Baseline Killer
Encyclopedia
The Baseline Killer was 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.
The crimes were referred to as the Baseline Killer since the first crimes began around Baseline Road in South Phoenix, Arizona
. The crimes later spread north, primarily in the North Central area of Phoenix.
The Baseline Killer 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 (16.1 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.
42-year-old construction worker Mark Goudeau was arrested and 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. He was tried and convicted on all 19 counts connected to the assault and sentenced to 438 years in prison. Goudeau is still awaiting trial on 74 criminal charges linked 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 Attourney Andrew Thomas stated he would seek the death penalty on Goudeau if he is convicted in the murder trial.
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.
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. They are recommending 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
. On October 31, 2011, Mark Goudeau was found guilty of a total of 67 felony counts, including all murders attributed to the Baseline Killer.
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. He will be eligible for parole in 2011.
Police officer Rusty Stuart compiled 166 page 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.
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
cases (the other being the "Serial Shooter
Serial Shooter
The Serial Shooter refers to what authorities now believe to be two men who committed multiple drive-by shootings targeting random pedestrians. The shootings occurred in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, between May 2005 and August 2006, simultaneous to the search for the serial killer known as the...
") which terrorized the Phoenix metro area, between August 2005 and June 2006.
The crimes were referred to as the Baseline Killer since the first crimes began around Baseline Road in South Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
. The crimes later spread north, primarily in the North Central area of Phoenix.
The Baseline Killer 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.
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.
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.
Timeline
- August 6, 2005, two sexual assaults
- 9:45 pm, 7202 S. 48th Street, Phoenix. Police say Goudeau forced three teenagers behind a church near Baseline Road, and molested two of the girls.
- August 14, 2005, combined sexual assaultSexual assaultSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
and robberyRobberyRobbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
- 4:10 am, 2425 E. Thomas Rd, Phoenix.
- September 8, 2005, homicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
- 1:00 am, 3730 S. Mill Ave, Tempe, Georgia Thompson, 19.
- September 15, 2005, sexual assaultSexual assaultSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
- 9:40 am, 4512 N. 40th St, Phoenix.
- September 20, 2005, sexual assaultSexual assaultSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
- 10:30 pm, 3100 W. Vineyard Rd, Phoenix. While walking home from a Phoenix city park at night, two sisters (one of whom was clearly pregnant), were approached by Goudeau who was armed with a gun. He sexually assaulted one of the sisters while pushing the gun into the other sister's pregnant belly. He was arrested, one year later, when DNA evidence found on the women matched his profile. This was the breakthrough that led to the arrest in the Baseline Killer investigation.
- September 28, 2005, robberyRobberyRobbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
- 1425 W. Baseline Rd, Tempe.
- September 28, 2005, combined sexual assaultSexual assaultSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
and robberyRobberyRobbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
- 9:30 pm, 7202 S. Central Ave, Phoenix.
- November 3, 2005, robberyRobberyRobbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
and sexual assaultSexual assaultSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
- separate robberyRobberyRobbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
at 8:01 pm, 4019 N. 32nd St, Phoenix, then sexual assaultSexual assaultSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
at 8:10 pm, 3131 E. Indian School (across street of robbery), Phoenix. A robbery occurred on North 32nd Street. A man with dreadlocks and a fisherman's hat walked into a shop and robbed it at gunpoint for $720. Less than 10 minutes later, he abducted a woman placing items in a parking lot donation receptacle, across the street. He sexually assaulted her in her car and demanded she drive him to the corner because he just committed a robbery. The victim said he wore a Halloween costume and black plastic glasses.
- separate robbery
- November 7, 2005, three separate robberies
- 8:08 pm, 2950 N. 32nd St, Phoenix. A string of robberies occurred starting with four people at gunpoint inside Las Brasas, a Mexican restaurant. He then went next door to a Little Caesar’s Pizza restaurant and robbed three people inside. Immediately proceeding the pizza restaurant, he robbed four people outside on the street. He reportedly stole $463 and fired a round into the air as he fled.
- December 12, 2005, homicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
- at 6:55 pm there was a homicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
on 6005 S. 40th Street, Phoenix. Tina Washington, 39, was on her way home from a preschool where she worked. A witness spotted a man with a drawn gun standing over her body behind a fast food restaurant. She had been shot in the head.
- at 6:55 pm there was a homicide
- December 13, 2005, robberyRobberyRobbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
- 4:00 pm, a woman was robbed at 700 E. South Mountain Avenue, Phoenix.
