Mickey Thompson murder trial update

Amen Brother. Lions 11 and Mickey Thompson, R.I.P.

 

Mickey Thompson died after seeing wife slain, prosecutor says

A former partner's trial in the 1988 killings gets underway in Pasadena, with the defense insisting that TV shows have obscured the case.

By John Spano, Times Staff Writer
john.spano@latimes.com
November 7, 2006

Assassins forced racing legend Mickey Thompson to watch his wife be murdered before he too was shot in the head execution-style, a prosecutor told jurors Monday, kicking off a trial in one of Southern California's longest-running murder mysteries.

The man who ordered the chillingly vengeful 1988 killings was Michael Goodwin, a motor sports rival whose business had been destroyed in a bitter dispute with Thompson, Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Jackson told jurors in Pasadena.

Goodwin's lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Elena Saris, countered that the case had been overtaken and hopelessly obscured by repeated Hollywood treatments.

Saris sarcastically described the prosecution's case: "The crime shows hate, Michael Goodwin hated Mickey Thompson, therefore Michael Goodwin committed the crime."

Thompson and his wife, Trudy, were shot to death early on March 16, 1988, in the driveway of their estate in the gated community of Bradbury.

Witnesses said they saw two hooded men with guns flee; they were never caught.

"Once they were in a position where Mickey Thompson could clearly watch, the second gunman put a gun to her head and pulled the trigger," Jackson said, citing neighbors' recollections.

"Mickey Thompson's last vision on Earth was of his wife being executed," Jackson continued.

But Saris told jurors the state spent 18 years investigating the murder and still had not solved the case.

"This is naked suspicion," Saris said. "After 18 years, we're back at the same place we started."

The courtroom of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz was standing room only as lawyers, media representatives, photographers, relatives of the Thompsons and Goodwin's friends sought seats. The trial is expected to last into December.

Goodwin has been in jail almost five years. He was first charged with murder in Orange County, but that case was dismissed after appeals judges found no evidence that the crime was planned there.

On Monday, Goodwin appeared in court clean-shaven with close-cropped hair, peering over reading glasses propped on his nose. He smiled at jurors as they filed back and forth within a yard of his chair.

Thompson was the first American to reach 400 mph in a piston-driven vehicle at the Bonneville Salt Flats. His name was used to sell many car products. He had already successfully promoted off-road races when he met Goodwin, who created supercross — motorcycle racing on dirt tracks laid out in NFL stadiums. They joined to promote stadium motor sports in 1984, but within months, the two brash promoters had a falling-out.

What followed was a vicious court battle in which Thompson eventually won a $514,388 judgment against Goodwin.

The state Supreme Court confirmed the award in January 1988 — two months before the slayings.

The keys to the prosecution are half a dozen witnesses who say they heard Goodwin threaten Thompson's life because he was winning the fight for control of stadium racing at Southern California's biggest venues.

The first witness on the stand Monday was William Wilson, former Pasadena police commander and general manager of the Rose Bowl and Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, who worked with Thompson and Goodwin.

At a dinner party at his San Diego County home, he heard Goodwin threaten Thompson with death, he testified.

"Thompson is destroying me, he's taking everything I've got," Wilson quoted Goodwin as saying as he looked across the courtroom at the defendant. "I'm gonna take him out."

Wilson, who headed homicide investigations when he was an officer, said that when he heard about the Thompson killings, he immediately called Los Angeles homicide detectives.

Within six weeks, Goodwin had purchased a $400,000 yacht, bought $350,000 worth of gold coins and transferred $150,000 to an offshore bank account in the Caribbean — although he claimed he was bankrupt, Jackson said.

Saris said Goodwin was not broke and therefore had no financial motive to kill; she said he had been constantly in contact with his lawyer, who told police he would return from an extended sailing trip through the Caribbean whenever he was called.

Saris described repeated TV treatments of the killings — at least 10 productions on national broadcasts — which continued to bring forth new witnesses as late as 2001. She said the shows had an invidious effect.

She urged jurors to reject "the Hollywood version of events — generated by the media."

She said no witness in 1988 ever said Thompson was forced to watch the murder of his wife.

"That didn't come along until Hollywood got involved," Saris said.

 

Yes I still plan on it.Its not that big of a deal really,but kind of interesting.
It will be after this weekend,as Ive had a ton-o-shit on my plate latley,,,all good I guess.

Any HAMBers going to Pomona for the NHRA finals,hit me with a PM.
I'll be there Wed,Fri,& Sat hangin out at Doug Herberts & Bob Gilbertsons deals.
Thanks,
Troy

 

As a newby to this forum I would like to give an update to the Mickey Thompson story. At the present time many people are being interviewed and video taped thet knew and worked with Mickey. The movie will cover his entire life right up to the trials. At this time I don't know when it will be released but would think late 2007.
I met Mickey in the mid 50s at Santa Ana drag strip. Worked for him at Lions drag strip and followed him over the years. Have many articles etc. on him. It was honor to be interviewed about him at Bonneville this year. His son Danny and I talked for quit a while as well. Can't wait to see the movie.

 

Messenger says man accused in slayings of racing legend wanted to rip him off in business deal

By Linda Deutsch
AP Special Correspondent

Pasadena, Calif. - A racing tycoon accused in the slayings of legendary racer Mickey Thompson and his wife nearly three decades ago said he wanted to rip Thompson off in a business deal, a messenger said during testimony Tuesday.

Stewart Linkletter, who said he worked for Goodwin as a messenger and driver in 1984, told jurors at Goodwin's murder trial that he heard Goodwin say, "'We're going to screw Mickey out of everything."'

Linkletter said he delivered the contracts to the Los Angeles Coliseum that bound Thompson and Goodwin in a merger of their motocross racing companies.

A short time later, Linkletter said he picked up Goodwin and a business associate and drove them to a downtown law office. During the drive, Linkletter said, the two men spoke for 45 minutes "about screwing him, ripping him off."

Goodwin, 61, is charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances and faces life in prison if convicted. The racer, who was 59 when he died, was the first person to travel more than 400 mph on land. He was inducted posthumously into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Prosecutors contend the evidence leads directly to Goodwin, a former concert promoter who merged his motocross racing business with Thompson's before the pair had a falling out. They said Goodwin became so angry after losing $793,000 to Thompson that he set out to kill him.

Thompson and his 41-year-old wife were leaving for work in March 1988 when they were ambushed outside their home in the gated Los Angeles suburb of Bradbury. Two shooters fled on bicycles and were never caught.

The defense argues that Goodwin was a victim of false assumptions, and that TV shows created a "folklore" that prompted people to come forward with unsubstantiated accounts.

Deputy District Attorney Pat Dixon asked Linkletter to elaborate on what was said and he replied that Goodwin gave him a warning when the ride ended: "He said, 'Stew, if you ever say anything to anyone about this conversation, I'll (expletive) kill you."'

