Mickey Thompson murder trial update

Wow, what a great read that was Dave. Really gave a lot of details I'd never heard before and gave a well written history of the whole relationship from "the old days" up to today. Sure will be interesting to see how this turns out.

Thanks for the link,

Dennis

 

Yes, the writer did an excellent job of researching and writing the Mickey Thompson story.

Anyone who hasn't read it yet might want to check it out.

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

 

Thanks for posting the updates...

My In-Laws were pretty close to the Thompsons and this is about the only place I get updates to share with them....

 

Long read, but well worth it!!!! Thanks.........OLDBEET

 

Mickey Thompson Trial to Choose Alternate Jurors

KTLA News

November 1, 2006, 6:30 AM PST

Prosecutors and defense attorneys will try to choose six alternate jurors Wednesday for the murder trial of a man accused of orchestrating the slayings of auto racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife at their Bradbury home more than 18 years ago.

A 12-person jury was sworn in Tuesday. Once the alternates are selected, opening statements will begin in the trial of Michael Goodwin, Mickey Thompson's onetime business partner who has been jailed without bail since his December 2001 arrest in Orange County.

Prosecutors said opening statements could begin as early as tomorrow morning.

Goodwin is charged with two counts of murder, along with the special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and multiple murder, for the March 16, 1988, shooting deaths of the 59-year-old off-road racing legend-turned- promoter and his 41-year-old wife, Trudy.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty for the 61-year-old defendant, who faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

In preparation for jury selection, prospective jurors underwent hardship screening to determine which of them would be able to serve on a lengthy trial. Goodwin's trial is expected to last from two to three months.

Goodwin is accused of having the couple killed outside their home in the gated San Gabriel foothills community east of Monrovia after a business dispute stemming from the 1984 merger of their companies was resolved in Thompson's favor. The judgment against the racing and onetime concert promoter amounted to nearly $750,000.

The two killers who gunned down Thompson and his wife in their driveway escaped on 10-speed bicycles and were never identified. Described as black men in their 20s, the gunmen wore dark, hooded jogging suits and hid in some shrubbery until the couple emerged about 6 a.m. to go to work at the Anaheim Stadium offices of Mickey Thompson Entertainment Group.

The case against Goodwin was originally brought by prosecutors in Santa Ana, who had argued that the murders were planned in Orange County, where Goodwin lived. However, an appellate court panel found that Orange County lacked jurisdiction to prosecute, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office filed its case against Goodwin in June 2004.

Goodwin's lawyer, public defender Elena Saris, has argued the prosecution has "no evidence whatsoever" linking her client to the murders, other than the word of several people who claim to have heard him threaten Thompson years ago.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Mark Lillienfeld, the lead investigator on the case since 1997, acknowledged in a recent interview with an LA Weekly writer that he's "had stronger cases, that's for sure." However, he said all the circumstantial evidence he has gathered points to Goodwin.

"Ray Charles or Helen Keller could figure this one out," he told the LA Weekly. "This is not a difficult case."

Pasadena Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz last year refused to dismiss the case, ruling there was "ample evidence to hold the defendant to answer" to the charges.

Thompson was the first person to break the 400 mph sound barrier at the Bonneville Salt Flats and was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1990.

Copyright © 2006, KTLA

http://ktla.trb.com/news/ktla-mickeythompson,0,995658.story?coll=ktla-news-1

 

I don't want to call BS but I can't believe that you can hold someone for 5 years without a trial.
For the record I've been wrong before "I thought O.J. Simpson was Guilty"
I've always thought you were inocent till proven guilty (by the press) in America. I guess times change. I do know that Mickey pissed alot of people off.
I used to deliver the L.A. Times in Monrovia and Bradbury in the 60's and at the time if I saw two Black guys on bicycles in Bradbury Estates I would have figured they were guilty too!

 

In the immortal words of Steve Zissou; "It's printed in the paper... I assume they varify these things."

Not implying that it's false...

I just am not sure where the idea the whole thing is BS could come from.

Like one of those "NASA didn't go to the moon, man. It was all filmed top secret so even the ASTRONAUTS didn't know what was going on..." deals?

 

I think if there is substantial probability that you'll flee, they can hold you without bond. Sounds like he's gotten some issues if he's got a public defender that is waiting until just before the trial to urge for DNA testing of someone who was shot. Last time I shot anything, the only time I touched it was when I picked it up to throw it in the garbage (rat in the barn). I doubt you'd find much DNA on it of mine...

