Killer Stories with Harvey Guillén - "The Baseline Killer" Mark Goudeau

Episode Date: June 16, 2022

He was the picture of rehabilitation. After serving 13 years in prison, Mark Goudeau re-entered society with a steady construction job, passed every drug test, and checked in with his parole officer. And he used this new reputation to fly under the radar of law enforcement for years. Countdown to the CULTS book release! Parcast’s first book hits shelves July 12th. It’s an unflinching exploration of shame, secrecy, power, exploitation, and destruction. Learn more at www.parcast.com/cults!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hi, listeners, it's Vanessa. For years, Parcast has worked tirelessly to bring you an unprecedented look at history's most radical true crime events. Your support has not only allowed us to keep exploring these stories, but has driven us to keep expanding as well. So as a thank you to the Parcast listeners, I am honored to announce the release of our first book, Cults, Inside the World's Most Notorious Groups, and Understanding the People Who Join Them. It's available on July 12th, and you can pre-order it today at parcast.com slash cults. The Branch Davidians, the Ant Hill Kids, Heaven's Gate, and more. Cults combs through the terrifying details never explored in any of Parcast's series before.

This is a passion project only made possible by you, so we truly hope you'll enjoy it. Visit Parcast.com slash cults to pre-order your copy of Cults, inside the world's most notorious groups and understanding the people who join them. Due to the graphic nature of this episode, listener discretion is advised. This episode contains discussion of sexual assault, violence, murder, child abuse, and substance abuse, as well as descriptions of dead bodies. Extreme caution is advised for listeners under 13. On the afternoon of April 10, 2006, Tom Canning had just finished repairing his neighbor's lawnmower.

Sophia Nunez was a single mother, and Tom liked to help her out when he could. There had been reports of some startling crimes in the city recently, but it was nice to know there were friendly faces nearby. It helped make you feel safe in your own home. When Tom walked the mower over to Sophia's place, he noticed an unfamiliar truck parked next to her car. He didn't want to barge in in case she was busy with a guest, but he also didn't want to just leave the lawnmower outside, so he took it back home with him. As the afternoon wore on, most of the neighborhood parents brought their children home from school, but strangely, Sophia didn't emerge to do the same. Her car remained parked outside,

and the truck Tom had seen next to it was gone. It was strange maybe, but no one was paying close enough attention to worry. However, that changed when police cars lit up Sophia's front yard later that day. Walking towards the house, Tom looked for the single mother to ask what was happening, but the only person he recognized was her eight-year-old son. The boy looked distraught like his world had just ended. After that night, all the friendly faces in the world couldn't make home feel safe. Hi, I'm Greg Poulson. This is Serial Killers, a Spotify original from Parcast. Every episode, we dive into the minds and madness of serial killers. Today, we're gazing into the life of Mark Goudot, the so-called Baseline Killer.

I'm here with my co-host, Vanessa Richardson. Hi, everyone. You can find episodes of serial killers and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify. In the first part of this episode, we'll see Mark Udo's unstable childhood culminate into the first of his many atrocities. Later, we'll follow Mark as he becomes one of the most feared and despised men in Arizona's history, to the shock of those who thought they knew him. We've got all that and more coming up. Stay with us.

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That's Shopify.com slash killers. This episode is brought to you by ZipRecruiter. Whether you're hiring for a role or searching for a killer, the hunt can be exhausting. When detectives looked and searched to find any kind of evidence to find the person they were looking for, like Jack the Ripper, the Golden State Killer, the Unit Bomber. It's tedious work to find what you're looking for. So, if you're hiring, I've got news for you.

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may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort. which includes gas, floating, rumbling, and abdominal discomfort. How much do you really know the people you're closest with? Maybe you know their day-to-day schedule by heart. Maybe you know all about the past that shaped them. Perhaps you even believe you know their darkest secrets. But what if you're wrong? What if there's more to their story?

What if they've been lying to you and everyone else all along? When confronted with certain realities of our loved ones, we can either face the music or sink into denial. Those who knew Mark Goudot stood at this very crossroad. We don't know a lot about Mark Goudot's life, which makes it difficult to understand what motivated his crimes. However, what we do know about Mark's early life does offer some insight into his inner workings.

