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Suspect Charged Again in Mickey Thompson Double Murder Case
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Michael Goodwin Could Face the Death Penalty If Convicted Of Ordering Execution-Style Slayings of Mickey and Trudy Thompson
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By Dave Wallace Photos courtesy of the Judy Thompson & Don Gillespie collections |
More than 16 years after Mickey Thompson, 59, and his wife Trudy, 41, were shot to death in the driveway of their hillside home, America's original Speed King continues to command widespread media coverage in Los Angeles and elsewhere. Among other accomplishments, Mickey built Lions Associated Drag Strip in 1955, campaigned the first successful slingshot dragster, and became the first American to reach 400 mph. He met his second wife during a visit to the offices of Hot Rod magazine, where Trudy was working as a secretary.
On the morning of March 16, 1988, the Thompsons were leaving for work when they were executed by two masked men, who fled the scene on bicycles. Neither triggerman was ever identified. Burglary was quickly ruled out as a motive; some $4000 in cash was not taken from the bodies, nor was Trudy's jewelry, valued at $70,000. Attention immediately turned to a former business partner who had been forced into bankruptcy by settlements owed to the Thompsons, who were awarded more than $500,000 following a bitter civil action. (None of that money has been paid to their estate, incidentally -- and currently totals more than two million dollars, with interest.) For the next 13 years, the case languished as Los Angeles and Orange County investigators reportedly chased down more than 1,000 clues.
Most recently, news coverage has focused on a series of legal maneuvers from the only suspect to be charged in the 1988 double-murder case, Supercross pioneer Michael Goodwin, who joined forces with Mickey to bring off-road racing from desolate deserts to metropolitan stadiums. However, 13 years passed before Goodwin was finally arrested in December 2001 on suspicion of orchestrating the murders. He's been jailed ever since, without bail. (Less than five years earlier, in 1996, Goodwin and his former wife had been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison following convictions on 13 counts of conspiracy and lying to financial institutions in an unrelated case.)
Although the double murders occurred in Los Angeles County , Goodwin was charged by the district attorney in neighboring Orange County , whose office contended that the planning was done in Laguna Beach, where Goodwin resided and worked at the time. Further, the deputy district attorney cited a witness who told a sheriff¹s deputy that a stun gun found at the crime scene resembled a weapon she had seen in Goodwin's home. Charges included two counts of first-degree murder; conspiracy to commit murder; and three “special-circumstance” charges of lying in wait; murder for financial gain; and multiple homicides. For more than two years, defense attorneys have argued that Orange County lacked territorial jurisdiction to prosecute a crime that occurred elsewhere. On April 23, 2004 , they won a favorable decision from the California District Court of Appeal, which dismissed all charges on the basis that Orange County prosecutors had produced insufficient evidence to prove jurisdiction, commenting that “The prosecuting county is not connected with the murders at all. That is the problem.” At the same time, the Appeals Court suggested that Orange County turn over any new evidence to the Los Angeles district attorney for reconsideration of that county¹s initial refusal, more than a decade earlier, to charge Goodwin.
The next day, the lead defense attorney, Jeffrey S. Benice, announced that he would petition for Goodwin's release from Orange County Jail. “He's beyond ecstatic,” Benice told the L.A. Times after speaking with his client by phone. “As far as we're concerned, it's over. ... He's been wrongfully incarcerated long enough.” Instead of gaining his freedom, Goodwin was charged on June 8 with two counts of murder and lying in wait by L.A. County -- where he could face the death penalty, if convicted. L.A. prosecutors explained that their reconsideration of the county¹s reluctance, since 1988, to arrest Goodwin was prompted by a thorough review of the case, including evidence that surfaced after Orange County filed charges in 2001. At press time, Goodwin, now 59, awaits a new arraignment and transfer to a Los Angeles jail.
CompetitionPlus.com will be following the case and posting updates as developments occur. Readers are reminded that the two triggermen remain at large. Anyone with any information, however insignificant it might seem, related to these murders is encouraged by the L.A. County Sheriff¹s Office to telephone detective M. Lillienfeld of the homicide bureau: 323-890-5628.
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