When Sasha Krause Disappeared From Her Mennonite Community, Her Body Was Found 270 Miles Away

The Mennonite community is certainly not without its controversies. Sadly it is rife with sexual abuse and assault, which has even made its way to the movies in the form of 2022's Women Talking, inspired by the novel of the same name. And while these truths are incredibly sad, one thing this community rarely experiences is murder.

Unfortunately, death came to New Mexico in January 2020, when one of its own was killed. What happened to Sasha Krause? Here's what we know.

Less than three weeks before she disappeared, Krause had visited her family in Grandview, Texas before returning to Farmington, N.M. where she was working at a publishing company, reported Fox 10. She also taught Sunday School and on the morning of Jan. 18, 2020, was assembling materials for that day's lesson when she vanished.

According to the outlet, her body was found a month later hundreds of miles away in northern Arizona. The 27-year-old's body was discovered by a camper who came upon it in a forest clearing near Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Her wrists were held together by duct tape. There was also blunt force trauma and a single gunshot wound to her head. Soon authorities were able to come up with one name: Mark Gooch.

Unlike the Amish, Mennonites use technology which can often include owning a cell phone, via A&E. Krause had a phone, which authorities used to zero in on a suspect. Her phone pinged off two cell towers the night she went missing, and there was only one other cell phone that was engaging in similar activity at the time. It belonged to 21-year-old Mark Gooch, an Airman stationed at Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix, Ariz.

When interviewed by Detective Lauren Nagele at his base on April 21, 2020, Gooch said he drove seven hours to Farmington in order to attend church. Like Krause, he had grown up in the Mennonite church and was looking for fellowship. He denied having any information about Krause's murder. His phone told a different story, placing him in Farmington but not at church, then later about a mile from where her body was discovered. Gooch was arrested that day.

During his trial, it was revealed via text messages between Gooch and his brother that the Airman couldn't stand the Mennonite church. The prosecution argued that his motive was a deep-seated resentment toward the community that raised him. The jury agreed as he was found guilty of kidnapping and first-degree murder in October 2021. In November he was handed a life sentence and is currently serving his time in the Cimarron Unit at Arizona State Prison Complex, Tucson.

For more on this story, watch Season 2 of How I Caught My Killer which will be available to stream on Hulu starting July 18, 2024. You'll see why the judge who oversaw this case said, "I thought long and hard about it, and I think this case is truly the most senseless case I have ever presided over."