Mark was born in September of 1964 in Phoenix, Arizona, and he grew up under tough circumstances. He was the second youngest of 13 children to hardwomen. working parents. His mother, Alberta, worked as a maid, and his father, Willie, was a parking attendant. According to one of Mark's sisters, the Goudot children were at times verbally abused. In addition, Willie reportedly drifted in and out of the children's lives. His lifestyle likely confused young Mark's concept of healthy, romantic relationships, and may have even contributed to a warped view of sexuality. Eventually, Mark's parents divorced. Alberta cared for the family

until she passed in 1976. Mark was only 11 when she died, and without a stable adult presence, the family was on the brink of collapse. Mark's older siblings often had to take care of the younger ones. Many of them turned to crime to survive. According to court records, Mark's family members struggled with drug and alcohol abuse,

and this must have had an effect on Mark. In any case, Mark's family life was dysfunctional. It's fair to say he didn't have much of a childhood at all. Thankfully, Mark had an older sister who lived in Tempe, and she took him and his brothers in a few years after their mother died. Starting over in a new town should have been a fresh start for Mark, but it seems that his childhood experiences had already had an impact. Vanessa is going to take over in the psychology here and throughout this episode. As a reminder, she is not a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist, but we have done a lot of research for this show. Thanks, Greg.

According to a 2015 study in the journal Health, and science, childhood abuse of any kind, including verbal abuse and neglect, can lead to rage issues. Some abused children turn to violent sexual crimes, perhaps as a means to release their frustration. That said, the overwhelming majority of abuse victims do not grow up to be violent criminals. As the studies authors note, not all victims of sexual abuse become perpetrators, and not all perpetrators have experienced childhood abuse, which suggests that the experience of sexual abuse appears to be neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for committing a sex crime.

But those who do turn to crime often show their true colors at an early age. Mark Goudot fell into that category and made his Mark in his new hometown. Mark and his brother joined the football team at their new school. But while this should have been a healthy outlet and a way to make friends, Mark may not have been so well adjusted. One day when Mark was 18, he and one of his old brothers invited a female student over to their house. There, the brothers brought her into a room and shut the door.

While we don't know exactly what happened behind that closed door, we do know that after this encounter, the girl went to the police and accused the brothers of raping her. But before authorities could investigate, she dropped the charges and left town. There are plenty of reasons why she might not have followed up on her accusation. Many assault survivors fear reprisal from their rapist, or believe the police police won't help. Even though there was no formal investigation,

rumors of the rape accusation spread. On top of that, Mark didn't earn all the credits he needed to graduate. Without his high school diploma and with his seemingly unresolved anger issues, the teen's future was anything but bright. After leaving school, Mark bounced between jobs for a while. He seemed to find a calling in construction, but his success was hampered by alcohol dependence, which eventually turned into drug abuse.

At some point in his 20s, Mark began to sneak away from his family to use crack cocaine without them knowing. As far as we know, this was the first example of him hiding an aspect of his daily life from his loved ones. According to addiction experts, hiding drug use from loved ones is a telltale sign of addiction. Mark's addiction quickly spiraled out of control. As a result, over the next few years, he racked up misdemeanors and got a DUI. But before control over his own life slipped entirely from his grasp, Mark found a somewhat stabilizing influence in Wendy Carr. The two met at a restaurant around 1987, and their mutual attraction was immediate. The two began dating and moved in together soon after that.

As far as we can tell, Mark's substance abuse issues didn't negatively impact his life at this time. He found a steady job in construction, and Wendy only saw him as honest and hardworking. We don't know whether Mark was actually managing his addiction, or if he just continued to hide it from those closest to him. Given what we know about addiction, the latter seems more likely. By 1989, the pair had been living together for about three years and even floated the idea of marriage. Outwardly, the young couple was perfectly normal. They went on hikes and horseback rides together. All the while, Mark kept his dark past and drug use under wraps.

That wasn't the only secret Mark kept from Wendy either. At some point, he met another woman who will call Betty. We don't know how well the pair knew each other, or how Betty viewed her relationship with Mark. However, we do know that one August night in 1989, Wendy was gone and Betty came over. At some point, according to Betty, Mark pulled out some cocaine and snorted it.

