Editor's note: The original version of this story incorrectly identified Jalen Goodwin as Mark Keleise's cellmate in the Greene County jail in 2016. Keleise was a cellmate of a Goodwin's cousin.
A Waynesville man with an extensive history of violent behavior and assaults — he’s made the news multiple times for different incidents — is headed back to prison after being found guilty of an assault that happened at a residence in Springfield in 2021.
Mark S. Keleise, 35, was sentenced to 29 years in prison July 28 by Greene County Circuit Judge Joshua Christensen.
A jury found Keleise guilty of first-degree domestic assault; second-degree domestic assault; six counts of third-degree domestic assault; child kidnapping; first-degree kidnapping; and armed criminal action.
Normally the Hauxeda would not name a victim of domestic violence, but the woman Keleise assaulted two years ago said she wants to be named and doesn’t want to be referred to as a victim.
“I’m a survivor,” Renee Goodwin said during a brief recess Friday.
Goodwin explained that she was trying to help Keleise, whom she believed had information about her son’s death. Her son, Jalen Goodwin, was arrested and collapsed while he was being booked into the Greene County jail. Jalen Goodwin died Jan. 6, 2016.
Keleise was a cellmate of Goodwin's cousin and told that cousin he had insights about Jalen Goodwin's death.
She wrote to Keleise in 2017 while he was incarcerated, asking if he would tell her what happened. When he was eventually released, he would sometimes come to Springfield and visit with Goodwin.
Over time, Keleise became violent and manipulative toward Goodwin, and she took out an order of protection on him.
At the time of the assault, Keleise was at a house she owned but did not occupy. She had told him to leave the house, and he said he would.
“Had I known he was in my house that night, I would not have gone back in there,” Goodwin told the judge at Keleise’s sentencing hearing. “He told us he would be gone. … He was waiting for me in the darkness.
“When it gets to the point where you are breaking bones and terrorizing someone for two hours, what is justice for that?” she continued. “He will eventually kill someone.”
Man’s violent behavior made national headlines in 2014
In 2014, Keleise was among the six men involved in an assault in downtown Springfield that was caught on video and captured national attention, according to a 2015 News-Leader story.
KY3 also aired a story about the assault in April 2017.
According to the News-Leader report, the men were members of the Chain Gang rap group that had performed at the Outland, a now-defunct Springfield music venue, prior to the attack. The men reportedly lured a couple off the street and into a bank drive-thru tunnel and attacked them.
Keleise pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and was sentenced to four years in prison with credit for time served prior to the plea, court records indicate.
In 2011, the Pulaski County Daily published a lengthy story about Keleise with the headline “Father charged with kidnapping daughter, threatening to kill mother.”
The story details the events that led to Keleise being charged with first-degree tampering with a motor vehicle, burglary charges and parental kidnapping. Court records show Keleise pleaded guilty to the burglary charges and was sent to prison.
The 2011 story reads in part, “Waynesville police responded to the home ‘for domestics, disturbances or assaults seven times since June of 2010’ … (and) Waynsesville police also said in court documents that he ‘continues to commit crimes and continues to be involved in domestic violence.”
Prosecutor plays video of 2014 assault in court
Greene County Senior Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Christopher Lebeck played the video of the 2014 assault in court July 28, 2023, explaining the video shows “he is a violent criminal incapable of change,” and Keleise’s “depravity.”
In the video, Keleise can be seen kicking and attacking a man and woman. Lebeck said they were “innocent bystanders,” who did nothing to provoke the attack.
“This is the real Mark Keleise,” Lebeck said. “The risk of recidivism is obvious. His criminal history dates back to 2009[...] He is unable to function in society without causing society a serious safety risk.
“Prison is quite frankly the only appropriate form of retribution,” Lebeck continued. “He is incapable of change.”
About the most recent assault
According to a probable cause statement from the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, Keleise was at Goodwin’s house on Sept. 19, 2021.
Goodwin said she was living at her father’s home a couple of miles away and letting Keleise stay at that house temporarily.
Keleise began slapping, strangling and hitting the Goodwin’s with closed fists, according to the probable cause statement. He also hit her legs several times with an aluminum bat.
Keleise punched Goodwin — identified in the statement as “RG” — in the face until her nose and eye swelled and bled and chased after her with a knife in his hand when she tried to escape into the neighbor’s backyard. The statement said Keleise dragged her by her hair and then got on her back on the ground where he slapped, strangled, kicked and stomped her.
Goodwin ran to a neighbor’s house and called 911, the statement said. Goodwin was taken to a hospital and was diagnosed with a broken orbital socket and a broken nose.
Following the hearing, Goodwin told the Daily Citizen the kidnapping and child kidnapping charges were filed because Keleise locked her and her granddaughter in the house and would not let them leave.
Child kidnapping victim speaks in court
Goodwin has been raising her late son’s daughter since her son died in 2016. That child was there the night of the assault and actually sitting on Goodwin’s lap during some of the assault.
The girl gave a victim impact statement at the hearing Friday.
“I remember that night. It was really scary[...] because it was at our house,” she said in part. “I was scared because my Nanna was being beaten and hurt. It was really scary. I think he should be put away because he could do this to other people.”
Goodwin told the court that she believes her granddaughter shielded her somewhat and saved her life.
Goodwin spoke about how the protection order meant nothing to Keleise and that he continued contacting her despite being court ordered to stop.
“You can’t blame the behavior on his upbringing,” she said. “He continues to blame everyone else for his crimes.”
When the judge asked Keleise if he wanted to speak, Keleise apologized to Goodwin and her granddaughter.
“I regret it every day,” he said. “I’m truly sorry.
“As a child I was abused,” Keleise said. “I’ve been around the wrong kind of people.
“I want to be a changed man,” he said. “I want to seek counseling. I want to do something with my life.”
As of Monday morning, Keleise remained in the Greene County jail awaiting transport to prison.
