Mark Goudeau

Mark Goudeau
Born (1964-09-06) September 6, 1964
Phoenix, Arizona
Other names The Baseline Killer
The Baseline Rapist
Criminal penalty Death
Killings
Victims 9
Span of killings
 2005–2006
Country USA
State(s) Phoenix, Arizona
Date apprehended
 September 4, 2006

Mark Goudeau (born September 6, 1964) is an American serial killer and rapist, referred to as the Baseline Killer (or Baseline Rapist) by law enforcement and media prior to his identification. Goudeau was involved in one of the two simultaneously occurring serial killer cases (the other being the "Serial Shooter") which terrorized the Phoenix metro area, between August 2005 and June 2006.

Goudeau was first referred to as the Baseline Rapist when Phoenix Police first announced that a light-skinned black man was sexually assaulting females as young as 12 years old at gunpoint near Baseline Road. Goudeau would later be dubbed the Baseline Killer in the spring of 2006 after investigators began to link a series of murders and armed robberies to the rapist.[1] The perpetrator was referred to as the Baseline Rapist and Baseline Killer as the first crimes began around Baseline Road in South Phoenix, Arizona. The crimes later spread north, primarily in the North Central area of Phoenix.

Goudeau is believed to have committed nine counts of first degree murder (8 women, 1 man), in addition to 15 sexual assaults on women and young girls, 11 counts of kidnapping, and a number of armed robberies.[2]

Although not initially linked, the crimes were distinguished by having no apparent motive, and the murders were particularly brutal, with the killer often shooting the victims in the head. The criminal was often described wearing various disguises such as a Halloween mask as well as attempting to impersonate a homeless man or drug addict.

Police say that the shell casings found at each of the crime scenes all came from the same gun.[3]

Phoenix police spent thousands of hours patrolling and following up on hundreds of tips during the summer of 2006. As residents of Phoenix became increasingly alarmed by the random nature of the violent crimes, community meetings were called by the police to distribute a sketch based on the description given by the surviving victims. Frustration and fear blanketed the city as posters and billboards displayed the sketch of the Baseline Killer, offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. It took the police over a year to finally come up with a viable suspect.

Mark Goudeau was at the time on Community Supervision (parole) with the Arizona Department of Corrections and supervised out of the Northeast Parole Office. In August 2006, Parole Officers in the Northeast Parole Office provided information to the Phoenix Police Department task force suggesting that Mark Goudeau matched the sketch of the Baseline Killer. Parole Officers searched Mark Goudeau's residence and found a ski mask and a realistic "toy" handgun. Police used this information to obtain a search warrant for Mark Goudeau's residence and found additional items that linked Mark Goudeau to crimes committed by the Baseline Killer.

On September 4, 2006, Mark Goudeau was arrested in connection to the sexual assault of two Phoenix sisters, an attack which was tied to the Baseline Killer investigation. The sisters, one of whom was visibly pregnant, were assaulted in a Phoenix city park on September 20, 2005. Goudeau was linked to the attack by DNA evidence collected shortly following the time of the crime.

On September 7, 2007, Goudeau was tried and convicted of all 19 charges relating to the attack on the two sisters. He was sentenced on December 14, 2007 to 438 years in prison for the sexual assault charges. On November 30, 2011, a Phoenix, Arizona jury sentenced him to death on the murder charges relating to the Baseline Killings.[4] Goudeau is held on death row in ASPC Eyman.

Timeline

Documents

Phoenix police have released hundreds of pages of documents that detail their investigation into the Baseline Killer. The paperwork obtained by ABC15 News reveals that police have at least 10 names of possible suspects that they have looked into, and have ruled out some of those people. The 20,000 pages of police reports are primarily of other suspects with very little mention of Mark Goudeau. The documents reveal information on nine cases ranging from a double homicide to sexual assaults, robberies and kidnappings. The new information includes police reports and narratives that describe where and who police are looking at in the investigation. They also discuss investigative leads; however, much of the information was redacted.

According to the documents, the Baseline Killer posed as a homeless person in one incident, pushing a shopping cart toward a woman in a parking lot near 32nd Street and Thomas Road. He forced himself into her car and told her to perform oral sex upon him or he would kill her. She fought him off, the records said. In that incident, the man believed to be the Baseline Killer was wearing gloves, a mask and clothing that covered his entire body. The records show police have worked to obtain partial hand prints, DNA and ballistics reports to build their case; but those results were blacked out on the paperwork.