 

Thanks for sharing the Ciotti article, please keep us updated on the trial Dave!

 

Murder trial begins Monday

Article Launched:11/01/2006

PASADENA - Opening statements in the trial of Michael Frank Goodwin, the man accused of orchestrating the murders of auto racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife, will begin Monday at 10 a.m.

Goodwin, 61, a former business partner of Thompson's, is charged with the slayings of Thompson, 59, and his wife, Trudy, 41, who were gunned down execution-style in the driveway of their Bradbury home about 6 a.m. on March 16, 1988, allegedly by two men who rode away on bicycles.

The killers, described as African-American men in their 20s, were never apprehended. Goodwin has been held without bail since his 2001 arrest.

Pasadena Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz will preside over the 12 jurors and six alternates who were selected this week.

Goodwin is charged with two counts of murder, along with the special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and multiple murder, for the shooting deaths of the off-road racing legend-turned-promoter and his wife.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty for Goodwin, who faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. His trial is expected to last from two to three months.

Goodwin is accused of having the couple killed outside their home after a business dispute stemming from the 1984 merger of their companies was resolved in Thompson's favor. The judgment against Goodwin amounted to nearly $750,000.

The case against Goodwin was originally brought by prosecutors in Santa Ana, who had argued that the murders were planned in Orange County, where Goodwin lived. However, an appellate court panel found that Orange County lacked jurisdiction to prosecute, and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office filed its case against Goodwin in June 2004.

Goodwin's lawyer, public defender Elena Saris, has argued the prosecution has "no evidence whatsoever" linking her client to the murders, other than the word of several people who claim to have heard him threaten Thompson years ago.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Mark Lillienfeld, the lead investigator on the case since 1997, acknowledged in media reports that he's "had stronger cases, that's for sure." However, he said all the circumstantial evidence he has gathered points to Goodwin.

Judge Schwartz last year refused to dismiss the case, ruling there was "ample evidence to hold the defendant to answer" to the charges.

Thompson was the first person to break the 400 mph sound barrier at the Bonneville Salt Flats, and was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1990.

Trial will take place in Pasadena Superior Court, 300 E. Walnut St., Dept. E.

City News Service contributed to this report.

 

i don't think there is any BS .the guy is being charged with the murder of TWO people. during the OJ trial he was held without bail....at the time all the news shows commented MANY times that california law is that a defendent charged with the murder of two people can not get bail

 

friends,family and i have been monitoring this since 1988.
here are some FACTS as well as theories not previously mentioned.

facts:

prior to the murders and soon after the law suit, goodwin talked with an associate who was vice president of the angels stadium . goodwin told this man (who was a retired police seargent) "mickey's gonna take me for everything i've got" . the VP commented and said.."yeah, but what are ya goona do".....goodwin replied..."i'll take him out"!

goodwin was seen in the bradbury estates neighborhood a week or two prior to the murder.

soon after the murders goodwin fled to haiti and stayed there for a year.

goodwin's beautiful blonde model wife left him soon after the murders. prior to the incident they had a very good marriage.

trudy thompson had over $75,000 in cash & jewelry on her at the time of the murders yet nothing was taken.

a father and daughter (neighbors) did see the murder take place. the two black men were indeed dressed in dark hooded clothing. ~ not to be graffic but trudy was shot first and mickey begged the shooters to "please,....do me...but not my wife" there was no reply...no emmotion,and soon after finished off.



theories:

the hitmen rode off and were met by someone in a van.

these hit men were haitian and met up with goodwin there.

are the hitmen still alive or are they wearing cement shoes?



there are many more facts & theories than what i mentioned but these were just some of the things i know and speculate.
if you took one or two of these things there wouldn't be much but when you add everything up together it doesn't look good at all. we'll see what the near future holds for goodwin.

 

I'd really like to share my story about this,but I need to wait til I get home to go over the papers & get the dates correct.

I will tell you that Lead Detective Mark Lillienfeld was in my garage about 9 yrs ago,discussing this case with me(for about an hour).
My dad & Mickey were tight until the end.
Stay tuned.

 

fuelroadster i cant wait to hear more about this.

i am friends with legendary pontiac drag racer jess tyree. he told me that when mickey was murdered the FBI went to his home to ask questions. apparently mickey had a piece of paper that said "tyree" with a phone number in his wallet or pocket. i know, the FBI were following all leads and just doing thier jobs but could you emagine getting the knock on your door!?!?

