The Murder of Sarah Goode

Sarah Goode (21) posted this image hours before she attended a party on the evening of June 6th, 2014. That evening, Sarah left her 4-year-old daughter with her mother so she could attend a party in Medford, New York. While there, she posted a picture (see below) of her smiling and enjoying the party with her friends.

Sarah at the party with friends. This is believed the be the last known image of her. (source: Instagram)

It was typical for Sarah and her friends to be out all night when they got together, so Sarah’s mother initially did not worry when she did not return home that night. However, when Sarah failed to show up at her nephew’s birthday party the next day, her family knew something was amiss. After an unsuccessful search for her, Sarah’s family reported her missing on June 8th, 2014.

Two days later, Sarah’s car was found abandoned about a mile from her home. Inside of it, investigators spotted a bloody handprint and numerous other blood stains. This discovery prompted a massive search by volunteers in the surrounding area. On the evening of June 12th, 2014, a searcher found Sarah’s half-naked body in a wooded area located less than a mile away. An autopsy revealed that she had been raped and stabbed over forty times.

Over a month later, 19-year-old Dante Taylor was arrested and charged with raping and murdering Sarah. Taylor attended that same party in Medford on the night of June 6th, and cell phone records revealed that he and Sarah had been communicating via calls and texts earlier that day. Additionally, forensic testing revealed that the bloody handprint in Sarah’s car belonged to Taylor.

Dante Taylor

It is believed that Sarah’s untimely death was the result of a sexually motivated attack. At the trial, the prosecution said that Taylor was angry that night because Sarah had rejected his sexual advances. As a result, Taylor dragged Sarah out the woods, raped her, beat her so hard that a piece of metal was found lodged in her skull, and stabbed her to death. The jury found Taylor guilty on all counts and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. In October 2017, he was found dead in his jail cell.

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Sources:
CBS News
NBC New York
Patch