Airman charged with murder accused of trying to cover tracks

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A prosecutor said at a trial Friday that a U.S. Air Force airman charged with kidnapping a Mennonite woman in New Mexico, fatally shooting her and dumping her body in northern Arizona, had tried unsuccessfully to cover his tracks after the 2020 killing. Prosecutor Ammon Barker said Mark Gooch got his car professionally detailed, asked someone to hold onto his rifle and, two days after the killing, returned to the forest clearing outside Flagstaff, Arizona, where Sasha Krause’s body had been dumped. Gooch’s attorney Bruce Griffen said his client cooperated with investigators and wasn’t hiding anything. Gooch maintains he didn’t kidnap or kill Krause.