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Mark Goudeau: Phoenix's 'Baseline Killer'

Jun 16
3 min read

Updated: Jun 25

For roughly ten months in 2005 and 2006, the city of Phoenix, Arizona, lived in fear of the 'Baseline Killer', a predator who committed a wave of murders, sexual assaults and robberies. The man responsible, Mark Goudeau, was a married construction worker who attacked at random, day and night, until DNA evidence brought him down. Eerily, his spree overlapped with that of a separate pair of serial killers terrorising the same city. Out of respect for the victims, this account avoids graphic detail.

Goudeau was ultimately convicted of nine murders and dozens of other serious crimes, in one of the most intense crime sprees in the city's history.

Mark Goudeau: Phoenix's 'Baseline Killer'

Key Facts at a Glance

Full name: Mark Goudeau
Born: 1964, USA
Known as: The Baseline Killer
Victims: Convicted of 9 murders plus dozens of assaults and robberies (2005–2006), Phoenix
Caught: 2006, through DNA evidence
Outcome: Sentenced to death

A city under siege

Phoenix in the summer of 2006 was a city gripped by extraordinary fear, because it was being stalked by more than one killer at once. While Goudeau, the Baseline Killer, was attacking victims, a separate duo known as the 'Serial Shooters' was carrying out random drive-by shootings. The simultaneous terror was almost without precedent for an American city.

The crimes

Goudeau's spree began in August 2005 and ran into June 2006. He was first known as the 'Baseline Rapist' for a series of sexual assaults near Baseline Road, before the murders escalated and he became the 'Baseline Killer'. He attacked predominantly female victims, often at gunpoint and frequently in disguise, combining murder with rape and robbery in a campaign of seemingly random violence.

The investigation

The randomness of the attacks, the disguises Goudeau used, and the sheer number of crimes made the investigation enormously difficult. Police faced intense public pressure as the body count rose and residents grew increasingly afraid to be out alone, while detectives worked to connect the scattered crimes to a single offender.

DNA leads to an arrest

The breakthrough came from forensic evidence. After an attack on two sisters in 2005, DNA recovered from the scene was eventually matched to Goudeau, leading to his arrest in September 2006. A search of his home reportedly turned up items linking him to other victims, and the case against him steadily strengthened.

Trials and death sentences

Goudeau faced trial first for the assault on the two sisters, and then for the murders and dozens of additional felonies. In 2011 he was convicted of nine murders and numerous other crimes, and was sentenced to death nine times over, along with more than a thousand years in prison. He remains on Arizona's death row.

The Baseline Killer case is remembered for the rare, overlapping terror that gripped Phoenix, and for the survivors and victims of Goudeau's relentless violence. Their courage and their stories — not the killer's notoriety — are what the case should be remembered for.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people did Mark Goudeau kill?

He was convicted of nine murders in the Phoenix area, committed between August 2005 and June 2006, alongside dozens of other felonies.

Why is he called the 'Baseline Killer'?

Many of his early crimes occurred near Baseline Road in Phoenix, and the nickname stuck as the killings escalated.

What happened to Mark Goudeau?

He was convicted in 2011 and received nine death sentences; he remains on Arizona's death row.

Two Predators, One Terrified City

What made Phoenix's ordeal so extraordinary was that Goudeau was not the only serial offender hunting the city at the same time. While he attacked victims up close, a separate pair known as the “Serial Shooters” was carrying out random drive-by killings, doubling the fear that gripped residents through 2005 and 2006. The cases were investigated in parallel, and it was DNA recovered from one of Goudeau's surviving assault victims that finally tied him to a string of murders, sexual assaults and robberies. In 2011 he was convicted of nine murders and dozens of further felonies and sentenced to death, with hundreds of additional years imposed for the non-capital crimes.