On cross examination by Goodwin's public defender Elena Saris, Linkletter said he called a hot line for the television show "America's Most Wanted" after the program reported a $1 million reward for information on the case. He acknowledged he also called Thompson's family and relayed the information.

Later in the day, a private investigator testified Goodwin had contacted him in late 1987 and said he wanted to "get even" with Thompson.

Goodwin was "upset about something, he looked flushed and excited," private investigator Penn Weldon said. Goodwin told him he had been done wrong by Thompson and "he wanted to get even with him," Weldon said.

Goodwin also asked him to bug the car and home of Thompson's lawyer.

"I said I couldn't do it because it was illegal," Weldon said.

 

Plan was to rip off racing legend

Chauffeur testifies that Michael Goodwin, who is accused of killing Mickey Thompson and his wife, bragged about cheating Thompson.

By John Spano, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

November 8, 2006

Michael Goodwin gloated about how he would "screw" racing legend Mickey Thompson out of his part of the joint business deal they had signed just hours before, his chauffeur testified Tuesday.

The driver, Charles Linkletter, said Goodwin planned to take advantage of Thompson from the beginning of their joint venture into racing promotion. After the 1984 deal was signed, Goodwin launched on a "45-minute diatribe about screwing him, ripping him off."

Instead, Thompson turned the tables on Goodwin and beat him in court, winning a $514,000 judgment that prosecutors contend was Goodwin's motive to kill Thompson and his wife, Trudy, at their Los Angeles County estate in 1988.

Linkletter told jurors in Pasadena that Goodwin, on trial for the murders 18 years ago, threatened him if he didn't keep quiet.

"If you ever say a word about this conversation to anybody else, I'll … kill you," Linkletter recalled Goodwin saying.

Thompson, the first American to exceed 400 mph at the Bonneville salt flats and a motor sports pioneer and prominent promoter, joined with Goodwin, who invented the sport of motorcycle supercross, to promote dirt races in arenas in Southern California, including the Los Angeles Coliseum and Anaheim Stadium. But the deal quickly fell apart, and Goodwin was bankrupted when Thompson sued and won.

Goodwin, also a race promoter, was "loud, obnoxious and brash" during the year Linkletter worked for him out of his Laguna Beach office, the chauffeur said.

On the second full day of Goodwin's trial, all the witnesses were gray-haired and balding, reflecting the age of the case.

Penn Weldon, a former police officer and private detective, testified that Goodwin tried to hire him in 1987 to bug the car and offices of Thompson's lawyer. Goodwin said Thompson had ruined him financially and he wanted "to get even," Weldon testified.

The cutthroat nature of the competition for races was highlighted by David Jacobs, a former Pasadena police lieutenant and general manager of the Rose Bowl. He said Goodwin promoted all racing events there until 1987, when Thompson beat him out for the promotion rights.

Jacobs said Goodwin staged an international race at the Rose Bowl before the 1984 Olympics that tore up the turf, but failed to repair the damage.

"He'd rather cheat you out of $1,000 rather than make $10,000 with you legally," Jacobs told jurors.

Goodwin's cousin, Gregory Keay, said he attended a family gathering at Goodwin's house several months before the killings.

"He said Mickey was out to get all of his money, and before that would happen, he would have him wasted," Keay testified.

The Thompson murders fascinated the media. At least 10 national television shows highlighted the investigation, including "America's Most Wanted" and "48 Hours," which is now preparing its third one-hour show on the case.

As the television shows aired, new witnesses came forward, firming up the case enough for prosecutors to file charges. The defense has suggested the pervasive and continuing media coverage of the case and a $1-million reward produced many witnesses with fake or faulty memories.

Half a dozen witnesses are prepared to testify they heard Goodwin threaten Thompson. The defense contends that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department initially botched the investigation, and failed to follow up aggressively on leads that pointed away from Goodwin.

 

Lawyer testifies in Thompson murder case

Linda Deutsch
Associated Press

Pasadena, Calif. - A lawyer who once represented slain racing legend Mickey Thompson described on Wednesday a vitriolic court battle over soured business ties between the driver and the former business partner who is now charged in his killing.

"It was an expensive case," Philip Bartenetti testified at the trial of Michael Goodwin, who is accused of having Thompson and his wife, Trudy, killed over the failed business relationship nearly 19 years ago.

Thompson, 59, and his 41-year-old wife were gunned down in the driveway of their home in the gated Los Angeles suburb of Bradbury and the two killers escaped on bicycles. Prosecutors say it was a professional hit.

Thompson, who gained fame in numerous auto sports and set land speed records, merged his motorcycle racing business with Goodwin's but their association quickly soured and Thompson successfully sued him.

Under questioning by prosecutor Alan Jackson, Bartenetti described the lengths to which Goodwin went to try to overturn a judgment that he owed Thompson $793,000.

"Did you ever advise him that it was not worth it?" defense attorney Thomas Summers asked Bartenetti on cross-examination.

"We discussed it," said Bartenetti. "I said, 'What's happening here is obscene because the costs on both sides are exceeding what it's worth.' I said to him, 'The only thing you have on your side, Mickey, is you're right.'"

Bartenetti said he and Thompson discussed it a lot because "this was a very vigorously contested litigation."

Bartenetti said Goodwin went to an appeals court, which upheld the ruling, then tried to appeal to the California Supreme Court, which refused to consider the case. Goodwin then sued Thompson personally, the witness said.

He lost the case on March 2, 1988, Bartenetti said. Thompson was killed two weeks later, on March 16.

Goodwin, 61, was brought to trial on murder charges after years of pressure by Thompson's sister. He is charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances and faces life in prison if convicted.

The defense has cited the lack of any physical evidence and contends Goodwin is a victim of false assumptions and of TV shows that created a "folklore" and prompted people to come forward with unsubstantiated accounts.

 

November 08, 2006

Mickey Thompson Murder Trial Begins

By Steve Parker

The trial to determine who caused the murders of Mickey and Trudy Thompson has begun in the Los Angeles area. The defendant, Michael Goodwin, who is being represented by a public defender and has been in prison for the past five years, still claims his innocence. Yet more than 18 years after the gruesome gangland-style murders in the driveway of MT's luxury estate, thousands of hours of police work and who knows how many phone calls and in-person interviews, there is no other suspect. Repeat: There is no other suspect.

We've been looking forward to this trial since the day of the murders. I worked for Mickey, assisted in the PR and marketing for the very first Off-road Championship Grand Prix at the Los Angeles Coliseum. In fact, I named the event and got a $1,000 bonus from Mickey for doing so.

Mickey was one-of-a-kind, the automotive world's PT Barnum of the 20th century, a guy so self-confident (and egotistical) that he would set his personal airplane in 'autopilot', set an alarm, and take a nap while at the controls, until the alarm woke him up before landing. He had immense amounts of energy, a man with 'an unquiet mind' constantly thinking and on-the-go, sleeping for only 2-3 hours a night. Unlike one of his contemporaries, Carroll Shelby, MT was not only a great race car driver like Carroll, he was also a self-taught mechanical and engineering genius, developer of the first rail dragsters still in use today.

