Mickey Thompson murder trial update

Wed, Aug. 16, 2006

18 years later, trial will address Mickey Thompson murder mystery
LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press

PASADENA, Calif. - Eighteen years after racer Mickey Thompson and his wife Trudy were gunned down outside their house, prosecutors are preparing to try the man they say holds the secret to the murders.

But first the lawyer for defendant Michael Goodwin, who has pleaded not guilty, demanded on Wednesday that DNA testing be done on a victim's fingernails.

Deputy Public Defender Elena Saris said that Goodwin, 61, does not want his trial delayed any further. But she acknowledged that DNA testing on the fingernails of Trudy Thompson could take six to eight weeks.

Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson, who also is pressing for the trial to begin, said he would join in asking DNA testing labs to move speedily.

"The people had it for 18 years and they didn't test it," Saris told Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz. "If the prosecution is interested in prosecuting the actual shooters in this case, they would want a better look at the evidence."

Jackson said this was the first request for DNA testing and he was unwilling to release the evidence to the defense. However he said it could be tested by a qualified laboratory acceptable to both sides. The judge approved the plan.

Outside court, Saris said, "This wasn't tested because they didn't want to find out who did this. If they were looking at this from a cold-case perspective, the first thing they would have done is test the DNA."

Saris acknowledged there was no such thing as DNA testing available when the crime occurred.

Jackson called her remarks "defense propaganda" and said, "The ultimate goal of any investigation is to find out who did it."

He noted that the two killers have never been found or identified. Prosecutors allege that Goodwin hired them to kill the Thompsons because of a business dispute.

"It's absurd to think we can take DNA from the crime scene and compare it to a phantom killer," Jackson said.

Thompson, 59, was the first person to travel more than 400 mph on land. He also built and drove racing's first slingshot dragster and set nearly 500 speed and endurance records.

He and his 41-year-old wife were leaving for work when they were shot outside their home in the gated, eastern Los Angeles County community of Bradbury by two men who fled on bicycles.

Goodwin, once known as the "Father of Supercross" for his 1980s dirt bike competitions at Anaheim Stadium, was Thompson's partner before a bitter breakup and a $514,000 court judgment in Thompson's favor. He was long considered a suspect in the killings.

Authorities spent more than a decade piecing together the case against Goodwin, who was first arrested in August 2001, placed in a lineup and released a day later without charges. But in December of that year he was arrested again and charged with the murders in Orange County, where he resided.

In 2004, the case was moved to Los Angeles County after an appeals court ruled that Orange County lacked jurisdiction.

Attorneys had alleged the murders were planned in Orange County, where Goodwin lived, so they could be prosecuted in that county.

Los Angeles County prosecutors decided not to seek the death penalty. If convicted, Goodwin could face life in prison without parole.

The judge set another hearing for Aug. 30 on Goodwin's complaints that he is not receiving adequate medical care for a number of physical ailments. She said she does not want a trial interrupted if Goodwin becomes ill.

Seated in the audience at the hearing was Thompson's sister, Colleen Campbell, a victims' advocate and former mayor of San Juan Capistrano, who said outside court she hopes that the trial will begin at last in September.

The trial is set to start Sept. 21 at the county courthouse in Pasadena.

 

Hey thanks for the update. I was just reading about him the other day and was wondering if they ever caught the bastards.

 

No, but a lot of people think they captured the guy that hired them.

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

 

I hope they catch whoever did it and he/she/they fry...bastards...

 

Thanks for the update.

 

I'd like to see that finished up as well.
The reporter was a bit overzelous with the allocades however -- Cook & Bedwell ran the first slingshot dragster .

 

I remember seeing this case on Unsolved Mysteries way-back when. I hope they finally catch those responsible.

 

thanks for the info how can something that big take so long if they know that this guy planned and got some body to do it ????? the justice system i guess.

 

I realize this is what they're now calling "The CSI Effect," but how the hell could they NOT test any DNA found at the scene, under her nails or anywhere else?
No, they didn't have the capability 18 years ago, but a lot has happened between now and then. You've got to think that the guys who did the shooting haven't kept squeeky clean over the last two decades, which means their DNA is probably already on file somewhere. In a "scripted" world, doesn't it seem like maybe they'd have run the DNA, and if it matched anybody then they could take that person in for questioning, which would have bolstered their case against the guy they have in custody now?

Again, this is all opinion based on watching TV shows and what I think is common sense, but still, it seems like the legal beagles out there might have dropped the ball. Or at least bobbled it a bit.
-Brad

 

Just bringing this one back up for those who may have missed it.

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

 

As I recall the reports stated someone on a bicycle rode up to them with an automatic weapon. So DNA under a fingernail seems crazy???? The ex business partner was a no brainer . WAsn't this also on "Sixty Minutes" a few years back?

