EVIL THAT MEN DO
A writer with insight: I never understood the intricacies of the Baseline Killer case until I read your article ("Waiting for Goudeau," Paul Rubin, November 10). I always wonder whether cops are railroading some poor ex-con schmuck to [clear] a bunch of cases, but after reading this, I can see that the right man was arrested and convicted this time.
Thanks for all the insider information from your writer, who was on the scene when police discovered [one] of the victims. That kind of insight can only come from covering Phoenix for [a long time], which your writer obviously has.
Questions: Why have I never heard of a female serial killer? Why do these guys develop such a hatred for women?
Jennifer Schmidt, Phoenix
Kudos for Rubin: [Recently], I had the opportunity to read your extremely well-done article. Despite the late hour that I started to read, I could not put the paper down. It felt like I was reading a John Grisham or Stephen King, two of my favorite authors.
What appeals to me is the attention to detail your articles seem to always provide, [eliminating] any ambiguity. [Paul Rubin] continues to be my favorite [of New Times' writers].
Tom Vickery, Phoenix
A sick sociopath: As I watched Mark Goudeau smiling in court, I was amazed. To see him there, you would almost believe [him innocent]. Then I read your story, and now I get it:
Sociopaths like Goudeau feel no remorse, have no feeling for their victims and their families, believe what they have done is perfectly natural, what they were put on this Earth to do. No wonder he was smiling [as he was being tried for] murdering nine women!
Stephanie Gonzalez, Phoenix
Cops got the wrong man: This was a whitewashed article about the railroading of a suspect who got picked to be guilty because the politicians thought it was taking too long to wrap up the case.
[You] don't mention that they searched his home several times on different days before they came back and surprisingly found the ring, which all killers take home with them after they murder someone, huh?
Of course, a cop has never planted anything in order to make a case, huh?
And then they sent the DNA swab to Arizona [Department of] Public Safety after they remembered they needed to corroborate the sample that they "linked" his DNA to, but it was never proven that it actually was his, because they couldn't.
Much evidence was suppressed and withheld from other investigators on the case that supported the guilt of another party. There are much more informative articles out there on this subject than this "story" in New Times.
Walter Concrete, Phoenix
Goudeau had his neighbors on edge: I lived a few blocks from Mark Goudeau at the time, and I can tell you that people were freaked. I walked up on a lady suddenly on a sidewalk near his place, and she pulled a gun out of her purse and [pointed it] at me.
When she saw I was white and carrying a bag of groceries, she breathed a sigh of relief, [put away] the pistol, apologized, and we both went on our way.
With what we thought at the time were two serial killers roaming the streets (turned out there were two guys in the Serial Shooter case, for a total of three), I'm surprised that [panicked] people didn't [attack] each other, adding to the melee.
John Rogers, Phoenix
Thanks (we think): This is world-class writing. And to think that it comes from a weekly rag in Phoenix, which is a podunk big city if ever there was one.
Taylor Rocack, city unavailable
Harsh: Let's all hope what's left of [Mark Goudeau's] life is filled with nonstop sodomy and indescribable pain.
Ranaye Outah, city unavailable
To Mark Goudeau: You are an embarrassment to all black people and, especially, black men.
Did it occur to you, as you were committing your crimes, that you were causing others to think that your despicable behavior becomes a stereotype of black men?
There are black people who have tried to overcome the stereotypes of the criminal behaviors that, for generations, [have] characterized the race. And then you come along with your violent and predatory behaviors and bad decisions.
Don't dare blame it on drugs or your environment, Mark.
Here [we've progressed] to having a black president, and you set the race back. You ought to be ashamed of yourself, but I bet you are not ashamed. You brutalized and raped for two seconds of pleasure.
I want your life taken as you've taken the lives of others.
Name withheld
Proud of papa: Goudeau is a sick individual. My father is one of the detectives mentioned in this article, and I am very proud to say he did a great job and worked his ass off. It is people like him who are keeping the rest of us safe.
Name withheld
Goudeau's a bad man in prison, too: Good story, but let me add something. Goudeau is a total wacko who can flip in a split second. I lived and worked around this waste of [air] for a couple of years at the Mohave Unit in Douglas.
If you want to know his real prison background — and whether he should be allowed to live — take this into account: He was a predator in prison, as well. He ran with the leaders of the blacks and was just basically a gangster putting on a front [in society] to keep a job and stay under the radar.
I have been free 10 years after serving 10 and struggle financially. But I have turned my life to positive things. I understand the hate of the public when someone like [Goudeau] is released and turns to being a monster.
He needs death row isolation to separate him from not only society but also [those in] the prison system. Nowhere is safe while he lives.
Name withheld
Everyone was scared: That was a crazy time. I had a warehouse a few miles from 40th [Street] and Southern — people were scared. Nearly everyone had a pistol inside their purse, pants, or car.
Name withheld