His wife, Trudy, made sure that Mickey got all the monies which had been coming to him for decades from Mobil Oil, General Motors, and scores of other sponsors, many of which had short-changed Mickey all his working life. Thanks to Trudy, Mickey became the multi-millionaire he had always been. But he had never counted the money and really known his personal worth until Trudy got his accounts in order. They were really made for each other, the strengths of each compensating for their own weaknesses.

When it came to drag racing, Indy racing and off-road racing, MT was a pioneer who never stopped developing new products. His use of water-filled barrels at the LA Coliseum as safety devices was a first, and their use continues to this day (the development of those kinds of safety barrels was also done contemporaneously by the legendary Mercedes-Benz racer and safety engineer, John Fitch). Mick developed the first huge swing arm rear suspension systems used throughout off-roading today, around the world, from Baja to Dakar. He'd fire-up his buggy and then blast through the canyons which backed right up to his home to test his latest inventions and developments. In his home were thousands of feet of raw film of almost every off-road race he had ever been in. Off-road and drag-racing legends such as poster artist Tom Hunnicutt worked there, too, some of them involved in creating a feature-length film worthy of MT's imprint and style ... which was WFO (which was what I wanted to call the film "The WFO World of Mickey's Thompson". By the way, WFO = "Wide Fucking Open", which is where Mick kept the throttle on anything he was doing.

Mick was instrumental in creating SEMA, SCORE and even the NHRA to an extent.

I also knew Michael Goodwin fairly well. I'll say a lot more about him as the trial unfolds. Suffice to say that from the first moment I heard about the murders, about 4 hours after they occurred, I never suspected anyone but Goodwin as they person behind them.

Someone I met through work turned out to be one of the only witnesses to the actual crime itself. Can not say much more, but Mickey was a powerful bear of a man, and If there had been any possibility that he could have saved Trudy's life, even if not his own, it would have happened.

The murderers themselves were probably killed that same day, most likely by the same person who had planned and executed the entire horror.

The murders resulted in one positive. Mickey's sister, Colleen Campbell, founded what were among the very first victim's rights groups in the country. Colleen became politically active and mayor of San Juan Capistrano, CA. Her personal efforts resulted in MT's murder case staying open for all these years, and the creation of victim's rights groups around the nation and the world. Colleen's own son had been murdered, and when it happened to her brother, her favorite person in the world, she had to do something. And, thankfully, she did! All the energy she has put into this entire affair may soon bear the results for which many of us have been hoping.

Stand-by for coverage of the trial here, including my own comments as things unfold, from my own very personal and unusual 'insiders' perspective.

http://thecarnut.typepad.com/steve_parker_the_car_nut_/2006/11/mt_murder_trial.html

 

thanks for the updates

 

Lawyer says racing promoter threatened him

Witness says Michael Goodwin, on trial in Mickey Thompson's slaying, was very angry.

By John Spano
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
john.spano@latimes.com

November 15, 2006

A law professor said Tuesday that he bought a gun and a bulletproof vest after he was threatened by racing promoter Michael Goodwin, who is on trial for murder in the slaying of motor sports legend Mickey Thompson.

Jeffrey Coyne, a Duke University law school professor who was trustee for Goodwin's bankrupt business, testified that he hid his wife and five children after security guards said two men came looking for him at his downtown Los Angeles office building two hours after Thompson was shot dead in 1988.

The two men, who were never identified, asked a guard where they could find Coyne's car, which they accurately described as a red Corvette with a white top.

Coyne testified that when the guard demanded to know why, the men jumped into a car and sped out of the underground garage through an entrance.

Many witnesses have testified about how mercurial and threatening Goodwin was as a tough businessman promoting motor sports in Southern California. His rivalry with Thompson led first to their partnership, then to their falling out and eventually, authorities allege, to Goodwin's ordering the murders of Thompson and his wife, Trudy, outside their estate in the affluent San Gabriel Valley town of Bradbury.

Coyne was appointed to collect assets from Goodwin's bankrupt business and distribute them to creditors. The biggest creditor was Thompson, who had been awarded $514,000 in his lawsuit alleging that Goodwin had defrauded him in a joint venture.

Two weeks before the slayings, Coyne and Goodwin met in a law office.

"He was literally inches from me," Coyne said. "He looked me dead in the eye and with tremendous anger said, 'You better lighten up or things will get bad.' "

Coyne said he backed up, not believing what he had heard.

"If you ruin my life, I'll ruin yours," Goodwin said, according to Coyne.

The confrontation came, Coyne testified, after Coyne refused to pay Goodwin's wife $130,000 in assets she claimed for work performed, refused to pay $20,000 to Goodwin's parents, as he had demanded, and forced the seizure of Goodwin's Mercedes-Benz.

Coyne, who has served as trustee in more than 1,000 cases, said he concluded that Goodwin was fraudulently trying to move the business' assets to his wife to avoid paying the creditors.

Half a dozen witnesses have testified at the trial in Pasadena that Goodwin, who has been in jail five years awaiting trial, threatened Thompson, who held land speed records.

A second business associate of Goodwin's testified earlier Tuesday that he too had been threatened.

Greg Smith, manager of Anaheim Stadium at the time, said that six weeks before the Thompson murders, he was at a bankruptcy hearing involving Goodwin's business. The business held lucrative rights for January motor sports events at the stadium, which Smith was seeking to transfer.

Smith, a spectator, was sitting toward the back of the courtroom, when he heard someone speaking, he said.

"He made comments to the effect that, 'You don't know what you're doing to me. You'll be sorry for this. I'll be back.' "

At first Smith didn't think he was being spoken to, so he looked around. Smith said Goodwin was sitting directly behind him and no one else was nearby. Goodwin was "mad, confrontational, and very, very upset," Smith said.

 

Hummmmmmm I just read the latest update and all I can say is wow. Obviously this goodwin is a real asshole and likes to threaten people and gets or has gotten away with it. He is a liar also thats why he stayed out of jail for so long. I hate liars and murders and hopefully justice will prevail. It may be long over due but ya know sometimes its later than sooner. Threats suck also. Ive never been scared of anybody and I believe Mickey wasnt either. Thats prolly why he got killed . I hope they hang goodwins ass just from the shit he talked. People like that just suck.
Dave

 

Witness recalls Goodwin's spying

By Molly R. Okeon
Pasadena Star-News Staff Writer
molly.okeon@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496

Article launched:11/15/2006 11:49:54 PM PST

Pasadena - A witness testified Wednesday he saw Michael Frank Goodwin spying on the couple for whose murders he is now standing trial.

The witness said the incident took place just days before the slayings.

Ronald Stevens and his wife, Tonya, lived in the small, equestrian-oriented community of Bradbury, where auto racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife, Trudy, resided and were killed on March 16, 1988.

Stevens told the jury that he saw Goodwin, now 61, and another person in a station wagon at the end of Stevens' corral about four or five days before the execution-style shooting deaths of the Thompsons in their driveway.

