Sasha Krause Murder: Air Force Member Arrested For Killing 27-Year-Old Mennonite Woman

A U.S. Air Force member was arrested Tuesday in California in connection with the murder of a Mennonite woman who disappeared from her New Mexico home in late January. The woman's body was found one month later in Arizona.

Mark Gooch, 21, an airman, was arrested at Luke Air Force Base in Glendale and booked in Maricopa County Jail under charges such as premeditated first-degree murder, first-degree murder during the commission of a crime, kidnapping and theft in connection with the disappearance and death of Sasha Marie Krause, San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, New Mexico, said.

Krause, 27, was reportedly last seen leaving her home in Crouch Mesa on Jan. 18. Her remains were discovered on Feb. 21 in Coconino County, Arizona, about 270 miles away. The Coconino County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the case was being investigated as a homicide jointly with San Juan Sheriff’s Office in New Mexico and federal authorities. Officials said Krause was kidnapped near her home before being killed and her body being dumped near Flagstaff. All of her personal belongings were also found.

Investigators initially learned that Gooch had traveled from the air force base to Farmington, New Mexico, whilst further investigations placed him near Sunset Crater, Coconino County, where Krause’s body was discovered. San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari said the case was out of ordinary because Krause disappeared from a "very secluded" Mennonite community.

“They have a business, they live on site, and we never respond there very often for anything, so it struck us as very odd that we had someone missing, especially because you see them out in a group and having someone gone was very strange to us,” Ferrari said in a video statement.

"Over the last few months, San Juan County has lived in fear, not knowing if we had a predator living inside of our community or somebody that was preying upon it," he added. "I can assure you, we have our man."

Ferrari assured that authorities would make sure Gooch received the maximum sentence for committing the heinous crime, while also hinting at a high probability of death penalty.

It was not immediately known if Gooch was assigned a lawyer. It was also not know why he committed the crime.