His demeanor started to darken. Soon, something in Mark. snapped. He grabbed Betty and overpowered her. Betty tried to defend herself, but Mark was too strong. Betty later said he tried to force cocaine up her nose and beat her and sexually assaulted her. He even used blunt instruments, including a barbell, to bludgeon her. When he finally let up, she was still conscious. So Mark dragged her to the bathroom, where in Betty's account, he attempted to drown her. Betty fought back the entire time. Somehow she managed to escape his grip.

Then she struggled out of the tub and ran from the apartment, while Mark gave chase. Mark caught up to Betty in the parking lot outside, grabbed her and continued to beat her with the butt of a shotgun. But then he noticed two people watching on in horror. Seeing them, he forgot about Betty and started running after the witnesses instead. Fortunately, the pair were faster than him and got away. In the meantime, someone had raised the alarm and the police

soon arrived and went to Betty's aid. She was barely conscious and badly injured, so they rushed her to the hospital. In all the confusion, Mark had disappeared, but he wouldn't be able to hide for long. Hi listeners, it's Vanessa. On behalf of Parcast, I'd like to thank you for your continued support. Your loyalty has allowed us to keep expanding even beyond podcasts. That's why I'm so thrilled to share some special news with you all, something we've never done. done before and made possible only because of you. On July 12th, we're releasing our first book titled Cults, Inside the World's Most Notorious

Groups and Understanding the People who joined them. And you can pre-order it today at parcast.com slash cults. Those of you who've been with Pardcast since the beginning know that it's a labor of love for us to bring you these powerful stories. As long as you keep listening, we keep creating. So with the benefit of years of research and insights, we've put together a comprehensive narrative that tries to make sense of mysterious groups such as nexium, Heaven's Gate, the Manson family, and more, exposing how shared beliefs can have deadly results,

and taking you deeper into the dark side of human nature than ever before. You won't want to miss this book. Visit parcast.com slash cults to pre-order your copy of cults, inside the world's most notorious groups and understanding the people who join them. That's parcast.com slash cults. Thank you again for listening. We can't wait for you to dive in. The episode is brought to you by Prime.

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Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. Now back to the story. In August of 1989, Betty lay in a hospital bed after he brutally attacked her in his home. It took almost three days for Betty to regain consciousness, but when she did,

she told the police exactly what had happened. She gave them Mark's name and home address, and they promptly arrested him. Despite the evidence against him, Mark maintained his innocence. He claimed that he and Betty were having a nice time when two strangers burst into the house with guns. Mark claimed that the strangers assaulted Betty before they fled. He denied that he used cocaine that night.

The police force didn't buy it, of course, but Mark held firm. For some reason, Mark was allowed to plead no contest to charges of aggravated assault and avoid a charge of sexual assault. He was also allowed probation. While that happened, he was a free man. Still, Mark knew his days of freedom were numbered. Possibly due to anxiety or because he simply didn't care anymore,

his drug use worsened. It got so bad that he blew through all of his money. Then, according to Mark, one of his friends suggested a way he could get a lot of cash, fast. On August 10th, 1990, Mark pulled up to a supermarket. He stepped out of his car, brandished a silver-colored pistol, and marched into the store. Inside, he detained and threatened the store clerks. After a few minutes, Mark walked out with $500 in a brown paper bag. He fled the scene, but witnesses were able to describe his vehicle, provide his license plate number, and even what he looked like.

Apparently, he didn't bother to cover his face. Police showed up at his apartment once again. There, they found the bag full of cash and arrested Mark on the spot. He was charged with armed robbery and kidnapping. The next year, Mark faced the consequences of his actions in court. But thanks to the plea deal, his lawyers negotiated for him, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his attack on Betty, as well as 21 years for the robbery.

But with a very important possible, for parole. While incarcerated, Mark apparently tried to change himself for the better. He participated in self-help programs and obeyed the guards. He and Wendy even got married. Despite the violent crimes that had landed him there, Mark never got into any altercations in prison. It looked like the resources actually helped him. Either that, or he just didn't want to take his anger out on men.