On Aug. 13, 2001, Ron Stephens picked Goodwin out of a six-person lineup, a photo of which the prosecution showed to the jury Wednesday.

Mickey Thompson, 59, and Trudy Thompson, 41, were gunned down in their driveway by two men who rode away on bicycles, never to be found. Goodwin, who invented moto- cross racing, and Thompson, known as the "Speed King" for breaking the land speed record of 400 mph, had been in the business of racing promotion together briefly in the mid-1980s. But their partnership went sour, and Thompson won a monetary settlement against Goodwin in 1988 after years of legal battles.

Despite his formerly wild-haired, scraggly look in hearings prior to the trial, the 6-foot-tall, 210-pound Goodwin now has his gray hair cut short and his formerly long, gray beard shaven off.

He has exchanged his orange jumpsuit for tailored dark green suits and ties in the courtroom. The only familiar feature from pre-trial hearings are the small, rectangular, mahogany-framed spectacles he wears.

Also on the stand Wednesday was Kathy Weese, a woman who worked for Goodwin from January to May 1986, when he had her arrested for allegedly embezzling money from his company.

Weese, who has had several run-ins with the law and has spent time in prison, claimed she heard Goodwin make threatening statements to Thompson over the phone during her tenure as a receptionist.

She told the jury Wednesday that she heard her boss tell Thompson: "I'm going to take you out."

Weese told Deputy District Attorney Pat Dixon that she did not hear of any reward for information leading to the killers of the Thompsons until her testimony at the 2004 preliminary hearing for Goodwin's case.

"This isn't about the money," she said.

But, in cross-examination by Deputy Public Defender Elena Saris, Weese admitted she had appeared on a "48 Hours" TV program about Goodwin taped prior to that hearing in which there was an announcement of a $1 million reward.

Saris also worked to tear down the credibility of the witness by pointing out that she created two fake identities for herself as "Kathy Johnson" and "Kathy Horn," complete with false dates of birth and Social Security numbers. Weese was convicted of crimes including writing $2,300 in bad checks under these names, Saris pointed out.

"Do you like Michael Goodwin?" Saris asked Weese.

"I don't like or dislike him," Weese replied.

"Do you recall calling him" an expletive? Saris asked.

"Yes," Weese replied.

When Saris asked if Weese had feelings about Goodwin based on his accusations of embezzlement, she said, "No, because I won."

Saris noted that even though Weese was acquitted of the embezzlement charges, she spent eight months in custody awaiting her trial.

 

Criminy!

Thanks for the continuing updates, by the way.

 

Woman who saw racing legend, wife gunned down as a teenager describes the killings

By Tori Richards
Special to Court TV

Pasadena, Calif. — Horrified jurors stared, some apparently fighting back tears, as a young woman described how, at the age of 14, she witnessed the slayings of racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife while they pleaded for mercy.

Allison Triarsi, now 33, was watching from her home across the street as two unidentified gunmen shot the couple and escaped on ten-speed bicycles.

Thompson's former business partner, Michael Goodwin, 61, is on trial for their murders.

The incident gave Triarsi nightmares for years as she thought the gunmen would return to kill her over what she had seen, she testified.

Before that, she said she lived an idyllic life in the rural community of Bradbury outside Los Angeles. It changed forever around 6 a.m. on March 16, 1988, when Triarsi was in the shower and heard screams.

"At first it was hard to identify because it was so shrill and in such a high pitch, but it was a voice, a fearful voice," Triarsi testified.

Next came a series of gunshots.

Her mother came in and grabbed her from the shower, and the two huddled on the floor in the dining room, where Triarsi could see the Thompson home from a floor-to-ceiling window.

Thompson, 59, was at the top of his driveway and was trying to reach his wife, Trudy, who was at the bottom. A gunman held him back with his weapon, Triarsi testified.

"He was saying, 'Please don't kill my wife,'" Triarsi said. "He was extremely agitated in his actions, moving in an agitated way, pleading for Trudy's life. The man was holding the gun, pointing it at him, one to two feet away."

Thompson was staggering and holding his body as he struggled to stand, she testified.

At the same time, Trudy, 41, was at the end of the driveway on her knees with her palms raised to ward off the second gunman.

As an example, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson got to his knees in front of the jury and demonstrated Trudy's position. He then walked toward Triarsi and she demonstrated, with her finger pointed like a gun, how the gunman's arm was outstretched.

The man shot Trudy in the head and then shot Mickey several times in his torso and chest, she testified.

The gunmen fled, and Triarsi ran to the driveway to see if Trudy was still alive when she heard several more shots. It was later discovered that a neighbor was shooting at the suspects as they rode past his house. Triarsi hid behind a wall until police arrived.

Triarsi, who is now an anchor for ABC News in Minneapolis, said she still thinks about the incident. For years, she kept a journal as a way to help her through the trauma and says her memory is better as an adult because she has had time to reflect on the incident.

Prosecutors say Goodwin, a racing promoter, hired the gunmen to kill Thompson over a bitter business dispute. The two had been partners in a business deal aimed at bringing outdoor racing indoors, but their relationship quickly devolved into a series of lawsuit and angry threats. They have presented witnesses who described the financial dealings between the two men, as well as several who overhead Goodwin threaten Thompson's life.

Goodwin is charged with two counts of murder and the special circumstances of multiple murder and murder for financial gain. If convicted, he faces life in prison without parole.

http://www.courttv.com/trials/goodwin_michael/111706_ctv.html

 

Promoter threatened her, Mickey Thompson's sister says

Collene Campbell testifies that suspect Michael Goodwin said he would kill her when she pressed to collect a debt.

By John Spano
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
john.spano@latimes.com

November 28, 2006

The man on trial for allegedly murdering sports legend Mickey Thompson threatened a decade later to kill Thompson's sister, she testified Monday.

Outside the presence of the jury, Collene Campbell, 74, testified briefly but dramatically in court in Pasadena against Michael Goodwin, Thompson's estranged business partner, who is charged with arranging the deaths of Thompson and his wife, Trudy, 18 years ago.

"I'm going to try to give it my best shot at exactly what he said," Campbell said.

She said Goodwin made the threat 10 years after the murder when Campbell, acting as executor of her brother's estate, sought to force Goodwin to make good on debts outstanding to Thompson.

"I'm going to kill you too, bitch,' or 'I'm going to get you too, bitch.' And that was all that was said," Campbell testified.

Campbell's formal court appearance may be her only official involvement in the prosecution of the man whose trial she had sought for almost two decades.

Prosecutors called Campbell, the former mayor of San Juan Capistrano, to testify to bolster another witness, but prosecutors said they did not intend to put her before the jury.

Her legal crusade has been recounted on 10 television specials and dozens of stories in national publications, most recently in the current People magazine.

Part of Goodwin's defense is that Campbell pulled political strings to ensure that he would be charged. His attorneys say her interference tainted the police investigation.

