baseme, 30. Police said that Ezikiel Baseme’s decomposing body had been left for days before the three brothers reported the death.

An investigation into Ezekiel Baseme’s death uncovered his troubled final days, during which he had allegedly been tied to a bed after having 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.