Katelyn Goble has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the killing of 19 year old Morgan Bauer back in 2016. The jury took just 30 minutes to deliberate.
She was found guilty of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing a death and tampering with evidence.
According to prosecutors, Goble, along with her boyfriend, Alex Warren, lured Bauer to their Porterdale home back in February 2016. They then strangled her, dismembered her body, then burned the remains.
Prosecutors argued the couple targeted Bauer because they believed no one would miss her. They also described Goble and Warren as being obsessed with serial killers.
Goble’s defense team claimed she was in the room when Warren killed Morgan, and stayed quiet for years because she was terrified of him.
Warren pleaded guilty to murder two years ago and was given a life sentence.
The Disappearance of Morgan Bauer
Morgan Aryn Bauer was born on April, 13, 1996, in Memphis, Tennessee to mother Sherri Keenan. In 2014, Bauer graduated from Central High School in Aberdeen, South Dakota.
At the time of her disappearance, Morgan had recently moved to Atlanta, Georgia where she was staying in different motels and working as an exotic dancer.
Disappearance
On February 12, 2016, Morgan Bauer left her hometown of Aberdeen, South Dakota. She caught a ride with a friend to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where she then took a flight to Atlanta, Georgia.
Upon arriving in Atlanta, Morgan stayed the night at the house of a man she had met online through Craigslist. She had arranged to do house chores for the man in exchange for rent until she found a job.
Those arrangements fell through on her second day in Atlanta, and Morgan was asked to leave. For the next few days Morgan found herself moving between various motels and working as an exotic dancer at a strip club in Gainesville, Georgia
On February 25, 2016, Morgan applied for a job at Tease, a strip club on Cheshire Bridge Road in Atlanta, Georgia.
On February 27, 2016, Morgan was last seen at a Citgo gas station at 3251 Highway 278 in Covington, Georgia.
Morgan hasn’t been seen or heard from since.
On March 12, 2016, her mother filed a missing persons report with the Atlanta Police Department when she could not contact her daughter.
Investigation
Morgan Bauer kept in close touch with her friends and family after she left South Dakota, and regularly posted on social media until February 25. Her phone record and social media have had no activity since she disappeared. Her phone has since died or been turned off.
On February 27, 2016, Morgan’s phone last pinged to a location in Porterdale, Georgia, where one of her coworkers and her boyfriend lived.
Upon being questioned by authorities, the couple stated that they dropped Morgan off at a Citgo gas station in Covington, Georgia on February 27, where she was last seen getting into a green Mitsubishi Eclipse car.
Both Morgan and the coworker had applied for a job at Tease on the same day, and Morgan reportedly offered to buy the woman her Adult Entertainment License which was required for exotic dancers in Atlanta.
In February 2022 police learned that Bauer’s last sighting was on February 26, when she posted a video of herself on Instagram walking in Porterdale Yellow River Park.
At a press conference on July 27, 2023, police announced a home in the outskirts of Atlanta was raided in connection to Morgan’s case. Several ‘items of evidentiary interest’ were retrieved, but authorities did not reveal any additional details.
The home is located less than a mile away from the park where Morgan was last seen.
Arrests Made in Morgan Bauer Disappearance
On August 6, 2023, it was announced that two arrests had been made in connection with Morgan’s case.
Jonathan Alexander Warren was arrested in California and faces multiple charges including felony murder, felony aggravated assault, felony concealing a death, and tampering with evidence. Katelyn Goble was arrested in Illinois and faces charges for felony concealing a death and felony tampering with evidence.
A copy of the indictments from Newton County Superior Court reveal that Morgan died from strangulation, and allege that both Warren and Goble put their hands around her neck.
Warren and Goble each face charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, and concealing the death of another. They are both being held in jail without bond.
Warren pleaded guilty to malice murder, tampering with evidence, concealing the death of another and necrophilia in January 2024.
Jonathan Warren Sentenced to Life in Prison
On January 10, 2024, after waiving his right to a trial, Jonathan Warren was sentenced to life without parole for the murder of Morgan Bauer.
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