Inset, left to right: Sean Goe and Raychel Sheridan (Canton County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Mother Goose Land park (YouTube/Near and Far Explorers).
A 27-year-old man in Ohio may spend the remainder of his days behind bars for brutally killing his 24-year-old girlfriend, beating her head in with a hammer, wrapping her body in plastic, and dumping her in a trash can at a local park named after an iconic fictional voice behind countless children’s stories.
A jury in Stark County on Friday found Sean Goe guilty on charges of murder, felonious assault, gross abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence in the slaying of Raychel Sheridan, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
Goe was also convicted on charges of burglary and grand theft when the property is a firearm or dangerous ordinance.
Immediately after the verdict was read, Goe’s mother could be seen keeling over as she screamed, “Oh my God! No way!” Goe himself had almost no reaction, per courtroom footage posted by Cleveland, Ohio, ABC affiliate WEWS.
According to a news release from the Stark County Sheriff’s Office, deputies at about 12:32 p.m. on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, responded to a home in the 4100 block of Orchard Dale Drive NW in Plain Township in reference to a missing woman identified as Sheridan. She was quickly entered into the national database as a missing person.
“While at the scene, Deputies observed a maroon Jeep Liberty, known to be registered to Raychel, traveling on Guilford Ave NW in Plain Township,” the release states. “Deputies initiated a traffic stop and made contact with the driver, 26-year-old Sean Goe of Plain Township who then fled on foot.”
In the early morning hours of July 3, Officers with the Canton Police Department located Goe at a homeless shelter on active warrants for burglary, grand theft of a firearm, and domestic violence involving the victim. He was held on $1 million bond.
“As a result of the search warrant executed at the apartment of Raychel Sheridan and Sean Goe, evidence was recovered indicating foul play,” police said. “Detectives have determined that Sheridan was murdered inside the apartment. At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, a body believed to be that of Raychel Sheridan was discovered by Canton sanitation workers in a park in a Southwest area of the city of Canton.”
Specifically, the body was discovered at Mother Goose Land, an abandoned theme park in the 400 block of Schroyer Avenue SW that opened in 1956 before being shuttered in the ’80s. The area was revitalized about 10 years ago and reopened as a public park. An employee with the Canton Parks Department was emptying garbage when they found Sheridan’s body wrapped in plastic inside of trash bin and called 911, Shaker Heights, Ohio, CBS affiliate WOIO reported.
Images from Mother Goose Land park (YouTube/Near and Far Explorers).
According to a report from the Canton Repository, prosecutors told jurors that Sheridan suffered at least 10 blows to the head with the blunt end of a hammer and was beaten so badly that her remains could not be identified when compared with a headshot of the victim. The hammer was reportedly recovered from inside the apartment Goe and Sheridan shared.
A bucket and gloves containing DNA from Goe and Sheridan was also reportedly found inside the apartment.
“The only person that had a reason to dump Raychel’s body like a piece of trash in that dumpster in Mother Goose Land is the person who killed her,” Criminal Division Chief Prosecutor Dennis Barr reportedly said during closing arguments. “That person is Sean Goe, the person who is sitting right here.”
Goe’s defense attorney reportedly argued that investigators immediately assumed Goe was the culprit and used the investigation “to prove the assumption, to prove the conclusion, not the other way around.”
Goe is currently scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 18, 2024. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