- February 20, 2006, two homicides
- 7:38 am, the bodies of 38-year-old Romelia Vargas and 34-year-old Mirna Palma-Roman were found shot to death inside their snack truck at 91st Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road. Initially, police did not connect this crime to the Baseline Killer and believed that the murders were drug-related. The murders were officially linked by police in July 2006.
- March 15, 2006, two homicides
- at 9:00 pm, a double homicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
was discovered on 4102 N. 24th Street, Phoenix. Two employees of Yoshi’s restaurant at 24th Street and Indian School Road were on their way home in the same vehicle. Liliana Sanchez-Cabrera, age 20, was found dead in the parking lot of another fast-food restaurant while the body of Chao Chou was discovered about a mile away. Both victims were shot in the head.
- at 9:00 pm, a double homicide
- March 29, 2006, homicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
- 12:00 am, 2502 N. 24th St, Phoenix. A body was discovered on North 24th Street. A local businessman noticed streaks of blood on the gravel of a parking lot. The police were called, but a search of the area turned up nothing of real value. A week later, the businessman discovered the badly decomposed body of Kristin Nicole Gibbons as he was investigating a horrible odor in the area. She had been shot in the head.
- May 1, 2006, sexual assaultSexual assaultSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
- at 9:00 pm, 2950 N. 32nd St, Phoenix. A man in a latex HalloweenHalloweenHallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
mask abducted a woman in a car and sexually assaulted her at gunpoint. She was taken from outside the same restaurants where the November 7, 2005 crimes occurred.
- at 9:00 pm, 2950 N. 32nd St, Phoenix. A man in a latex Halloween
- May 5, 2006
- Phoenix police went public with a list of 18 crimes that they believed were the work of the Baseline Killer. This number has since risen to 23, as of August 2, 2006.
- June 29, 2006, homicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
- at 9:30 pm, a homicideHomicideHomicide refers to the act of a human killing another human. Murder, for example, is a type of homicide. It can also describe a person who has committed such an act, though this use is rare in modern English...
occurred on 2924 E. Thomas Rd, Phoenix. Carmen Miranda, 37, was abducted from a self-serve carwash, located half block from May 1 and November 7 crimes, while she was on her cellular phone. She was found dead from a gunshot to the head behind a barbershop about 100 yards (91.4 m) away. The attack was captured on closed-circuit televisionClosed-circuit televisionClosed-circuit television is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors....
. This is the last crime attributed to the Baseline Killer.
- at 9:30 pm, a homicide
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
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
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
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
and ballistics
Ballistics
Ballistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.A ballistic body is a body which is...
reports to build their case; but those results were blacked out on the paperwork.
False confession
While being interviewed by policePolice
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
on a burglary
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of 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 (16.1 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.
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.42-year-old construction worker Mark Goudeau was arrested and 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. He was tried and convicted on all 19 counts connected to the assault and sentenced to 438 years in prison. Goudeau is still awaiting trial on 74 criminal charges linked 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 Attourney Andrew Thomas stated he would seek the death penalty on Goudeau if he is convicted in the murder trial.
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.
According to Arizona prison officials, Goudeau is an ex-convict who served 13 years of a 21-year sentence for aggravated assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
, 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
Ballistics
Ballistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets, gravity bombs, rockets, or the like; the science or art of designing and accelerating projectiles so as to achieve a desired performance.A ballistic body is a body which is...
, DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
and circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence
Circumstantial evidence is evidence in which an inference is required to connect it to a conclusion of fact, like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime...
prove that Goudeau is the Baseline Killer. They are recommending 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
Sexual abuse
Sexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another. When that force is immediate, of short duration, or infrequent, it is called sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
, nine counts of sexual conduct with a minor, 13 counts of aggravated assault, and three counts of indecent exposure
Indecent exposure
Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure in public or in view of the general public by a person of a portion or portions of his or her body, in circumstances where the exposure is contrary to local moral or other standards of appropriate behavior. Indecent exposure laws vary in different...
. On October 31, 2011, Mark Goudeau was found guilty of a total of 67 felony counts, including all murders attributed to the Baseline Killer.
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.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, a friend of the Goudeau family, has a long, violent history of crime in California and Arizona. Smiths' criminal history includes aggravated assault and armed robbery, plus he 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. He will be eligible for parole in 2011.
Police officer Rusty Stuart compiled 166 page 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.