Mark Goudeau sentenced to death in Baseline Killer case

PHOENIX - A man convicted of being the Phoenix area's Baseline Killer has been sentenced to death.

Jurors sentenced Mark Goudeau to nine counts of death, one for each of the murder counts against him.

Maricopa Superior Court spokesman Vincent Funari said the jury reached a verdict in the penalty phase of Goudeau's trial Wednesday morning, one month after finding him guilty of the nine murders and 58 other charges, including kidnapping and rape.

Goudeau asked if he could leave the court room and not be present for the reading of the jury's decision, but the judge ordered him to stay, according to ABC15's Christopher Sign, who was at the court house.

Funari said Goudeau will be sentenced on December 5 on the remaining 58 counts by Judge Warren Granville. 

The jurors began deliberating Monday over whether to sentence the 47-year-old to death or life in prison on nine murder counts.

ABC15 sat down with Goudeau's wife, Wendy Carr, Tuesday in an exclusive interview . Just before Wednesday's verdict was read, she told reporter Christopher Sign she expected the jury to sentence her husband to death.

 When asked about the DNA match, Carr claims the scientific evidence is flawed.

“If even a small part of me thought Mark was guilty I would be gone, but I know he's not guilty,” she said. “The night he was a arrested they told me they had his DNA. I knew that was wrong and it was wrong. It's not a match.”

The jury found Goudeau guilty of the murders and 58 other charges on Oct. 31. They also found that he was eligible for the death penalty after agreeing with prosecutors that the murders were especially cruel.

Sophia Nunez, a victim in the case, was found dead in her bathtub by her young child. Her mother, Maria, spoke outside the courthouse moments after the death sentence was handed down to Goudeau.

“We lost my daughter Sophia and his death is not going to help or bring back my daughter and he'll probably not die in my lifetime,” she said while surrounded by family members. “When somebody is killed like that there's not justice. There were nine homicides I mean what kind of justice is there? A life for a life? I mean he took nine lives.”

The jurors talked about the case after the sentencing. They did not want to go on camera and they did not want their names revealed as they discussed sentencing Mark Goudeau to death. Listen to what the jurors had to say in the attached video.

Goudeau already is serving a 438-year sentence for a 2005 rape connected to the Baseline Killer crimes. But prosecutors pursued the murder charges against Goudeau in an effort to get him the death penalty.

“A terrible scourge on our community has now been held accountable for his crimes,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery.  “I appreciate the diligent work of this jury and the time they have devoted to hear the case and arrive at a verdict. It is now the charge of the criminal justice system to see that the sentences for death are carried out as expeditiously as possible."