Campbell said Goodwin made the threat when she was in court in 1996 for his sentencing in a bankruptcy fraud case. Thompson's estate had won a judgment for $512,000 against Goodwin for a failed joint venture to produce arena motorcycle and off-road races.

Campbell, as executor of the estate, continued to fight Goodwin in court for payment of the debt.

The case bankrupted Goodwin, and prosecutors contend that he sought revenge.

Campbell said she did not immediately report the threat to police because Goodwin "threatens everybody."

Campbell's account was supported by Lance Johnson, a psychology instructor at Pasadena City College, who testified that he overheard Goodwin utter the threat. Johnson delivered his account in front of the jury.

Johnson, Thompson's friend and next-door neighbor in the San Gabriel Valley community of Bradbury, also gave a chilling account of the killings.

He testified that he was awakened by gunshots on March 16, 1988.

"There was silence for 15-20 seconds, and all of a sudden, I heard Mickey Thompson screaming, 'Please don't hurt my wife! Please don't hurt my wife!' Screaming, several times," Johnson said.

He then heard another series of gunshots. Johnson said he grabbed his .357 magnum gun out of a drawer, then saw two African American men, wearing sweatsuits, riding bicycles down Thompson's driveway.

"I screamed at them. I yelled, 'Stop!' " Johnson said. "They didn't look in my direction, as they continued on. I took a shot at them with the .357 magnum from my home. With that gun, at 6 o'clock in the morning, it was extremely loud. Nobody looked up at all."

Johnson said he "saw Trudy Thompson lying at the foot of the driveway with blood coming out of her head and her eyes wide open. She appeared to be dead."

He bristled when defense attorney Elena Saris asked why he would shoot at men when he had not seen them commit a crime.

His testimony, however, also reinforced a recurring defense theme: how media interest in the old case may have skewed the prosecution.

Johnson acknowledged he had appeared on the television show "Unsolved Mysteries" and narrated an account of the crime that included details that he himself had not observed. He denied embellishing his account for television.

Although prosecutors have no physical evidence tying Goodwin to the slayings, they have presented a bevy of witnesses who heard him make threats on Thompson's life as he was losing their bitter business feud.

"I'm not afraid of that bastard," Campbell said outside court. "I should be. Everybody else is. But he's such a coward."

She said her brother called her three days before his death and said he was worried that Goodwin would try to hurt his wife.

"Collene, I'm telling you, the guy's capable of it, and I feel it in my bones," Campbell quoted Thompson as saying.

The defense is scheduled to begin presenting its case next week.

 

Anything new here??

 

Prosecution concludes in Mickey Thompson case
By John Spano, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
john.spano@latimes.com

December 8, 2006

One month after beginning, prosecutors wrapped up their case Thursday against Michael Goodwin, the spurned race promoter on trial in the slayings of motor sports legend Mickey Thompson and his wife.

For jurors in the Pasadena courtroom, things ended the way they began. The last witness, Thompson's nephew, testified that he heard Goodwin threaten the life of his aunt and uncle two months before they were killed. At the start of the trial, witnesses also testified that they heard Goodwin make threats.

It took authorities 11 years to file charges against Goodwin, who by all accounts was the prime suspect from the day the couple was found repeatedly shot, execution-style, outside their home in the gated community of Bradbury on March 16, 1988.

"I would say things have gone smoothly," said the prosecutor, Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Jackson.

Goodwin, inventor of supercross, and Thompson, the first man to exceed 400 mph on land, had joined forces in 1986 to promote indoor motor sports competitions on dirt tracks. They soon had a falling out, and Thompson won lawsuits that bankrupted Goodwin, who prosecutors contend arranged the executions out of revenge.

Faced with seven witnesses who said they heard Goodwin threaten Thompson, the defense has stressed the absence of evidence connecting him to the scene of the crime.

Elena Saris, a deputy public defender, is expected to continue to attack the police investigation.

"The gaping hole in their case is the part that connects Michael to the crime," Saris said Thursday.

One surprise was the absence of the final witness to testify at the preliminary hearing two years ago, a woman who had lived with Goodwin in Colorado and said he had confessed to her. She was the only witness to testify that Goodwin said he killed Thompson and his wife, Trudy.

The triggermen, two men on bicycles, have never been identified or arrested.

Jackson declined to comment on the absence of the witness. Saris said the difference between the 2004 hearing and the trial was the witness' medical records.

"At the preliminary hearing, we did not have her psychiatric records," Saris said. "Now we do."

She did not elaborate.

Thompson was known nationwide for his bravura racing feats, as a pitchman for specialty auto parts and as a pioneering promoter who brought dirt track racing to Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Diego.

Lawyers said the case could be in the hands of the jury by the end of next week.

 

Judge Won't Dismiss Thompson Murder Case

By Linda Deutsch, AP Special Correspondent

Friday, December 08, 2006

Pasadena, Calif. — A judge on Friday rejected an attempt to throw out the murder charges against the former business partner of slain racing legend Mickey Thompson.

Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz made her ruling on whether to dismiss the case after the prosecution rested in the trial of Michael Goodwin.

Goodwin's attorney said prosecutors failed to prove that Goodwin arranged for gunmen on bicycles to shoot Thompson, 59, and his wife Trudy, 41, outside their home in the Los Angeles suburb of Bradbury in 1988.

Goodwin, 61, was arrested in 2001 and is charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances. He could face life in prison if convicted.

Deputy Public Defender Elena Saris says Goodwin was not connected to the shootings, which she said was a botched robbery.

The evidence prosecutors presented was circumstantial, and there is an alternate interpretation for every fact given, Saris said in her argument to dismiss the charges.

Deputy District Attorney Pat Dixon said witnesses saw Goodwin casing the escape route used by the killers. Goodwin frequently said Thompson would wind up dead before he would pay him a dime of a $793,000 civil judgment won by Thompson in a bitter business dispute, Dixon said.

Defense motions for dismissal are common after a prosecution rests.

The trial was scheduled to resume Monday after a sick juror suspended Friday's proceedings.

 

Goodwin will not testify for defense

Thompson case suspect changes stance at trial

By Linda Deutsch, Associated Press

Article Launched:12/12/2006 11:07:14 PM PST

Pasadena - In a surprise move, former sports promoter Michael Goodwin told a judge Tuesday he will not testify in his defense against charges that he had racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife killed.

Goodwin's lawyers, who are near the conclusion of their defense case, told Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz that Goodwin had expressed a desire to testify. But after lengthy talks with his lawyers, attorney Elena Saris said, "We prevailed and he agrees with us that he will not testify."

The judge advised Goodwin of his right to take the stand, which the defendant said he understood. The judge then asked if he wished to testify.

"No, your honor," Goodwin said in a husky voice during a brief proceeding outside the jury's presence.

Asked if he had any questions, Goodwin responded, "Based on the advice of counsel, your honor, I have no questions and I am willing to give it up."