Despite all this, he longed to be in the outside world with his family. He got that opportunity in 2004 when he was up for parole. He made an emotional plea to the parole board and admitted that at the time of his crimes, he was out of control. But he promised he was different now. The parole board voted in his favor. Upon his release, the prison took a sample of his DNA, which was standard practice for parolees, and 39-year-old Mark Goudot walked out of prison after only 13 years. As a free man, Mark didn't step one toe out of line.

He got a steady construction job, passed every drug test, and checked in with his parole officer as scheduled. A year passed, and Mark seemed to be a changed man. At that point, Mark had everything he could want, a loving wife, stable income, and strong relationships. But he couldn't ignore the inexplicable rage that burned inside him. He had to act on the feeling, no matter what he was risking in the same. the process. On the evening of August 6, 2005, Mark strolled the streets of Phoenix. He had a gun on him, so he probably set out with violence in his mind. At some stage, he spotted three teenagers, two girls and a boy. He approached them and brandished his silver pistol. Then he ordered them

down a dark alley. Once out of sight, Mark sexually assaulted the girls at gunpoint, while the boys stood helpless. When Mark ended the assaults, he, he wiped the girls off with a towel in an effort to eliminate DNA evidence. Then he left. Just like his earlier robbery, it seems that Mark made no effort to disguise himself. Instead, he relied on a secluded crime scene and the cover of night. We don't know how long Mark had planned this attack, if at all. Either way, the incident signaled the start of a rampage.

A month later, on September 8th, Mark struck again. It was just after midnight when someone in a tempi neighborhood heard a woman scream, Leave me alone. Then there was the unmistakable sound of a gunshot. Soon after, police arrived to find the body of 19-year-old Georgia Thompson in her apartment's parking lot. According to police, Georgia's belongings were still at the scene, so there was no evidence of robbery. And although her pants were unbuttoned, there was no evidence of sexual assault, which suggested her killer had no clear motive. It was murder in cold blood.

Mark returned to his previous pattern in his next attack. Twelve days after he killed Georgia, he approached two sisters, one of whom was six months pregnant, walking home from a park in Southern Phoenix. He revealed his weapon and ordered them to look away from his face. Then he forced the sisters into some nearby bushes and sexually assaulted them. As he was assaulting the sister who was not pregnant, he struggled with a condom,

and the sisters noticed he'd set his pistol on the ground. One of the sisters lunged for the gun, but Mark was too quick. They struggled for a moment before he regained control. Then he aimed the gun at the sister who was pregnant. He told her to beg for her life and that of her unborn child. When she did, he lowered the gun, but he wasn't finished just yet. Before he left, he forced both women to spit into his hand. He mixed their saliva with dirt and rubbed it onto the chest of one of the sisters

to wash away where his own saliva had been. After that, he fled. The women went to the police who took DNA samples. However, only one sample was analyzed. Since the other was mixed with dirt, the technicians considered it unusable. The DNA on the usable swab wasn't conclusive enough to identify. identify a suspect. Both samples went into storage. Mark's rampage accelerated from there with one key change.

He disguised himself with a dreadlocked wig and fisherman's hat. Toward the end of September, he robbed a fast food restaurant, then kidnapped a woman and her 12-year-old daughter from the parking lot outside. He sexually assaulted both of them before letting them go. Then on November 3rd, he robbed another store. Shortly after, he sexually assaulted a nearby woman. assaulted a nearby woman and stole her purse. On November 7th, Mark robbed a restaurant and one of the customers inside.

Then he went out to another restaurant next door and also robbed it at gunpoint. After collecting the money, he went into the parking lot. That's where he spotted a woman with two young children and aimed his gun at her, asking for her purse. Terrified, the woman said she didn't have any money. As she spoke, customers from the restaurant, approached Mark slowly from behind. What their exact plan was is unclear,

but Mark noticed them before they could get too close. He turned to the group, then shot a bullet into the air and started running. In the panic of the gunshot, he got away, but leaving behind a traumatized crowd and a single bullet casing. By that time, Mark had killed one woman, assaulted at least four other people,

and committed various other robberies. On the whole, it seemed that his attacks had two separate motives. His robberies were driven by a need for drug money, while his violence was driven by an obsession with sex and power. With those last two motivators, Mark displayed some of the telltale signs of compulsive sexual behavior disorder, or CSBD. While as far as we know, Mark was never diagnosed with this disorder, some of his behavior fits the profile.

