Predator Realizes He's Going To Prison For Life - The Mennonite Murder by Mark Gooch
🚨 He drove 400 miles in cold blood…
Mark Gooch abducted a stranger from church and left her body in the Arizona wilderness.
🎧 Now streaming: The chilling case of Mark Gooch.
#TrueCrime #MarkGooch #MennoniteMurder #Kidnapping #Podcast
In January 2020, Sasha Krause, a 27-year-old Mennonite Sunday school teacher, disappeared from Farmington, New Mexico. Her body was found a month later, face down in a remote Arizona forest clearing—hands bound and a fatal gunshot wound to the head.
Investigators traced her abduction to Mark Gooch, a U.S. Air Force airman stationed at Luke AFB. Cell phone data, surveillance footage, and financial records showed he drove over 400 miles to abduct her, then returned to Arizona, cleaned his car, and deleted his phone’s location data.
Gooch—who grew up Mennonite but rejected the faith—claimed he went searching for spiritual connection but denied any crime. Prosecutors said he acted out of resentment toward the Mennonite community. In October 2021, he was convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder. In January 2022, he was sentenced to life in prison without paroleÂ
This episode explores:
The motives and mental state behind targeting an innocent teacher
How forensic technology tied him to the crime
The trial’s shocking revelations and courtroom testimony
The Mennonite community’s response—some prayed for him even after conviction
What this case says about faith, resentment, and violent crime
Content Warning: This episode discusses kidnapping, murder, and violent crime. Listener discretion is strongly advised.
Mark Gooch, Sasha Krause, Mennonite teacher, Air Force murder, kidnapping, Arizona murder, Sunday school teacher, random abduction, life sentence, true crime podcast, Luke AFB, Mennonite faith, cell‑phone forensics
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