False confession

While being interviewed by police in Kentucky on a burglary case, James Dewayne Mullins claimed responsibility for the murder of Georgia Thompson on September 8, 2005. Mullins told police he shot Thompson as she attempted to rob him outside the Scottsdale strip club where she worked. However, Thompson's body was found almost 10 miles (16 km) away in Tempe at her apartment complex. Police do not believe she was killed elsewhere.

Mullins changed his story when police definitively linked the homicide to the Baseline Killer. Since then, he has told police that he was not in Arizona. Mullins denies any involvement in Thompson's death. On August 3, 2006, murder charges against Mullins were dropped. Authorities stated that Mullins had caused a significant diversion of resources during the hunt for the genuine killer.[9]

Arrest of Goudeau as a suspect

On September 4, 2006, Phoenix police announced an arrest in connection with a sexual assault previously linked to the Baseline Killer while serving a search warrant at 28th Street and Pinchot Avenue.[10]

Police arrested Mark Goudeau, an African American construction worker living in Phoenix.[11] Goudeau was charged with attacking two sisters on September 20, 2005 while they were walking home from a Phoenix city park at night. Goudeau was linked to the attack by matching DNA evidence found on the victims. Goudeau was tried and convicted on all 19 counts connected to the assault and all murders related to the Baseline Killer investigation.

During the trial, the two sisters gave testimony that Goudeau suddenly approached them with a gun in his hand. They were forced into nearby bushes and told to remove their clothing. The victims said Goudeau sexually assaulted the younger sister as he pointed his gun at the other sister's pregnant abdomen. Prosecutors said Goudeau warned the women not to look at his face during the assault. They also stated he rubbed dirt on one of the women to remove saliva traces, and wore a condom during the assault on one of the sisters.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas stated he would seek the death penalty on Goudeau if he is convicted in the murder trial.[5][12]

Goudeau’s wife, Wendy Carr, told The Associated Press that police arrested the wrong man; “My husband is innocent,” Carr reportedly said in a telephone interview. “This is a huge miscarriage of justice. And they have an innocent man in prison. This is all a mistake. He shouldn’t be in prison for something he didn’t do.” Goudeau is described as a loving husband and exceptionally friendly neighbor who took meticulous care of his lawn. Friends and family deny any possibility that Goudeau could be the Baseline Killer, saying he was framed by Phoenix police who were desperate for a suspect.[13][14]

According to Arizona prison officials, Goudeau is an ex-convict who served 13 years of a 21-year sentence for aggravated assault, including beating a woman's head with a barbell, and armed robbery. Goudeau pleaded down to the charge of aggravated assault, but he had also originally been charged with rape and kidnapping. The rape charge was dropped, as there was no physical evidence of rape.

On December 7, 2006, three months after Goudeau was arrested, Phoenix police said they were confident he was responsible for the full series of murders, rapes and robberies that terrorized the city for 13 months. Goudeau is believed to have committed nine murders, one more than originally attributed to the Baseline Killer (the murder of Sophia Nunez on April 10, 2006). Police say ballistics, DNA and circumstantial evidence prove that Goudeau is the Baseline Killer. During the trial, a forensic specialist with the Department of Public Safety told the Maricopa County Superior Court that Goudeau was undoubtedly the source of male DNA found on the left breast of one of the victims with it being 360 trillion times more likely that DNA collected from the crime scene came from Goudeau rather than an unrelated African-American man.