 

Long live Mickey... may the other bastards fry in hell

 

I was kinda thinking the same thing about DNA unless they were beaten to death with the weapon why would we expect to find DNA evidence under the nails of the victim. Unless of course we're talking the worlds dummest hitman.

As for the business partner being to blame that would be pretty hard to prove without the person that was hired. Basically most crimes are solved by accident, someone tells on someone else or someone braggs to someone else who then tells. its just not like CSI or NCIS where they get a whole lot of the worlds smartest people together and shazaaam a bit of cell matter found on a rope and you're it.

Now back on track I too would like to see the guilty party or parties caught and recieve their just rewards. Has nothing to do with Mickey Thomsons accomplishments him and his lady were people and someone took their lives.

 

thanks for the update

 

They don't fry people in California, they'll delay his case until he's dead of old age, or convict him, give him counceling for 6 months, then let him go free to make room for some kid they caught with a joint.

 

All too freaking true.

 

Thanks for the update Dave.

 

The whole shooting went down as the Thompson's were leaving the house. It has been suspected that 2 men rode up on bicycles and shot each person as there were 2 men on mountain style bikes seen both before and after the shooting riding in the area. Each of the Thompson's were shot a total of 10 times with .22 caliber weapons. At the time that this shooting happened the military was using Ruger .22 caliber semi-automatic pistols with silencers for their special operations units. These pistols have a magazine capacity of 10 rounds. Since none of the surrounding neighbors heard shooting it has been widely thought that the weapons were of the same type.
Michael Goodwin had some sort of falling out with Mickey prior to the shooting but I don't think that it was ever publicly described. Goodwin must have been able to account for his whereabouts at the time of the shooting as he would have been closely looked at. That leaves hired help doing the work. If Goodwin doesn't talk, and he has millions of reasons not to, and the hired help were truly pros there is little or nothing to pin down to make a case.

 

Thanks for the update. I have always thought the life (and tragic death) of Mickey Thompson would make a great movie. Enough of you HAMBers have Hollywood connections-go make it happen!

 

I lived in LA at the time of this ...And wasn't just the 500k that hurt Goodwin it was a the fact that the actions of Thompson put him outta business and took his livelyhood..I think the scumbag did it (paid) I hope his ass rots in the poky..and they find the triggermen also.....

 

I seem to remember hearing that a movie about the Mickster was in the works. Maybe they're waiting for the end of the trial?

 

Goodwin trial judge OKs testing

Victims' fingernail clippings to be studied

By Molly R. Okeon, Staff Writer, Whittier Daily News

PASADENA - A judge agreed Wednesday to allow the defense for Michael Frank Goodwin, the man accused of orchestrating the 1988 murders of auto racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife, to test fingernail clippings taken from the couple at the scene of the crime.

Goodwin, 61, a former business partner of Thompson's, is accused in the deaths of Thompson, 59, and his wife Trudy, 41, who were gunned down in the driveway of their Bradbury home on March 16, 1988. Goodwin was arrested in 2001 and has been held without bail since then.

While prosecutors would not release the clippings to the defense, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson agreed to work with the defense on finding a third-party laboratory to conduct short-tandem repeat testing, a specialized form of DNA analysis.

L.A. County Public Defender Elena Saris said she found a manila envelope that contained the clippings still sealed from 18 years ago at the L.A. County Sheriff's Department while looking for other evidence on Aug. 2.

She said she believes that, if Thompson or his wife had contact with their assailants, there could be genetic material from the killers under their fingernails.

"I don't trust any of the work that was done by any of the people who did the crime scene," said Saris, who has contended that the Sheriff's Department ignored any evidence that pointed away from her client.

However Jackson called the DNA testing "much ado about nothing" since "there is no evidence that ever came in contact with the killers."

Two men were seen riding away from the crime scene on bicycles, and officials have assumed they were hired trigger-men.

He added that, because the shooters were never located, there was and still is nothing to compare against any DNA that might be found in the fingernail clippings.

"The defense is making a huge deal ... they want to try most of their case in the press," he said. "They're telling you, `Look at the naughty, naughty investigative team, they didn't do their job 18 years ago."'

Noting that the defense has had Goodwin's case for two years, Jackson pondered, "Why are they waiting until the 11th hour to test?"

Trial is expected to begin in late September or early October, Pasadena Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz said in court Wednesday.

 

Anyone with REAL news about this please post. I don't think we need the comments about how the scum should get their due, that's a no brainer. It's way too long for Micky, Trudy and Micky's long suffering sister to recieve some closure to this tragic case.

Frank

 

406.6 MPH will always be a magic number.....

 

Judge allows sister to stay in court for Thompson trial

By Molly R. Okeon
Staff Writer, Pasadena Star-News

Article Launched:10/07/2006

PASADENA - Collene Campbell, the only sibling of slain auto racing legend Mickey Thompson, will be allowed to hear witnesses testify in the murder trial of her brother, a judge decided Friday.

