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Arizona jury convicts airman in death of Mennonite woman

Oct 13, 2021 | 1:20 PM

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A jury in Arizona has convicted a U.S. Air Force airman in the disappearance and death of a Mennonite woman who was living in New Mexico.

The jury reached its verdict Wednesday after deliberating for less than a full day. Jurors heard closing arguments in the case Friday.

Mark Gooch faces life in prison on the murder charge. He also was found guilty of kidnapping Sasha Krause in January 2020 from the Farmington Mennonite Church where she was gathering material for Sunday school.

Her body was found hundreds of miles away on the outskirts of Flagstaff, Arizona, in a forest clearing more than a month later.