Goodwin, whose partnership with Thompson in the motocross business disintegrated into a bitter legal battle, is alleged to have arranged the March 16, 1988, slayings of Thompson, 59, and his 41-year-old wife, Trudy, outside their Bradbury home.

The Thompsons were shot by two men who escaped on bicycles and were never caught. Goodwin, who had owed Thompson a legal judgment of more than $700,000, was arrested in 2001.

The prosecution presented a circumstantial case against Goodwin, who is charged with two counts of murder with the special circumstances of lying in wait and committing multiple murders.

The defense Tuesday presented testimony from a ballistics expert who recently emigrated to the United States from South Africa.

Jacobus Swanepoel, who said it was his first time testifying in an American court, said he reconstructed the crime scene based on reports from those who were at the scene and experts who analyzed the evidence later.

Swanepoel said he concluded, as prosecution experts did, that two guns were used in the killings. He also said that the shots that killed Mickey Thompson appeared to have been fired in quick succession and both victims suffered gunshot wounds to the torso and the head.

He said the head wounds on both victims came from the same gun.

Saris attempted to show that shots were fired from various locations and did not fit the pattern of a carefully orchestrated execution.

But on cross-examination, Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson scored points by asking the witness how he would have changed his conclusion if he was presented a statement from an eyewitness who saw Trudy Thompson being killed first and her husband saying, "Don't hurt my wife."

Swanepoel was reluctant to make a conclusion based on such a statement because he was never shown the statement by the defense.

"Before I would add such eyewitness report, I would much rather work with what we see in the crime scene report," he said, referring to the forensic analysis by sheriff's investigators.

Jackson persisted, asking what Swanepoel would conclude if he had taken that testimony into account.

"It could lead to only one conclusion," said the witness, "that Trudy was shot before Mickey."

A key point in the prosecution theory is that Goodwin, seeking revenge over the soured business deal, ordered hired killers to execute the couple and to force Mickey Thompson to watch his wife die before he was killed.

Outside court, Saris was asked why Goodwin had decided to forego testifying.

"Based on the state of the evidence, we did not think it was necessary," she said.

Asked to assess the impact of the ballistics evidence, she said, "We're showing that both shooters went all over the crime scene and were shooting all over the place. It's less consistent with an execution."

She has maintained that the killings happened during a botched robbery attempt.

The defense will call more witnesses today, and the judge has scheduled the jurors to visit the crime scene Thursday. Final arguments are set for Monday.

 

Goodwin defense hits time gaps

Frank Mickadeit
OC Register columnist
fmickadeit@ocregister.com

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Michael Goodwin might have told anyone who would listen he wanted to kill Mickey Thompson. And when Thompson and his wife, Trudy, were killed in 1988, it sure looked like Goodwin was good for it. But there are reasons this case didn't come to trial for 181⁄2 years, and this week, defense attorney Elena Saris is reminding us what they are.

Yesterday, the 17th day of the trial, the big news was Saris had finally talked Goodwin out of testifying in his own defense. Corralling an ego like his is a victory in itself, and it allowed her to get back to what I've been watching her do the last two days – lay the groundwork to argue to the jury that the Thompsons were being robbed by gunmen with no link to her client.

Yesterday, for example, she called her own firearms and crime-scene specialist. The testimony of Jacobus Swanepoel differed from the prosecution expert's in a significant respect: Swanepoel went so far as to say where he believes the two shooters stood when firing their 9mm weapons into the Thompsons. In his scenario, both killers moved up and down the long driveway of the Thompson home.

"Both shooters went all over the place," Saris told reporters in the hallway after his testimony. That is a scenario "less consistent with an execution" plotted by a vengeful Goodwin than with a robbery.

And what would they be robbing the Thompsons of? How about $250,000 in gold? Sound farfetched? Saris has a witness who might be allowed to testify Mickey told him he planned to acquire a lot of gold. She also has evidence that a safe in the Thompson home had pry marks on it, as if it had been forced open. Saris hasn't persuaded Judge Teri Schwartz to let her bring this stuff into evidence. For one thing, the pry marks were first noticed three weeks after the deaths. There's no way to say when they were made, the judge ruled, so such evidence could mislead the jury. Also, there's no record of the Thompsons having bought gold coin or bullion.

One thing the jury did hear: That at least one shooter fled the scene carrying a white canvas bag. What Saris hopes to tell the jury: Such bags are the kind gold is carried in. She also notes that the Thompsons were carrying more than $3,000 in cash as well as nine pieces of gold jewelry they were not wearing. All of it was recovered at the scene, but it indicates they were transporting valuables, she says.

She also challenged the credibility of the lead detective, getting him to concede he misinterpreted some ballistics evidence in a way that falsely made it appear that Goodwin might have owned one of the guns used in the crime. She has tried but hasn't gotten in the existence of a possible suspect unrelated to Goodwin who supposedly confessed to a relative that he killed the Thompsons. Cops deemed him a flake, and he probably is. But Saris is trying to show that detectives ignored any clues that pointed away from Goodwin.

A huge Goodwin advantage is time. Not just the 181⁄2 years that has worked to fade memories, but the huge gap between the 1988 killings and when a husband and wife came forward to say they had seen a man scoping out the neighborhood with binoculars a few days before the Thompsons were killed. They later picked Goodwin out of a photo lineup. To me, they are the key. If you believe them, it's not a stretch to convict Goodwin. If you doubt them, well, there's nothing else that links Goodwin to the crime scene and the shootings. There's just the vengeance motive and the threats.

The problem is that while the couple positively – emphatically – identified Goodwin, it wasn't until a police lineup in 2001. They say they actually reported him to police when they saw him in 1988 because he was near a school and they thought he might be a molester, but there is no police record of it. The couple didn't link the man to the Thompson deaths until after an "America's Most Wanted" episode on the case aired years later. That's the first time they are on record as having come forward.

Saris, obviously, is making a big deal about the 13-year gap. Today, she plans to call an expert on memory and eyewitness testimony to cast doubt on the couple's ability to be certain it was Goodwin they saw. With Goodwin not taking the stand, this expert could be her most important witness. Goodwin is clearly still the best suspect, but Saris could well be succeeding in getting jurors to believe he isn't the only one.

Contact the writer: Erika Torres contributed. Contact Mickadeit at 714-766-4994 or fmickadeit@ocregister.com

 

Goodwin defense rests in Mickey Thompson murder case

Linda Deutsch
Associated Press

Pasadena, Calif. - The defense rested Wednesday in the Mickey Thompson murder trial with a flurry of witnesses intended to attack the reliability of the prosecution's case against the racing legend's former business partner, Michael Goodwin.

Challenging testimony about events that occurred more than 18 years ago, Deputy Public Defender Elena Saris called to the stand experts on eyewitness memory.

They included Kathy Pezdek, a cognitive psychologist who said she could not testify directly about witnesses in the Thompson case, but offered examples of studies which have shown that the memory of witnesses who saw something only briefly diminishes dramatically over time.