The World Health Organization defines this as a persistent pattern of failure to control intense, repetitive sexual impulses or urges. People experiencing CSBD continue their sexual behavior, whether or not they gain any satisfaction from it, even if it damages other areas of their lives. However, it is important to note that even if Mark suffered from CSBD, it doesn't excuse his violent assaults, and the majority of people with CSBD are not sexual offenders. Whether or not his actions were damaging his own life, it was clear that Phoenix had a dangerous criminal at large. Eyewitness accounts and victim statements

helped local police figure out that the attacks were committed by the same man. Eager to track him down, authorities made strides to identify the perpetrator. By this time, plenty of people had seen Mark up close, so police made a sketch based on their descriptions. Police posted the sketch around town. However, the image was relatively vague and could have been any number of men. Confusing the matter, the subject in the drawing had dreadlocks and wore of fishermen's hat, further disguising Mark's identity.

Mark must have seen the image printed in local newspapers and on flyers. If it caused him alarm, he didn't let on, but all of Phoenix was now on alert. As paranoia grew, people in town nicknamed the assailant, the baseline rapist. after a street in South Phoenix near most of the crime scenes, which were also close to Mark's home. It might seem surprising that Mark committed his crimes so close to home, but the National Institute of Justice offers several psychological theories that might explain this choice. Crime Opportunity Theory states that some places are more conducive to crime than others, that Mark managed to stay so far ahead of the police,

indicates that the part of Phoenix he targeted was under-policed and lacked common security. measures like cameras. In addition, routine activity theory states that some criminals choose their victims based on their own daily routine. Not only did Mark commit many of his crimes near his work sites, but his long hours would have given him ample opportunity to prowl the streets. The convenience of his own neighborhood wasn't the only thing Mark took advantage of during his spree. Because even though his crime radius was small, no one in his life suspected that he might be the baseline rapist. Whether intentionally or not, he capitalized on his own good reputation, using it like a shield. Crucially, Mark's violent record didn't raise any red flags. People knew that

he'd spent time in prison, but to his friends and neighbors, that was the past. Now they considered him a gentle, hardworking man. They often saw him tending to his lawn and knew him as the guy who would always stop to say hello. Those closest to Mark weren't exempt from his deception either. Wendy herself thought of him as her god-fearing husband, who brought her flowers and hated any violence on TV. In short, it simply didn't cross anyone's mind that Mark could be the one terrorizing the city, and with no one watching him, he must have felt invincible.

So even as the whole city was on high alert, he struck again, about a month after his last attack. On that December day, a man was working in a warehouse when he heard two loud bangs from outside. He went out to investigate, thinking some neighborhood kids were up to no good. But when he slid open the warehouse door, he saw a hooded figure standing over a motionless body. The man barely had time to think before the hooded person

aimed a pistol at him and pulled the trigger. But the gun jammed. Terrified, the man ran back inside. He slammed the warehouse door and locked it. Then stood silently on the other side for a few minutes, not daring to move. Just when it seemed like the coast was clear, the door handle began to turn. The man held his breath, but the door didn't budge, and whoever was on the other side gave up. After some time, he finally felt safe enough to phone the police.

Authorities identified the body as 39-year-old Tina Washington. Upon further investigation, they found that some of Tina's jewelry was missing, including a special ring with the names of her children carved inside. Still, detectives knew they were missing key information about the crime, but for whatever reason, they didn't make the connection between Tina's murder and the baseline attacks just yet. Establishing patterns and connections became even more difficult for law enforcement when the baseline rapist seemingly vanished.

Because they didn't link Tina's death to the other attacks, the holiday season seemed to mark a period of quiet. It was a welcome break. It was also an unsettling one, because police knew it was common for serial offenders to take breaks. They believed it was only a matter of time before their guy struck again. And while they were making their way through various suspects,

it never led to anything. So the lull just meant they'd have to hope that they caught a break soon. He wouldn't keep them waiting long. Coming up, someone from Mark's past steps forward, determined to bring him down. Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? Zepbound terseptitide may be able to help.

