Katelyn Goble, a woman fixated on serial killers, has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the murder of stripper Morgan Bauer, whom she and her boyfriend Jonathan 'Alexander' Warren dismembered and partially consumed. The crime took place in Georgia, USA, in 2016, but Bauer's disappearance remained unsolved for seven years until Goble's estranged spouse admitted to helping dispose of the remains.
Details of the crime
Court records show that Goble, who worked as an exotic dancer herself, befriended Bauer and gave her temporary accommodation. The couple then killed Bauer, and over several days, as Assistant District Attorney Bailey Wilkinson told WSB-TV, "they mutilated Morgan's body, they beheaded her, and they dismembered her." Warren later confessed to police that the couple ate Bauer's clitoris, and Warren allegedly engaged in necrophilia with the corpse.
After the murder, the couple waited for Bauer's blood to clot before amputating her limbs. They then placed her remains in a suitcase and incinerated it in their backyard. Goble guided detectives to the burnt and dismembered body parts, which had been kept at her and Warren's property in Porterdale, Georgia.
Prosecution and defense
Goble attempted to shift blame onto Warren, claiming he wanted a threesome involving both exotic dancers. Her lawyer said she panicked and fled the room, only to return and find Bauer dead. The defense also claimed Warren prevented her from contacting authorities and forced her to help dispose of the body through intimidation. However, investigators dismissed these allegations, maintaining the pair acted together. Wilkinson stated: "The evidence will show that although it doesn't matter who exactly killed Morgan Bauer, that it was their plan together."
Prosecutors argued that Goble saw Bauer as "the perfect victim" to satisfy her morbid fascination with death, serial killers, and dismemberment, according to Oxygen.com. Bauer disappeared after a shift at Tease strip club in Atlanta, Georgia, on 25 February 2016, having moved to the city from South Dakota just two weeks prior. Allegedly, Goble held an interest in Satanism, and evidence suggests she purportedly struck a pact with the "Duke of the Underworld" to "sell her soul."
Sentencing
During sentencing, Bauer's stepmother said: "The dignity Morgan lost during death is truly heartbreaking. She was a stripper for two weeks. She was our child for 19 years. All we have are the beautiful memories that we hang onto and the horrific details explained to us."
Goble received a life term without parole for malice murder, plus concurrent 10-year sentences for evidence tampering and concealing Bauer's death. In 2024, Warren pleaded guilty to identical charges and will also serve life imprisonment without parole. A prosecutor told Newton County Judge Joe Bishop: "She has not shown a single bit of remorse through the entirety of this ordeal. The heinous nature of this crime and how incredibly despicable it is, shows that she does not deserve to see the outside of the prison walls ever."