 

I'll post up a little story tomorrow-8-3-06,,Im trying to figure out a way to make it little(er) & I will,,,,dont have to work tomorrow.
In the meantime,chase this link & email these guys that this case should be Televised.

HAMBer 'em boys ,do M/T & the world right.
Thanks,Troy

http://www.courttv.com/contact/

 

Money=Evil

 

Not true. Not by a long shot. Making the love of money the most important thing in your life (whether you aquire it or not) is what is evil. IMO

 

There's still no indication that Court TV will televise the trial, but here's a new mention of it:

Trial to open for man accused of killing racing legend Mickey Thompson

By Tori Richards
Special to Court TV

Pasadena, Calif. — It has been 18 years since American racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife Trudy were murdered in the driveway of their Bradbury, Calif., home by two hooded gunmen who escaped on bicycles.

The case has produced hundreds of thousands of clues and enough paperwork to fill a 40-foot moving van. Many suspects were investigated before one was accused: Michael Goodwin, a flamboyant motocross promoter who lived for racing, women and money.

On Monday, prosecutors will deliver their opening statements in Goodwin's murder trial and allege that he ordered the killings as retribution for a failed business deal with Thompson.

The trial is expected to last until Christmas and includes witnesses who are scattered around the globe. In the time since the murders, several witnesses have died or were stricken with debilitating illnesses, and some have different recollections of what happened nearly two decades ago.

Goodwin, 61, vehemently denies any part in the murders and at times has waged a public relations campaign against prosecutors and detectives for what he has termed a witch hunt to solve the high-profile case.

He faces life in prison if convicted.

A bitter dispute

Thompson was a hero in his day. He set 395 different speed records; one of them was 406 miles per hour in the Utah desert, a world record in 1960. Always looking for the next great thing, he met Goodwin at a motocross event, and the pair decided to go into business together to bring outdoor racing indoors.

The relationship was tumultuous from the start, and within months, lawyers got involved. The two sued each other over control and financing of their company, and when all the appeals were finally complete in early 1988, Goodwin was ordered to pay $514,388. Months later, the Thompsons were dead.

Several people saw two black gunmen furiously pedal away from the Thompsons' estate, and one family actually witnessed the killing. The Triarsi family, who lived across the street and up on a hill, were awakened by gunshots and saw a wounded Mickey at the top of the driveway pleading, "Please don't kill my wife!"

Trudy was 50 feet away near the street and was shot in the head by one gunman as her husband watched. Mickey was next, with a similar shot.

The gunmen were never identified or caught.

Almost immediately, reports of the Goodwin-Thompson dispute surfaced. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department had no shortage of witnesses claiming they had heard Goodwin threaten to kill Thompson over their failed business merger and the lawsuit that followed.

"Fucking Thompson is killing me," businessman William Wilson recalled Goodwin saying. He testified about that in a preliminary hearing. "He's destroying me. He's taking everything I've got. I'm going to take him out."

The case went through three lead detectives and several supporting detectives before settling on a third: Mark Lillienfeld, who has fought for 11 years to bring the case to trial.

During that period, Lillienfeld reinvestigated everything that was done by his predecessors and came up with additional evidence after obtaining television coverage with "America's Most Wanted" and "Unsolved Mysteries."

Lillienfeld and partner Mike Robinson looked at Joey Hunter, a young blond man who was found with a bicycle a few miles from the crime and was said to look like a composite of one of the shooters. Detectives looked at an organized crime connection in Las Vegas and Thompson's possible relationship with a strip-club promoter in Los Angeles, who was also gunned down in an execution-style slaying in front of his house.

The detectives say they ran down thousands of leads, from psychics to informants to old Goodwin-Thompson acquaintances who surfaced after the media coverage. Lillienfeld filed charges against Goodwin in neighboring Orange County, where Goodwin lived, because prosecutors say he plotted the killings there. The case stalled before trial in 2004 as a state appellate court ruled that no evidence existed to show that the murder was planned in Orange County, and the proper jurisdiction was Los Angeles County.

Los Angeles County filed charges of its own as a new round of attorneys was brought on the case. During the past year, attorneys fought constantly over discovery and the admissibility of evidence and witness statements.

"Michael is looking forward to the truth finally coming out," said his attorney, Los Angeles County Deputy Public Defender Elena Saris. "He's been in jail five years without bail for a crime he didn't commit. He is confident that when the jury hears the truth, he will be acquitted."

http://www.courttv.com/trials/goodwin_michael/110306_background_ctv.html

 

I learned a very hard lesson recently, you hear the term "justice system" used a lot, there is NO such thing, only a Legal system, and I believe that Lawyers have twisted it to the point that if a person wants justice, they'll have to take it into their own hands.