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He even bought everyone breakfast from a nearby food truck sometimes. But despite his shiny reputation, he was a new guy. Mark's violent nature lurked just below the surface, and when it emerged, he had no qualms about striking close to home. In the early hours of February 20th, Romalia Vargas and Mirna Palma Roman were prepping their food truck for a busy day. They got things ready for the breakfast crowd, cleaning equipment and chopping ingredients. But their work was interrupted when someone entered their truck unexpectedly. Mark Goudot. The women were startled, but

It may have recognized Mark as one of their regulars from the nearby construction site. We don't know what happened next, but police later found Romelia and Mirna's lifeless bodies inside the truck. They'd both been shot in the head. Even though their pants were unbuttoned, neither woman showed signs of sexual assault. Without any hints to the killer's motive, solving the murders seemed even harder. But there wasn't much time to give the case their full attention, because Mark wasn't done yet. In March, officers discovered a woman's body in the passenger seat of an abandoned car.

Like the food truck owners, her pants were unbuttoned, though there was no evidence of sexual assault. Unlike many of the other recent crimes, however, there was also a male victim, the owner of the car, whose body was found in an alley about a mile away. Police later determined that both had been shot inside the car and that the killer took cash from both of these victims. Later that month, a local business owner called police after he noticed a trail of blood leading from a parking lot to a nearby storage shed.

Investigators rushed to the scene and searched the area, taking samples of the blood, but didn't find anything suspicious. They ended their search, but kept the situation on their radar in case more clues emerged. Five days later, the business owner noticed a stench in the area, which led him to the decomposing body of 26-year-old Kristen Nicole Gibbons. She'd been left behind the very shed where authorities had previously searched, and because she was covered in debris, they'd missed her. Needless to say, the police were in a tailspin.

The numerous attacks with varying M.O.'s had them stumped. That made it easy for 41-year-old Mark Goudot to maintain his quiet, unassuming reputation, even as he kept up his double life. According to psychiatrists, the ability to keep secrets is a natural part of developing an identity. However, some take it too far and construct elaborate second identities. This is different from something like dissociative identity disorder because the person knows what they're doing and typically doesn't experience memory gaps. For most, the stress of maintaining a web of lies eventually becomes too much and they're

forced to come clean. However, those who experience less anxiety and embarrassment about keeping secrets might not feel that way. These people, known as repressers, are much more capable of leading second or even third lives. But despite Mark's years of practice at keeping secrets, not everyone bought what he was selling. Mark met 37-year-old Sophia Nunez at a bar one night, and he thought they hit it off, but as the evening went on, he made some boastful claims that she knew were lies. Noticing the red flags, she walked away.

However, by that point, they'd already exchanged numbers, and Mark wasn't the time to give up when he wanted something. He called Sophia over 300 times over the next few months, though it never led to anything. But then Sophia and her teenage daughter bumped into Mark at a local arcade. They began a friendly conversation, and as they spoke, Sophia remembered that Mark said he did odd jobs. Sensing an opportunity, she asked if he could install a door in her house. Mark agreed to take the gig, probably hoping to get some alone time with Sophia.

But she didn't want him to hit on her, so she arranged it so she wasn't home when he was there. Mark was likely annoyed and frustrated at this, and he left without finishing the project. After that, Sophia thought she'd seen the last of him, but that changed on April 10, 2006. That afternoon, one of Sophia's neighbors, who were calling Tom, stopped by to return her lawnmower. He noticed her car in the driveway, as well as a truck he didn't recognize. It was Mark Goodos. Tom didn't want to disturb Sophia if she had a guest, so he went home, thinking that he'd just returned the mower another time.