Asked by Saris about the reliability of someone's memory after 13 years, she said, "Thirteen years is just off the scales ... for identifying a person you just saw briefly."

The testimony was meant to undermine the account of a couple who said they saw Goodwin sitting in a car near the murder scene and also identified him in a lineup.

Goodwin, whose partnership with Thompson in the motocross business disintegrated into a bitter legal battle, is alleged to have arranged the March 16, 1988, slayings of Thompson, 59, and his 41-year-old wife, Trudy, outside their home in the gated Los Angeles suburb of Bradbury.

The Thompsons were shot by two killers who escaped on bicycles and were never caught. Goodwin, who had owed Thompson a legal judgment of more than $700,000, was arrested in 2001.

Eric Miller, who worked for Thompson, testified that he and the victim met the night before the slayings and had a discussion with another man about possible investments, but he denied that he heard Thompson say he was taking possession of a large amount of gold.

Saris then recalled a sheriff's detective who said that his notes reflected Miller saying that Thompson talked of taking possession of something of great value.

Saris contends that the Thompsons' murders were the result of a botched robbery attempt in which the killers may have stolen gold from the couple's residence.

The last defense witness was retired sheriff's deputy Gerald Jansen, who identified notes he took at the scene of the crime but said he had no independent recollection of the facts reflected in the notes.

Saris questioned him at length about two safes that were in the house, one of which was empty and the other which the witness said contained jewelry, money and documents. He recalled that Thompson's sister brought in a locksmith to open the safes.

Saris contended one of the safes showed marks where someone tried to pry it open. She rested her case and prosecutors said they would have no rebuttal witnesses.

The judge told jurors they would be taken to the scene of the crime Thursday. Court will not be in session Friday. Final arguments were scheduled for Monday.

 

New motive suggested in double slaying

Defense says a stash of gold may have been behind the killing of Thompson and his wife.

By John Spano, L.A. Times Staff Writer

December 14, 2006

A defense lawyer Wednesday suggested that racing legend Mickey Thompson had a small fortune in gold in the house where he and his wife were found shot to death 18 years ago.

Defense attorney Elena Saris closed her case after giving jurors a possible reason other than revenge, the motive prosecutors contend led Michael Goodwin to arrange for the killing of Thompson, his former partner in the business of promoting motor sports in Southern California, and Thompson's wife in 1988.

No gold hoard was ever found. And authorities said pry marks found on a home safe were caused by investigators.

Jurors also heard Wednesday about a police investigator's report the night before Thompson and his wife, Trudy, were shot dead. The report quoted a Thompson employee at his Anaheim office as hearing Thompson say he had "taken possession" of $250,000. However the investigator, Rene LaPorte, said he could recall little about the conversation, and the worker said he could not confirm details of the conversation.

Jurors are due to tour the crime scene in Bradbury today. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz scheduled final arguments for Monday.

The trial is in its fifth week, and the defense rested without Goodwin taking the stand.

No evidence from the crime scene tied Goodwin to the slayings. Prosecutors called seven witnesses who testified that Goodwin had threatened to kill Thompson. One, Ronald Stevens, had come forward 13 years after the killings and reported that he could identify Goodwin as the man he saw sitting in a parked car three quarters of a mile from the Thompson residence days before the double slaying.

Placing Goodwin anywhere near the scene of the killings, committed by two men who fled on bicycles and were never identified, was considered a key to the prosecution's case.

But the chances of accurately recalling a human face 13 years after a brief encounter are "zero," according to Kathy Pezdek, a Claremont Graduate University psychologist and associate dean who is an expert in human memory. Pezdek studied the case for the defense and wrote a report concluding that "it is my professional opinion that a misidentification is very likely under these circumstances."

After testifying in court, Pezdek said she had never encountered a witness who accurately identified a person as much as 10 years after an encounter. She said the advent of DNA testing has led to the release of 120 people wrongfully convicted of serious crimes nationwide, more than 80% of whose convictions were based on supposedly positive eyewitness identifications.

Pezdek cited a study that found mistakes in identification increasing from 65% correct after one week to 50% after three months and dropping to 10% after 11 months.

"Thirteen years is off the scale, an extremely long time delay for identifying a person you saw one time, briefly," Pezdek said.

Pezdek criticized investigative techniques under which Stevens was shown a display of six photos before he was asked to pick Goodwin out of a lineup.

When Deputy Dist. Atty. Patrick Dixon heatedly asked Pezdek why she had not helped the prosecution in the Thompson case, she coolly pulled out a copy of an e-mail she had sent to his office stating that Saris had sent prosecutors a copy of her conclusions. Her report had been commissioned by Saris, she noted.

 

Lets hope that justice may prevail in this major loss to our sport. One of my fondest memories is seeing Micky scald all four hides on the dual engine Olds toronado at the drags in Ca. He was also very fan friendly and I feel priviledged to have a hand shake from this cool pioneer. Sololobo

 

Thank you for the update

 

Roadsters, thanks for keep us updated on this.

 

thanks for the update

 

Jurors visit scene of racing legend's slaying

Associated Press

Bradbury, California (AP) -- Jurors in the trial of a man accused of arranging the killing of Mickey Thompson and his wife more than 18 years ago visited the racing legend's hillside home Thursday, comparing photos of the crime scene to what they were seeing in person.

The jurors, taken by van and escorted by sheriff's deputies, lawyers and the judge, were allowed to walk the suburban Los Angeles path where killers confronted the victims and escaped on bicycles.

The trip was arranged as part of the trial of Thompson's former business partner, Michael Goodwin, who is charged with plotting a revenge killing and hiring the men who shot the couple.

The jurors paused to peer at the ground where Thompson's body was found. They also stopped at the end of the driveway where Trudy Thompson's body lay crumpled after she was killed. Some took notes.

Lawyers brought photographs of the crime scene to the former Thompson home and mounted them on easels in the driveway. The images showed the scene when it was splattered with blood and when bodies lay in the area. Jurors studied the photos carefully, comparing them with what they saw in person.

News helicopters hovered overhead as the tour began. The wooded area where the Thompsons lived is studded with mansions and equestrian ranches.

They spent almost two hours looking at four separate scenes in the vicinity, including the hidden roadway through the trees where witnesses reported seeing the suspected killers fleeing on bicycles. Neither suspect has been caught.

Goodwin was not present at the tour, having waived his right to attend.

His partnership with Thompson in the motocross business disintegrated into a bitter legal battle. He is alleged to have arranged the March 16, 1988, slayings of Thompson, 59, and his 41-year-old wife.

Goodwin, who had owed Thompson a legal judgment of more than $700,000, was arrested in 2001.

The defense rested its case Wednesday. Court is in recess until Monday, when attorneys are scheduled to present final arguments.

 

Here's some news about the movie deal, from Variety.com.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117955997.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Murder tale to Bandito Brothers

Producer McCoy has tapped Baxter to write feature

By Jeff Sneider

Production company Bandito Brothers has acquired the life story rights of murdered auto racing promoter Mickey Thompson.