 

fuel~roadster, i still hope you plan on sharing your story.

 

Today on CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/11/06/mickey.thompson/index.html

 

It's ironic that a man who set land speed records was shot by guys who rode up on bycyles. In fact, it's so ironic that it makes me think it was intentional. I just hope they get the bastard who hired this hit -

 

Mickey Thompson murder case under way nearly 19 years later

Linda Deutsch
Associated Press

Pasadena, Calif. - Nearly 19 years after Mickey Thompson and his wife were slain, three witnesses testified Monday that a former business partner made threatening remarks about the racing legend just weeks or months before the couple was gunned down by killers who escaped on bicycles.

The testimony against Michael Frank Goodwin came after a prosecutor told jurors it was a professional hit engineered to make Thompson see his wife killed before a bullet was fired into his brain.

"As he was shot, over and over the mantra he repeated was the same, 'Please don't hurt my wife,'" Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson said, quoting neighbors who heard the couple's cries.

Thompson had won a $793,000 judgment against Goodwin in a lawsuit and after legal wrangling Goodwin had been forced to declare bankruptcy, Jackson said in outlining a circumstantial case.

Goodwin's public defender, Elena Saris, countered in her opening that there is no forensic evidence, no murder weapon, no proof of a payout to anyone or a money drop to pay assassins.

"This is the story of a botched investigation and a Hollywood series of events based on false assumptions," she said.

Thompson, who was 59 when he died in 1988, competed in numerous auto sports and was the first person to travel more than 400 mph on land. He was inducted posthumously into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

The 61-year-old Goodwin, whose fame was in staging Supercross motorcycle races, is charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances and faces life in prison if convicted. His prosecution came about after years of pressure by Thompson's sister, Collene Campbell.

Saris told jurors that most prosecution witnesses emerged after they saw TV shows about the case and learned there were large rewards. She acknowledged that the prosecution's first witness didn't fit that profile.

Bill Wilson, a former police commander and later manager of the Rose Bowl and Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, testified that he and his wife hosted a dinner party for Goodwin and his wife a little more than a month before the killings. Wilson said it was he who had introduced the two men and suggested they do business together.

Wilson said he knew there were problems between the two but was stunned when Goodwin told him: "Thompson is killing me. He's destroying me. He's taking everything I've got. I'm gonna take him out."

Wilson said he replied, "Nobody wins that one. Mickey's dead and you're in prison."

Wilson said he was upset.

"I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He was going to kill a friend of mine," he testified.

Wilson said before the conversation ended Goodwin looked at him and said, "You know I'm just kidding. I couldn't do anything like that."

Asked if he believed Goodwin's comments, Wilson said, "Nothing led me to believe the defendant was making a joke."

Wilson's wife, Nina, gave a similar account of the conversation. She said that when Wilson told Goodwin he would go to jail, Goodwin responded, "Oh no, I'm too smart for that. Nobody will pin it on me."

Neither of the Wilsons said they reported anything to police after the dinner.

The third witness, Karen Dragutin, testified that some months before the murder she encountered Goodwin at dinner with a friend and she joined them.

"They started talking about the lawsuits and problems with lawyers," Dragutin said.

She said Goodwin's attitude became "cocky and arrogant and he was pretty mad. I remember them talking about Mickey Thompson."

She testified that Goodwin "made a statement somewhere along the line that the only way to get out of the mess was to take care of Mickey Thompson."

On further questioning she added that Goodwin said "the only way he was going to get out of it was if Mickey Thompson died."

Dragutin, who said he also talked of getting a boat and going to Bermuda, testified she did not contact police until she saw the case on the TV show "Unsolved Mysteries" and "thought that what I had heard was relevant."

She said she called a hot line, a detective came to interview her and she picked Goodwin out of a photo lineup. She said she also called after a "48 Hours" show and the lead officer on the case called and took information.

On cross-examination, Dragutin said she couldn't remember if there were large rewards offered in the case.

During the prosecution's opening, Jackson showed pictures of the couple lying in pools of blood in their driveway.

"Although they died March 16, 1988, their demise started four years earlier when they went into business with Michael Goodwin," Jackson said.

The prosecutor said Thompson, who was known for staging Motocross races, went into business with Goodwin because he felt it was time to cut back on his grueling schedule.

But Thompson realized he was being cheated by his new partner and began filing "crushing" lawsuits that led Goodwin to develop a "vendetta," Jackson said.