He called Sophia to tell her it was finished, but she didn't pick up. He never saw anyone leave the house and didn't report hearing anything suspicious. Later that afternoon, the bell rang at an elementary school in Phoenix, Arizona, and Sophia's eight-year-old son ran outside. He waited for his mother to pick him up, but she never came. So he walked home alone. When he got to his house, no one answered the door. The young boy had to crawl under the short gap in the garage door to get inside. He called for his mother, no response. All he could hear was the sound of rushing water. He went to the bathroom to investigate and stopped in his tracks when he noticed blood. Then he noticed the bathtub had overflowed,

spilling water all over the floor. Sophia was lying motionless in the tub, a gunshot wound under one eye. After trying in vain to resuscitate her, the boy called for help. Eventually, police arrived and assessed the scene, and authorities noticed the bullet wound in Sophia's head. With little other evidence to work with, they sent the bullet casing for analysis and waited for the results. Meanwhile, Mark stayed off the radar for the next month. But then, in early May, he carjacked a young woman named Adrian. He forced her to let him into the car, then directed her to a secluded neighborhood.

Once Adrian parked the car, Mark commanded her to undress. She did. But when he demanded oral sex, she refused. He raised his pistol to her forehead and threatened to kill her if she didn't do what he said. Adrian replied, go ahead. Outraged, Mark squeezed the trigger and... Nothing happened. Sensing her chance, Adrian acted fast.

She grabbed her keys and ran. As he watched her run away, it's possible Mark realized that she could identify him if she went to the police. That might be why he laid low for a little while after that. While the killer kept his head down, Phoenix police analyzed the ballistic evidence found at his earlier crime scenes. Eventually, they determined that the murder weapon in all of the crimes was a 380 caliber pistol. That's when they recalled when the baseline rapist had fired a warning shot in a crowded parking lot before fleeing a robbery the year before.

Eyewitnesses had described the weapon as a small, silver pistol, which officers knew could have been a 380. That's when authorities finally realized the man behind the baseline attacks was also responsible for the recent shooting deaths. He was the baseline killer. After that, police redoubled their efforts. They distributed the sketch of the suspect in community meetings, on billboards, and on the news. It was a big push to find their killer.

But no one realized that they'd been hamstrung by an earlier misstep. The Arizona crime lab was sitting on untested DNA evidence for Mark's attack on the two sisters. The lab had only tested one sample and deemed the other one unusable without testing it. As it was, the only thing they had to rely on, was the composite sketch. We don't know how Mark felt about the increasing presence of his image plastered throughout his own neighborhood, but we do know that even with the amped up scrutiny, he chose to act again. Around 9.30 p.m. on June 29th, 37-year-old Carmen Miranda was at a car wash not far from

baseline road. She was chatting with her boyfriend on the phone while she vacuumed her car. At one point, Miranda told her boyfriend that a man was approaching her. On the other end of the line, Miranda's boyfriend heard the man ask for something. Then Miranda screamed, and the line went dead. Miranda's boyfriend acted fast. He called police and Miranda's sons, who raced to the car wash. But when he arrived, Miranda and her car were both gone. Police combed the area for two hours. Finally, they found Miranda's car in a nearby lot, and Miranda dead in the back seat. Her pants had been pulled down, but there was no evidence of sexual assault.

Like the other baseline attacks, there was little physical evidence at the scene of the crime. But fortunately, the car wash had security cameras installed. When police viewed the footage from that night, it clearly showed Mark abducting Miranda. Soon, the footage played on TV screens across Phoenix, in the hopes that someone would recognize the killer. But Mark's friendly public image was still his strongest armor. No one who knew him recognized the rough, brutal motions of the man in the footage, law enforcement began to lose hope until their earlier efforts finally paid off. In July of 2006, police received a phone call that someone recognized the man shown in the composite sketch.

Betty, the woman who survived Mark's attack in 1989, told them in no uncertain terms, the man in the drawing was Mark Udoux. His face was burned into her mind after the night he beat her half to death. She wasn't going to let him get away with what he'd done to Miranda. With this tip, police looked up Mark's address and realized it was at the epicenter of the baseline attacks. Seeing that, they believed Betty could be right. He just might be the man they were looking for. They began to surveil him while they gathered more evidence.

But the surveillance wasn't law enforcement's only effort to prove Mark was their guy, Around this same time, detectives ordered the retesting of all baseline killer-related evidence, which meant that the DNA swabs from the two sisters would be analyzed with a new technology. This time, both of the swabs showed DNA from male saliva. And it matched the DNA sample Mark gave when he was released from prison in 2004. After months of terror and confusion, the pool of suspects in the baseline case narrowed down to one. That meant it was time to move in for the kill. Mark arrived home from work in the late afternoon of September 6, 2006.