Producer Mike McCoy ("Dust to Glory") has tapped scribe David Baxter to write the feature, "Challenger." Deal is reportedly worth six figures.

Bandito Brothers has already begun production on documentary "Gearhead: The Legend of Mickey Thompson," directed by John Bilecky. Shingle's head of production, Cassandra Del Viscio, will oversee development and production of both projects.

Thompson's life and death are the subject of both an ongoing "48 Hours" investigative report and an "America's Most Wanted" story. Feature will focus on events that lead up to the 1988 execution-style slaying of Thompson and his wife by two hooded gunmen.

Case was unsolved for nearly 20 years, but Thompson's estranged business partner and Supercross founder Michael Goodwin is on trial in Pasadena for plotting and ordering the murders.

A principal of Nimbus Pictures, Baxter penned "Nuvolari," an original screenplay about Italian auto racing icon Tazio Nuvolari, for 20th Century Fox, and "Broken Code," a Tribeca Film Institute/Sloan Foundation award-winning script about DNA pioneer Rosalind Franklin. "Code" will begin production next spring with Peter Bogdanovich attached to direct.

 

Goodwin defense rests case

Murder suspect had big mouth but he's no killer, lawyer says

By Molly R. Okeon, San Gabriel Valley Tribune Staff Writer
molly.okeon@sgvn.com
(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496

Pasadena - When a prosecutor used an accused killer's angry words about a slain auto racing legend against him in the closing statements of his murder trial Monday, his defense attorney openly admitted her client had a big mouth.

But just because Supercross inventor Michael Frank Goodwin, now 61, might be a loud-mouthed "jerk" does not make him the killer of Mickey Thompson, Elena Saris said.

"You can stand up here, you can call this man a jerk," said Saris, a county public defender, grasping her expressionless client's right shoulder with her left hand.

"You can call him an egomaniac, you can call him a braggart. And you can stand up here and slam your hand on the podium, but show me some evidence. Show me the facts."

Saris referenced L.A. County Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson's closing statements from Monday morning in which he twice dramatically slammed his hand on the podium, once for the execution-style killing of each victim - Thompson, 59, and his wife, Trudy, 41. The couple were gunned down in the driveway of their Bradbury home March 16, 1988.

Goodwin has been in jail without bail since his 2001 arrest. Police say Goodwin orchestrated the double homicide but was not present for it. The two assailants rode away on bicycles the day of the crime and have not been found.

After a six-week trial, the prosecution summed up its arguments Monday, claiming that Goodwin's fragile ego burst into rage when Thompson won a nearly $800,000 settlement against him in a business partnership gone bad. Jackson said Goodwin's "frustration culminated in a plan and that plan reached its zenith on March 16, 1988."

As he spoke, Jackson displayed photos of both bodies, crumpled on the ground and surrounded by bright red pools of blood.

The prosecution's theory, backed by the testimony of a then 14-year-old neighbor, Allison Triarsi, is that Mickey Thompson was forced to watch his wife's slaying.

Worse than that, Jackson said Monday, Thompson knew who was the messenger of the fatal blows.

After reviewing the many hateful comments and death threats Goodwin directed at Thompson when speaking to different people, Jackson relayed the most ominous one.

"I'm going to hurt you,"' Jackson said, quoting a witness who allegedly overheard Goodwin making this statement to Thompson. "I'm going to hurt your family."'

Jackson then noted the similarity between those words and Thompson's final words, which were heard by several neighbors: "Please don't hurt my wife. Please don't hurt my wife."

"Michael Goodwin essentially signed his name to this crime," Jackson concluded.

Saris argued Monday that the prosecution's arguments were not borne out of evidence, reminding the jury that the burden of proof in this case of purely circumstantial evidence was entirely the prosecution's.

"It is patently unfair for them to give you a myth and then ask you to find the truth," Saris said, saying that the crime had been "Hollywood-ized" over the years. "They want you to convict this man of murder. Why? Because someone has to pay."

Saris, who has claimed the murders were a robbery gone wrong, went through each witness one by one, attempting to show that they were following the "script" created by the prosecution. She claimed the prosecution simply disregarded any evidence that didn't prove itstheory in a case she has said was poorly investigated by the county Sheriff's Department.

"In 1988, they were investigating this case," she said. "In 1992, `95, `97, they were looking for evidence to convict Michael Goodwin."

At the end of her statements, Saris teared up, holding onto both of Goodwin's shoulders as he sat facing the jury.

"I'm asking you to do right by him," she said to the jury. "I'm trusting him to you."

Jurors will return at 9 a.m. today as the prosecution presents its rebuttal.

 

Closing arguments heard in Mickey Thompson case

Prosecutor says Michael Goodwin had the racing legend and his wife killed in vengeance.

By John Spano, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
john.spano@latimes.com

December 19, 2006

Racing legend Mickey Thompson was forced to watch his wife's murder before he, too, was shot in the head, a fact that clearly points to a vengeful killer, a prosecutor said in closing arguments Monday.

The man on trial for the 1988 killings, Michael Goodwin, a motor sports rival whose business had been destroyed in a bitter dispute, listened intently in the Pasadena courtroom.

Goodwin did not testify in the seven-week double-murder trial. The 1988 slaying of Thompson and his wife, Trudy, is one of Southern California's longest-running murder cases.

"That evidence alone suggests Michael Goodwin is guilty. That evidence alone suggests the ominous nature of this crime," said Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Jackson.

"If Mickey Thompson was forced to watch his wife die, this was the most personal, the most brutal attack," Jackson said.

Goodwin's lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Elena Saris, countered by attacking an investigation that failed to test for DNA, that produced eyewitnesses many years after the events, and was overtaken and hopelessly obscured by repeated Hollywood treatments.

"Call him a jerk, call him an egomaniac, call him a braggart, but prove what you're alleging, rather than arouse passion and prejudice against this man," Saris said, challenging prosecutors.

"They have no killers, no plan, no meeting, no weapon, no phone calls, no payout, nothing," she said. "The only physical evidence from the scene is DNA that does not match Michael Goodwin."

Jackson listed a dozen witnesses who testified to the animosity between Goodwin, who has been jailed for five years awaiting trial, and Thompson, the first man to exceed 400 mph on land.

The trial narrowed to a critique of the breadth of the investigation and whether the evidence supported theories that the Thompsons were the victims of a robbery or an assassination.

They were found slain in the driveway of their estate in the gated community of Bradbury.

"To say this is anything other than a perfectly planned, perfectly orchestrated, perfectly choreographed execution does violence to logic, folks," Jackson told jurors.

Saris pointed out blunders that the killers — who were never identified — made on March 16, 1988.

"This is not what proof beyond a reasonable doubt looks like in a murder case," she said. "This was a 17-year hunt for proof against Michael Goodwin."

The courtroom of Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz was standing-room only Monday.

The trial has been covered by an array of national media organizations.

Closing arguments continue today with rebuttals.