Corwin Townsend, Goudeau's defense attorney at the time, pointed out that Heath's analysis showed only a partial match. Under cross-examination, Heath agreed that Goudeau's DNA was consistent with only three of 13 genetic markers.[15]

Police recommended that prosecutors charge Goudeau with 74 crimes, including nine counts of first-degree murder, five counts of sexual assault, three counts of attempted sexual assault, 10 counts of kidnapping, 12 counts of armed robbery, four counts of attempted armed robbery, three counts of sexual abuse, nine counts of sexual conduct with a minor, 13 counts of aggravated assault, and three counts of indecent exposure.[16] On October 31, 2011, Mark Goudeau was found guilty of a total of 67 felony counts, including all murders attributed to the Baseline Killer.[17] On November 30, 2011, Goudeau was sentenced to death while serving a 438 year sentence for rape and assault.[18]

Mishandling of evidence

In April 2009, the Times Publications, a chain of publications in the Phoenix metro area, published a story revealing that the Phoenix Police Department had possessed the key DNA evidence that was eventually used to crack the Baseline Killer case nine months before the arrest, but failed to analyze it in a timely manner.[19]

Another suspect

In June 2009, a leaked police report indicates another suspect had been questioned in connection to the Vargas and Roman lunch truck murder in February 2006. Terry Wayne Smith, an African American who matched the description of the Baseline Killer and who lived near several of the Baseline Killer crime scenes was documented as a potential accomplice.[20] Smith had a long, violent history of crime in California and Arizona including aggravated assault, armed robbery, and was a suspect in two homicide cases.

Smith was released from prison shortly before the Baseline Killer attacks began, and he was arrested a few days after Goudeau. Smith is currently imprisoned for 4 years after allegedly holding his family at gunpoint the night before his arrest.[21] As of February 2013, Terry Smith had been released from jail.[22]

Police officer Rusty Stuart compiled 166 pages suggesting that Smith may have been involved in some of the Baseline murders. However, police spokesmen say that Smith had been properly questioned and dismissed as a suspect, and state that Smith was in jail at the time of one of the murders.[17]

See all

References

  1. ↑ "Take a Chilling Look Inside the Baseline Killer Case". Phoenix New Times. November 10, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  2. ↑ Montaldo, Charles. "The Phoenix Baseline Killer Case". About.com Crime/Punishment.
  3. ↑ "Police: Blood, rings tie suspect to Baseline Killer attacks". East Valley Tribune.com. East Valley Tribune. 6 October 2007.
  4. ↑ "Topic Galleries". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  5. 1 2 "Man guilty in 'Baseline Killer' sex assault case". East Valley Tribune.com. East Valley Tribune. 7 September 2007.
  6. ↑ "Mark Goudeau - Baseline Killer/ Baseline Rapist Suspect". Phx411.com. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  7. ↑ "Cops Link Two More Murders to Baseline". AMW Case File. America's Most Wanted.
  8. ↑ "Crimes linked to the 'Baseline Killer'". azcentral.com. The Arizona Republic. 28 July 2006.
  9. ↑ Muench, Sarah (15 July 2006). "Confessed killer recants; puzzle builds". azcentral.com. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  10. ↑ Villa, Judi (7 September 2006). "Police make arrest in 'Baseline Killer' case". azcentral.com. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "There's no good proof the real Medium, Allison DuBois, has ever cracked a case, but her fans don't care". Phoenix New Times. June 12, 2008. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  12. ↑ Closing arguments begin in Baseline Killer trial
  13. ↑ Bergman, Cris (7 September 2006). "Baseline Killer Alibi? Wife Claims Suspect Innocent". The National Ledger. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "Page 1". Markgoudeauinnocent.com. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  15. ↑ "Jury being picked in Ariz 'Baseline Killer' case". Seattle Times. April 19, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  16. ↑ Villa, Judi (7 December 2006). "Goudeau tied to all 'Baseline Killer' cases". azcentral.com. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  17. 1 2 Hawkins, Kristal. "The Baseline Killer — New Suspect & Conviction". truTV Crime Library. Trutv.com. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  18. ↑ "Phoenix-area 'Baseline Killer' sentenced to death for 9 slayings". Los Angeles Times. November 30, 2011. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  19. ↑ Hogan, Shanna. "Justice Delayed". Times Publications. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  20. ↑ "Going Rogue: An Obsessive Phoenix Patrol Cop Tried to Nail the Wrong Guy in the Baseline Killer Case". Phoenix New Times. February 4, 2010. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
  21. ↑ Hogan, Shanna. "Unreasonable Doubt". Times Publications. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  22. ↑ Leitner, Tammy. "CBS 5 Investigates the Baseline Killer: An accomplice?". WorldNow and RAYCOMNBC. Retrieved 30 June 2014.

External links


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