March 1, 2007

Former Business Partner Goes to Prison for Life for Mickey Thompson Murders

PASADENA – Saying the “weight of this evidence was overwhelming,” a Pasadena judge today denied racing legend Mickey Thompson’s former business partner’s motion for a new trial and sentenced him to two consecutive life-without-parole terms for the murders of Thompson and his wife 19 years ago.

Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz also denied a defense motion that claimed Michael Frank Goodwin, 62, was denied due process because of the length of time that passed between the Thompson murders on March 16, 1988, and his arrest on Dec. 13, 2001. He was first charged with murder in Orange County, but the case was dismissed by the California State Court of Appeal. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Goodwin with the murders on June 8, 2004.

Thompson, 59, and his 41-year-old wife, Trudy, were gunned down outside their home in the hillside San Gabriel Valley community of Bradbury as they left for work early in the morning of March 16, 1988. The killers rode bicycles and escaped. Neither has been found.

In a victim impact statement prior to sentencing, Collene Campbell, Thompson’s sister, held a framed photo of her brother, his wife and their dog Punkie that was taken before the murders. The photo was shown the jury at trial.

“That picture was so much fun to take that day,” Campbell said. She said it is hard for her to look at the photo now because, “just a couple of yards away was where the bodies of Mickey and Trudy were lying with their blood running down the driveway.”

“Michael Goodwin is a coward and a bully who hired and arranged for shooters to kill Mickey and Trudy, all for his self-indulgence, greed and to accomplish his desired sinful plan,” she added. Campbell asked that the maximum sentences for each of murders run concurrently.

Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson, who with Head Deputy District Attorney Patrick Dixon prosecuted the case, also asked for the consecutive sentences.

Goodwin’s attorney said they planned immediate appeal. And Goodwin, in a statement prior to sentencing, told the judge, “This may be a never-ending story because I will not let this go until the day I die.”

In ruling that Goodwin’s right to due process was not violated because of the time that lapsed between the murders in 1988 and his arrest in December 2001, the judge noted the case was first filed in Orange County, but the state Court of Appeal threw the case out on grounds the crimes occurred in Los Angeles County. By that time, she said, new evidence had been obtained.

“The appellate court practically begged Los Angeles to take another look at this case,” Schwartz said. The case against Goodwin was filed in Los Angeles in June 2004.

Dixon and Jackson contended during the trial that Goodwin hired hit men to kill the Thompsons because of a business dispute that ended with a nearly $800,000 judgment against Goodwin.

Thompson, a racing promoter and successful businessman known as the “Speed King” for breaking the 400 mph record at Bonneville Salt Flats, had wanted to spend more time with his wife. In the early 1980s, he went into business with Goodwin, a motocross promoter. The partnership went sour within months. Thompson sued Goodwin for money he said was stolen by his partner. The courts upheld Thompson and rejected a countersuit by Goodwin.

Evidence at the trial was that Goodwin said he never would pay a dime to Thompson. Campbell noted in her statement that he never has.

Prosecutors presented evidence that revenge was the motive. They presented witness after witness who told of Goodwin’s threats to kill Thompson. They presented evidence that Trudy Thompson was murdered while her husband watched helpless, pleading with the killers to let her live.

“This was a circumstantial evidence case without the direct evidence to connect Mr. Goodwin,” Schwartz said in denying the motion for a new trial. “But the circumstantial evidence was overwhelming.”