The Baseline Killer

         I remember that night clearly. It was December 16th 2005, and I was sitting in my parent’s van with my brothers and sisters. We were in south Phoenix, which was where some of the Baseline Killer incidents had occurred. We were waiting for my mom to return to the car, she was still talking to some of her friends inside of our church on Baseline Road. Somehow, fear is always magnified at night. My brothers were making jokes that we were going to be attacked by the Baseline Killer. I laughed along but was secretly terrified. The Baseline Killer, now identified as Mark Goudeau, is on trial right now for kidnapping, rape, child molestation, and the killing of nine people.

          Mark Goudeau, also called the Baseline Killer, or the Baseline Rapist, is a serial killer that murdered 8 women and 1 man in the Phoenix metropolitan area. He threatened the lives of the people of Phoenix for over a year and caused the police to be on hair-trigger alert for 13 months. He stealthily wore gloves, a mask, and clothing that covered his entire body when he committed the crimes to evade getting caught. A factor he overlooked was that he used the same gun for all of his murders, and the police found identical shells in each victim’s head.

         I recall Phoenix being in an upheaval at the time of these crimes. Who is committing these crimes and how are they getting away so quickly? I remember reading several news articles that had quoted the police in thinking that more than one person were involved. Nevertheless, when surviving victims were questioned, the police sketch always turned out to be similar. Not a day went by where there wasn’t at least one article whose subject was focused on this elusive killer.

         Goudeau used several tactics in successfully getting away with these crimes. Once he wore a Halloween mask while committing a crime. Often he would still be in the area when police arrived so instead of trying to run he would impersonate. Once he pretended to be a homeless person begging on the side of the road. Another time he pretended to be a drug addict. Always wearing full body length clothing and gloves, the Baseline Killer prohibited the police from obtaining DNA samples on many occasions.             

For the number of crimes he performed, it is remarkable Goudeau wasn’t caught earlier. Two of his crimes were even caught on camera! His last victim, Carmen Miranda, was abducted from a self-serve car wash and a surveillance camera caught a blurry image of a man roughly shoving her into her car and leaving. His impersonations and masks helped him escape, and also there were a few men who claimed to have committed some of Goudeau’s crimes, therefore slowing down the search. What initially helped the police catch the Baseline Killer is that he was on Community Supervision with the Arizona Department of Corrections, and they suggested that Goudeau matched the police sketch.

         If Goudeau is found guilty of even just one of the nine murders he was accused of, he could face the death penalty. Naturally Goudeau pleaded not guilty to the crimes bestowed upon him, but there is so much evidence against him that his pleas are being overlooked. Police found the gun that held the shells found in the heads of victims. Goudeau’s house was searched and it is palpable the he is the murderer. All of his rape victims were shot in the head after resisting. One woman who survived was ordered to undress, but when she refused and Goudeau tried to shoot her in the head, his gun misfired. She fought him off, and her identity was kept unknown for security reasons.            

The felonies Goudeau is facing add up to 74 counts in all, and this is not counting the crimes against the two sisters he came across in a park. He was in a park in central Phoenix when he attacked two sisters, one of which was pregnant. He held the pregnant women at gun point and sexually assaulted the other. The Arizona Department of Corrections and these two sisters are the reason Mark Goudeau was put behind bars, and Phoenix is now safe from this serial killer. Though the verdict has not yet been reached for the Baseline Killer crimes, from the two sisters alone, Goudeau was sentenced to 438 years in prison.  

            What was really daunting to me at the time was that all of the locations of the crime were places I was familiar with. When the suspect for the Baseline Killer was found, you could almost hear a sigh of relief coming from the men and women of Phoenix.  I wasn’t quite old enough to understand the full nature of these crimes, but I was relieved as well. Then I didn’t have to worry about attending my church on Baseline Road, and then I didn’t have to feel paranoid in city parks.