Jackson alleged Goodwin hired two hit men to go to the Thompsons' house in the gated Los Angeles suburb of Bradbury, which he had scoped out beforehand, to shoot them and escape on a bicycle route.

"It was a professional execution," Jackson said.

Jackson said he will call neighbors who came forward years after the killing to say that they saw a man resembling Goodwin checking out the bicycle path with binoculars days before the killings.

Shortly after the killings, he said, Goodwin liquidated assets, sold his home, transferred money to an account in the Caribbean and bought a $400,000 yacht on which he and his then-wife left the United States for three years.

Defense attorney Saris acknowledged harsh words were spoken between Goodwin and Thompson, but said that "folklore was generated by the media" which led witnesses to come forward.

She acknowledged her client had refused to pay the judgment Thompson won.

"You might not think of this as honorable behavior, she said, "but it is not evidence of murder."

She claimed the two men had reached a settlement days before the murders.

She also disputed the claim that Goodwin fled, saying he often flew back to California to take care of business, that police knew his whereabouts and his lawyers had offered to make him available.

 

Trial Starts in Deaths of Racer, Wife

By Linda Deutsch
AP Special Correspondent

Pasadena, Calif. (AP) - Legendary racer Mickey Thompson and his wife were gunned down nearly 19 years ago in a hit ordered by an embittered former business partner, a prosecutor told the jury Monday in a dramatic opening statement.

Revenge for expensive legal defeats motivated Michael Goodwin to arrange the killings, said prosecutor Alan Jackson, who showed jurors enlarged photographs from Thompson's celebrated career and of the couple lying in blood in their driveway.

The March 16, 1988, killings were engineered so Thompson, 59, would see his wife, Trudy, die before he was shot in the head, the prosecutor said.

"Over and over, the mantra he repeated was the same: 'Please don't hurt my wife,'" Jackson said, quoting neighbors who heard the couple's cries.

Goodwin, 61, is charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances and faces life in prison if convicted.

Public defender Elena Saris countered in her opening statement that there is no forensic evidence, no murder weapon, no proof of a payout to anyone.

"This is the story of a botched investigation and a Hollywood series of events based on false assumptions," Saris said.

Thompson competed in numerous auto sports and was the first person to travel more than 400 mph on land. He was inducted posthumously into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Goodwin's prosecution came about after years of pressure by Thompson's sister, Collene Campbell.

Jackson told the jury that Thompson, who was known for staging Motocross races, went into business at age 55 with Goodwin, who was involved with Supercross, the intense motorcycle races typically staged on stadium dirt courses featuring dramatic jumps.

"The evidence in this case will show that from day one Michael Goodwin had bad intentions," Jackson said, outlining a completely circumstantial case.

The prosecutor said Goodwin was once overheard "saying he was going to screw over Mickey Thompson. But he underestimated Mickey Thompson."

Jackson said Thompson wasn't highly educated but was brilliant.

"He was a Rhodes scholar in the school of hard knocks. He wasn't going to get screwed over," Jackson said.

Before long, Thompson realized he was being cheated and sued his new partner, Jackson said. Goodwin was ordered to repay more than $793,000 after a judge found that he had stolen more than $500,000, the prosecutor said.

Further lawsuits over the next two years forced Goodwin to declare bankruptcy, Jackson said.

"Michael Goodwin was suffering a pattern of losing he could not tolerate," the prosecutor said.

Jackson said a witness will tell how Goodwin once declared: "Before he sees a dime I'll have him wasted."

Goodwin hired two men to go to the Thompsons' house in the gated Los Angeles suburb of Bradbury, which he had scoped out beforehand, to shoot them and escape on bicycles, Jackson alleged.

Saris acknowledged harsh words were spoken between Goodwin and Thompson, but said "folklore was generated by the media," leading witnesses to come forward with unsubstantiated allegations.

Jackson said Goodwin's behavior before and after the killings was enough to prove guilt.

Shortly after the killings, Jackson said, Goodwin liquidated his assets, sold his home, transferred money to an offshore account in the Caribbean and bought a $400,000 yacht on which he and his then-wife left the U.S. for three years.

© 2006 The Associated Press.

 

Thank you for keeping this in front of us. I hope "Real Justice" will be served in this case.

 

RIGHT ON DUDE!!!

 

When it comes to the press, Isn't it guilty until proven innocent?

 

Run their Trial in TEXAS and we will fry his ass. Just my thoughts. I know it can not happen here, but sure wish they could.