Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Elizabeth Margaret Goedeke, 52, and Kate Ann Murray, 42, were arrested early this morning and charged with multiple felonies in connection with the alleged sexual battery of an 11-year-old girl that led to the arrest of their neighbor, David Wolfe, a few days ago.

The first indication of abuse reportedly came when the victim saw a doctor on January 17 and said Murray had punched her in the head and that this was causing “a significant amount of long-term physical pain and mental disturbance.”

The next day, an investigator from the Department of Children and Families (DCF) interviewed the victim about the report that Murray had punched her, and the victim reportedly disclosed to the investigator that she had told Murray and Goedeke that Wolfe had been touching her “privates,” but Murray continued to allow her and sometimes instruct her to go to Wolfe’s apartment “every day” after school and every weekend “as soon as [she] woke up.” The arrest report states that officers reviewed text messages in which Murray told the victim’s teacher that the victim was supposed to go directly to Wolfe’s apartment after school.

When the investigator and a Gainesville Police Department officer asked Murray about the report that she had punched the victim, Murray reportedly said, “Ohhhhh. That. Yeah. I tapped her in the head.” She reportedly said she had “tapped” the victim on the head with her “knuckles” because the victim was being disrespectful to her and Goedeke, Murray’s neighbor and best friend. She said the victim had cried when she “tapped” her, but she didn’t believe that it hurt her. Goedeke allegedly saw Murray “tap” the victim and failed to report this.

The DCF investigator also asked Murray about the report that the victim had been sexually abused, and Murray immediately said it must be a 12-year-old boy because he had previously tried to “force” the victim to “smoke a cigarette.”

When Murray was asked about Wolfe, she reportedly said the victim goes to Wolfe’s apartment “almost every day” and said she knew he was a registered sex offender who previously served two prison sentences for possession of child pornography and lewd or lascivious assault on a victim under 16. She then reportedly went back to talking about the 12-year-old boy, saying he tried to “get [the victim] to have sex with him.”

The investigator next told Murray that a report had been received that the victim had being sexually abused by Wolfe in exchange for letting the victim play with his PlayStation. Murray reportedly responded, “What? No.”

The investigator said the victim had disclosed an incident from several months ago in which she showed Murray and Goedeke that there was “baby oil” in her underwear (described as “lube” in Wolfe’s arrest report) and told them Wolfe was touching her “privates,” but Murray reportedly said that both she and Goedeke had inspected the underwear, and there was nothing there. The victim, however, reportedly told the DCF investigator that Murray had noticed the substance in her underwear and that she believed Murray had spoken with Wolfe after that because Wolfe told her that she had violated his trust by telling Murray about the sexual battery. The victim reportedly said that Murray continued to send her to Wolfe’s apartment after she was told about the sexual battery.

When the investigator asked Murray whether she would continue to let the victim go to Wolfe’s apartment, Murray reportedly reacted as if this was the first time she was hearing about the abuse: “Not after this… To my knowledge… she’s never been molested.” She said the victim had “never” told her about the abuse.

Murray reportedly said, “I don’t wanna get in trouble. I don’t wanna get arrested and I don’t want my daughter taken if there was something, cause… You see what I’m saying?” The investigator also reported that the victim had said Murray told her that if DCF were to “open another case,” she would be “taken away” from Murray.

Murray also reportedly said about Wolfe, “He’s really sweet.”

The officer reported that Wolfe asked officers to leave his keys with “a neighbor” when he was arrested; he reportedly referred to the neighbor as a “friend” and clearly pointed to Murray’s door as he was walking to the patrol car.

The arrest report notes that a search warrant at Wolfe’s apartment produced a handwritten note from the victim to Wolfe in which she apologized to him for telling Murray that he had touched her “privets.”

Goedeke reportedly told the DCF investigator that she is “former law enforcement,” but she was allegedly aware of the abuse for several months and saw Murray punch the victim in the head and did not report either incident.

Murray has been charged with aggravated child abuse, child neglect with great bodily harm, accessory after the fact to child abuse, failing to report suspected child abuse, and tampering with evidence (for discarding the victim’s underwear). She has one misdemeanor conviction and is currently being held without bond.

Goedeke has been charged with aggravated child abuse, child neglect with great bodily harm, accessory after the fact to child abuse, and failing to report suspected child abuse. She has no criminal history, and Judge Thomas Jaworski set bail at $40,000.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.