It was his 42nd birthday, and he and Wendy had plans to go out to dinner. But just as he arrived at the house, an officer pulled him over and arrested him, while his neighbors watched on in shock. Following Mark's arrest, the lead detective proclaimed, It's my opinion that there are two Mark Goudaudos, one that's hard-working, articulate, and charming, and another one that we suspect of being involved in these heinous crimes. But not everyone was convinced.

Some of his family members and friends came to his defense. They knew Mark well, they argued. He just wasn't that kind of person. They still believed the shiny facade Mark had maintained for years. In a 2007 interview with ABC News, Wendy insisted that Mark was not the baseline killer. She believed he was arrested because he fit a certain profile, saying he's black, he lives in the area, many of the crimes happen near here, and he's on parole.

That's an easy target. That's all they needed. But her argument was no match for the overwhelming evidence against him. When Mark's trials rolled around, he had a much harder time maintaining the veneer of an innocent construction worker. He faced two trials, one for the attack on the two sisters. and another for the remainder of his crimes. At least one of the surviving victims testified against him, as did the families of those who died.

In September of 2007, just over a year after his arrest, Mark was convicted of the attack on the sisters. This alone totaled 19 charges, including sexual assault, kidnapping, sexual abuse, attempted sexual assault, and aggravated assault. These charges landed him 438 years in Arizona State Prison. In 2011, he was tried for the rest of his crimes. Mark was found guilty of 67 additional charges, including nine first-degree murders.

All told, he received nine death sentences, one for each murder, and a total of 1,634 years behind bars. Following Mark's sentencing, the families of some of the victims launched lawsuits against the city of Phoenix for letting vital DNA evidence go untested for nearly a year. In 2016, however, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the City of Phoenix could not be held responsible. Meanwhile, Wendy Carr continued to visit Mark and call him in prison. At some point, she launched a blog to support him and proclaim his innocence. Wendy stopped updating the blog in 2014. As of this recording, Mark Udo remains on death row and maintains that he is not guilty. It's unclear if any of the people Mark fooled ever accepted the truth about him.

He was so good at keeping the two halves of himself separate that even when the wall came down, they refused to see. They say that love makes you blind. Ain't that the truth? Thanks again for tuning in to serial killers. We'll be back soon with a new episode. You can find more episodes of serial killers. and all other Spotify originals from Parcast for free on Spotify.

We'll see you next time. Have a killer week. Serial Killers is a Spotify original from Parcast. Executive producers include Max and Ron Cutler, sound design by Michael Motion, with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Trent Williamson, Carly Madden, and Joshua Kern. This episode of serial killers was written by Eric Stanke,

with writing assistance by Sarah Batchelor and Joel Callan, fact-checking by Claire Cronin, and research by Brian Petrus and Chelsea Wood. Serial Killers stars Greg Poulson and Vanessa Richardson. Hi listeners, it's Vanessa. Exciting news, Parcast's first book, Cults Inside the World's Most Notorious Groups, and understanding the people who join them,

is now available for pre-order at parcast.com slash cults. Thanks to your support, We've compiled years of research, insights, and a catalog of case studies to expose more about these cults and the people behind them than ever before. Details which haven't even been explored in our cults podcast. Visit parkast.com slash cults to pre-order your copy of cults inside the world's most notorious groups and understanding the people who joined them. Want to hear something spooky?

Some monster. It reminded me of Bigfoot. Monsters Among Us is a weekly podcast featuring true stories of the paranormal. One of the boys started to exhibit demonic possession. Stories straight from the witnesses' mouths themselves. Something very snake-like lifted its head out of the water. Hosted by me, your guide, Derek Hayes. Somehow I lost eight whole hours.

Listen now on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. A beloved 75-year-old man washing up, getting ready for bed, brutally beaten and killed. Despite an exhaustive investigation, the killer avoids arrest and then strikes again. I'm Global News crime reporter Nancy Hicks. You might listen to a lot of true crime podcasts this year, but they're not crime beat. Search for and follow the award-winning podcast Crime Beat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you find your favorite podcasts.