Criminal Justice

Phoenix crime lab sat on key evidence while Baseline Killer murdered 7 more, report says

By Nick R. Martin | April 7th, 2009 | 9:50 pm | 2 Comments »


Mark Goudeau

A police detective has come forward with startling new allegations that the Phoenix crime lab sat on key evidence in the Baseline Killer investigation for nine months — evidence that could have saved the lives of seven of the nine of the victims.

In a story published on Monday, the detective told the Scottsdale-based Times Publications that the crime lab refused during those month to test DNA collected at the scene of one of the attacks linked to the case. When the evidence was finally tested by another agency nine months later, it led Phoenix police to suspect Mark Goudeau.

The detective spoke to Times reporter Shanna Hogan on the condition that he not be identified by name. However, the story says he is one of the investigators still assigned to the case. It also says his claims are supported by documents obtained by the newspaper, as well as interviews by other Phoenix police officers.

The detective’s allegations mark a widening rift between the city’s crime lab and the rest of the police department. Officers have long complained that the lab is constantly backlogged, leaving investigations stalled.

Officials in charge of the crime lab refused to speak to the Times about the detective’s claims.


  • Anonymous

    After reading this piece I continue to be amazed at the ongoing witch hunt and inaccuracies and omissions of factual information regarding the DNA in Goudeau’s case. The Phx crime lab did not “sit on” the swab. The swabs were so DEGRADED, the lab could not get any useable results, so it sat on a shelf for a year. Enter DPS, who was PROVIDED MARK’S NAME and asked to make some evidence.

    I don’t know who the “source” is that spoke with Time reporter, Shanna Hogan, but the information is just plain wrong. Had Shanna attended the sexual assault trial last year she would have had the facts, not this BS from some “source” (I also need to mention the two women were paid $1100/month to ID Mark in court, since they had NEVER ID’s him before – even when they were shown his picture the night he was arrested. And let’s not forget Judge Klien HAND PICKED the alternate jurors so that those who were going to vote NOT GUILTY were removed.) Anyway, I digress, during the 2007 sexual assault trial lab staff testified to the degraded nature of the DNA and that PPD crime lab was in SURPRISED to learn that DPS said they could now get results from this DEGRADED swab. If Shanna had any investigative ability at all she would have reviewed these public records. What an idiot.

    DPS used the Y chromosome to single out Mark. First of all, the Y does not point to a single person, but a paternal line – brothers, cousins, uncles, nephews, their sons, etc., and that an arrest cannot even be made based on a Y result. Honestly who knows what DPS thinks they have since the swabs, which were dirty and had been wet, have been totally consumed by police with nothing left for the defense to test.

    The STR analysis is more discriminating, of which Mark is only consisted with 3 loci, not the 13 required to be called a DNA “match.” Rarely, if ever, can a person even be arrested with so few loci. But with corrupt PPD who seems to enabled to violate constitution rights at will, they do what ever they want to who ever they want.

    The DNA from the sexual assault was a 3-person mixture which is nearly impossible to analyze because of all of the peaks and valleys in the readings. Especially with the male DNA as a minor contributor, the entire male DNA cannot even be detected.

    At best the DNA used against Mark is tenuous and inconclusive. There wasn’t even a CODIS hit on Mark since he matched so few genetic markers (loci). His name was provided to the DNA tech, Lorrain Heath, who fished his DNA out of the database.

    As for Lorraine Heath, the State’s “expert”, her DNA experience is limited to only two real working years as an analyst, her prior short years of experience were as a lecturer. (Those who can’t teach.)

    This pipsqueak technician called local law enforcement after fishing Mark’s DNA out of the database and inaccurately told police she had a match! Mark was arrested that day! At the sexual assault trial under cross examination Heath was asked if she explained the limitations of her analysis to the police – her response – “NO.”

    Heath has since fled the country and now resides in Canada.

    I have yet to see local news media interview an uninvolved real DNA expert on this case. Any DNA expert worth their weight can explain the extreme challenges of analyzing a 3-person mixture, the low number of loci matches and how 1000s of other men in this city alone will match those same 3.

    With the avalanche of uninformed and inaccurate facts by the media there isn’t any possible way Mark will ever get a fair trial in the county.

  • Anonymous

    After reading this piece I continue to be amazed at the ongoing witch hunt and inaccuracies and omissions of factual information regarding the DNA in Goudeau’s case. The Phx crime lab did not “sit on” the swab. The swabs were so DEGRADED, the lab could not get any useable results, so it sat on a shelf for a year. Enter DPS, who was PROVIDED MARK’S NAME and asked to make some evidence.

    I don’t know who the “source” is that spoke with Time reporter, Shanna Hogan, but the information is just plain wrong. Had Shanna attended the sexual assault trial last year she would have had the facts, not this BS from some “source” (I also need to mention the two women were paid $1100/month to ID Mark in court, since they had NEVER ID’s him before – even when they were shown his picture the night he was arrested. And let’s not forget Judge Klien HAND PICKED the alternate jurors so that those who were going to vote NOT GUILTY were removed.) Anyway, I digress, during the 2007 sexual assault trial lab staff testified to the degraded nature of the DNA and that PPD crime lab was in SURPRISED to learn that DPS said they could now get results from this DEGRADED swab. If Shanna had any investigative ability at all she would have reviewed these public records. What an idiot.

    DPS used the Y chromosome to single out Mark. First of all, the Y does not point to a single person, but a paternal line – brothers, cousins, uncles, nephews, their sons, etc., and that an arrest cannot even be made based on a Y result. Honestly who knows what DPS thinks they have since the swabs, which were dirty and had been wet, have been totally consumed by police with nothing left for the defense to test.

    The STR analysis is more discriminating, of which Mark is only consisted with 3 loci, not the 13 required to be called a DNA “match.” Rarely, if ever, can a person even be arrested with so few loci. But with corrupt PPD who seems to enabled to violate constitution rights at will, they do what ever they want to who ever they want.

    The DNA from the sexual assault was a 3-person mixture which is nearly impossible to analyze because of all of the peaks and valleys in the readings. Especially with the male DNA as a minor contributor, the entire male DNA cannot even be detected.

    At best the DNA used against Mark is tenuous and inconclusive. There wasn’t even a CODIS hit on Mark since he matched so few genetic markers (loci). His name was provided to the DNA tech, Lorrain Heath, who fished his DNA out of the database.

    As for Lorraine Heath, the State’s “expert”, her DNA experience is limited to only two real working years as an analyst, her prior short years of experience were as a lecturer. (Those who can’t teach.)

    This pipsqueak technician called local law enforcement after fishing Mark’s DNA out of the database and inaccurately told police she had a match! Mark was arrested that day! At the sexual assault trial under cross examination Heath was asked if she explained the limitations of her analysis to the police – her response – “NO.”

    Heath has since fled the country and now resides in Canada.

    I have yet to see local news media interview an uninvolved real DNA expert on this case. Any DNA expert worth their weight can explain the extreme challenges of analyzing a 3-person mixture, the low number of loci matches and how 1000s of other men in this city alone will match those same 3.

    With the avalanche of uninformed and inaccurate facts by the media there isn’t any possible way Mark will ever get a fair trial in the county.