Crime lab analyst testifies in Mark Gooch murder trial in Farmington

Crime lab analysts testified Tuesday in the murder trial of Mark Gooch in Farmington. One analyst told jurors she was asked to analyze DNA swabs from a rifle, vice grips and duct tape found on the hands and neck of Sasha Krause.

Krause’s body was found in a forest near Flagstaff more than a month after she was abducted from her Mennonite community near Farmington.

Airman Mark Gooch is accused of the crime because of his alleged hatred for the Mennonite community.

The analyst testified the DNA on the vice grips matched Gooch. She said the body spent time in the elements, making it difficult to test other DNA retrieved, including DNA on Krause’s neck.

Gooch’s attorneys questioned the analyst about the testing. “I could tell that it was a mixture of at least two people but that’s all the information that I could get from it because it was very low level and the sample is what we call degraded. So the DNA starting to break down and I wasn’t able to develop a full DNA profile,” said Erin Diggins, crime lab analyst.

Also testifying Tuesday was an investigator with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He said the suspected murder weapon was originally purchased by James Gooch, Mark’s father, at a Walmart in North Carolina in 1999.