The only exception is that Campbell will not be able to listen to the testimony of the case's original investigator, retired Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Michael Griggs.

Michael Frank Goodwin, 61, a former business partner of Thompson's, is accused of orchestrating the slayings of Thompson, 59, and his wife Trudy, 41. The couple were gunned down execution-style in the driveway of their Bradbury home March 16, 1988 by two men who rode away on bicycles.

The killers were never apprehended. Goodwin has been held without bail since his 2001 arrest.

The defense has contended that the Sheriff's Department targeted Goodwin from the start of the investigation and never properly followed up leads to other suspects.

Friday, Los Angeles County Deputy Public Defender Elena Saris argued to exclude Campbell from the courtroom during other witnesses's testimony, saying Campbell was "intimately involved" in the original investigation.

Saris noted that Campbell offered a $1 million reward via CBS television's "48 Hours" show and hired private investigators to work the case. Saris pointed to a memo found in Griggs' retirement file that indicated Campbell wanted Griggs to use information gathered by her investigators that could not have legally been obtained by police.

"Mrs. Campbell is willing to go outside the law if she thinks the ends justifies the means," Saris said.

Saris added that she believed Campbell's presence in the courtroom would influence family friends of Campbell's who were testifying.

Attorney Steve Twist, a well-known victims-rights advocate in Arizona, appeared in court on Campbell's behalf. He argued that Saris' assertions about Campbell, who he noted was defined by law as a crime victim in this case, fell "far short" of the legal requirement the defense must meet to exclude a victim.

He explained that, in the case of a crime victim, the defense must prove that there is a "substantial probability of the violation of the defendant's fair trial rights" before that person can be excluded from the trial.

Pasadena Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz agreed, saying Saris had only made a proper showing of why Campbell should be excluded during Griggs' testimony.

"If Mrs. Campbell were not a crime victim ... this would be a 30-second conversation," Schwartz said. "But this is not a discretionary call; this statute ties my hands."Outside the courtroom, Campbell said she was saddened by the day's hearing.

"This is my brother's murder trial, and they're having to focus on whether witnesses are going to lie if I'm in the courtroom," she said, her voice shaking. "It's an insult to good people, and it's an insult to me."

The next hearing will take place at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Pasadena Superior Court, 300E. Walnut St., Department E. Jury selection is expected to begin the week of Oct. 16.

[email protected]

(626) 578-6300, Ext. 4496

 

Defense Loses Ruling in Thompson Murder Trial

By John Spano, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
[email protected]

October 17, 2006

Rejecting a key defense claim, a judge said Monday that lawyers cannot argue that racing promoter Mickey Thompson was shot to death because he planned to testify against the man who killed his nephew.

The ruling by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz came as both sides geared up to pick a jury in the 18-year-old murder mystery of the man who first broke the 400-mph land speed barrier.

Thompson was not only a record holder, but became a millionaire by promoting auto, boat, off-road and drag racing. He and his wife, Trudy, were slain March 16, 1988, at their mansion in Bradbury by two men who escaped on bicycles.

Facing trial is Michael Goodwin, once Thompson's business partner and another motor sports racing pioneer. He is accused of ordering Thompson's death after he lost a bitter business dispute with him and went bankrupt.

Goodwin has pleaded not guilty. There is no physical evidence from the crime scene, and the two men suspected of shooting Thompson and his wife have never been arrested.

Deputy Public Defender Elena Saris argued Monday that Thompson was killed because of his testimony against the man convicted of murdering his nephew. Scott Campbell was thrown out of an airplane over the Pacific Ocean in 1982, and his body was never recovered. Larry Cowell was convicted of murdering him over a drug deal and is serving a life term in prison.

Thompson provided testimony that undercut Cowell's alibi at his first trial; Thompson was killed before he could testify at a retrial, ordered after an appeals court ruled that Cowell's confession had been coerced.

Saris suggested that the slayings were committed by two hit men convicted of two other contract murders within weeks of the Thompson slayings.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Alan Jackson called Saris' scenario "weak, thin and bogus."

Jury selection is set to begin today at the Pasadena courthouse. The trial is expected to last until Christmas.

 

thanks for the update

 

I appreciate the updates.......keepthem coming.

 

Thank you for the updates

 

The article below is well worth reading.

Dave
http://www.roadsters.com/

Murder On the Last Turn

By PAUL CIOTTI
Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Mickey Thompson was a renowned race-car driver and promoter. Mike Goodwin was the brash, egocentric creator of motocross. They became business partners. Then all hell broke loose.

http://www.laweekly.com/general/features/murder-on-the-last-turn/14781/