The man who was found guilty of murdering a Mennonite woman from Farmington was sentenced to life in prison last week.
Mark Gooch had been convicted of kidnapping and killing Sasha Krause, who disappeared in January 2020 and was found dead in Arizona weeks later, KRQE reported. Krause was 27.
“Why was she kidnapped and murdered? I will never understand that in this life,” a victim’s advocate said in the report, reading from a prepared statement the Krause family wrote. “But God in his ultimate wisdom and goodness allowed the devil’s evil plan to proceed. So he in his goodness will not allow her efforts to be wasted.”
Gooch was in the Air Force, stationed at Luke Air Force Base at the time of Krause’s disappearance.
Investigators linked Gooch to the crime by tracing cell phone data, but there was no easy-to-discern motive, the report said. Prosecutors put forth a theory at trial, saying Gooch had had uneasy ties with the church.
Although the defense argued for the possibility of parole, the judge turned down the parole option because of the callousness of the crime. The defense is expected to appeal.
