Goudeau terrorized victims in the Phoenix metro area between August 2005 and June 2006; coincidentally, Goudeau was active at the same time as two other Phoenix serial killers, jointly known as the "Serial Shooters.” In addition to committing nine murders, his extensive crime spree included 84 other felony crimes, totaling 93 felonies over the ten-month period.
[1] 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.
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.
Police used this information to obtain a search warrant for Goudeau's residence and found additional items that linked him 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.
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.
The records show police worked to obtain partial hand prints, DNA and ballistics reports to build their case; but those results were redacted/blacked out on the paperwork.
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.
[9] 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.
[10] 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.
Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas stated he would seek the death penalty on Goudeau if he were convicted in the murder trial.
[14][15] 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.
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 black male.
[17] On October 31, 2011, Mark Goudeau was found guilty of a total of 67 felony counts, including all murders attributed to the Baseline Killer.
[22] In June 2009, a leaked police report indicated another suspect had been questioned in connection to the Vargas and Roman lunch truck murder in February 2006.
[23] 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.