Mickey Thompson, Trudy Thompson: Investigation Discovery To Air Murder Of California Race Car Driver Who Was Shot Dead, Allegedly By Michael Goodwin, On ‘Murder Book’
Mickey Thompson, the international race car driver who was gunned down, along with his wife, Trudy Thompson, almost 30 years ago, is the next story on Murder Book on Investigation Discovery. Inquisitr just brought you news that the popular documentary crime series will also feature the case of Barbara and Galan “Shorty” Lloyd in another episode.
In tonight’s Investigation Discovery Murder Book, which is entitled “Race To Justice,” family members, friends, and police investigators will give their take on the crime and how it impacted the lives of the victims’ surviving family members. It took law enforcement officials almost two decades before they could bring Michael Goodwin, Mickey Thompson’s business partner, to trial. Marion Lee “Mickey” Thompson’s son and sister stayed on top of police to bring justice to their family.
The tragic events occurred in March 1988. That’s when police dispatchers were called to a residence, where they found two bodies in the street. Both victims had been shot to death. Neighbors told them that they heard gunshots, and one neighbor stated that he heard Mickey Thompson’s screams. Witnesses say that the couple was shot dead by two hitmen described as black.
A photo sketch of the possible killers made news headlines as police searched for the killers’ identities. Unfortunately, they were never able to identify the killers. But, they were sure that these murders were done execution style, and that they were targeted specifically. Still, with no evidence, they had no one to arrest, and the case went cold.
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This angered Mickey Thompson’s sister, who absolutely adored her brother. The former detective had already solved her own son’s murder and was determined to bring her brother justice. Already married once before, Mickey Thompson had really gotten it right with Trudy, a former secretary for Hot Rod Magazine. A fact that can be substantiated by Mickey’s sister, Colleen, who describes them as a fun couple who really enjoyed life together. The tenacious race car king who set world records fell madly in love with Trudy,
Family members say that the tenacious race car king who set world records was a go-getter, someone most would describe as unstoppable. In short, Mickey Thompson had a successful marriage to Trudy Thompson and a successful life as a race car driver. But, investigators believed that his business partner, Michael Goodwin, was the man responsible for Mickey and Trudy’s demise.
Mickey Thompson’s sister, Colleen Campbell, also believed that it was Michael Goodwin who had hired the two hitmen. She reflected upon the many conversations that she had with her brother, Mickey, about Michael Goodwin stealing money from him and how he had received death threats. When Mickey and Trudy were found dead in the fatal shooting, Michael Goodwin seemed like a likely suspect.
However, Murder Book, will show you that it would take the police decades to bring Michael Goodwin to justice. By the time they had caught up with him, the loud-mouth businessman with a penchant for the fine things in life was reduced to living in a trailer. Although he was certain that the lack of a murder weapon and physical evidence would gain him his freedom, it turned out that he couldn’t have been more wrong, as a California jury still found him guilty of murder and sentenced to time in prison. He also lost his appeal, and according to an article in the OC Weekly, Michael Goodwin as actually relieved.
“Mike was actually relieved that the verdict was upheld. Strange as that may seem, there are several reasons: first, he had great trepidation about going back to the L.A. Jail where he spent 3 years. It is a violent place and it is our feeling there are interest out there that would benefit from Mike’s death. There are few places better for such interests to get that done than the L.A. Jail. Secondly, had the verdict been reversed by the appeal court, there is a chance that the D.A. would have re-filed, if, for no other reason than to delay the inevitable, Mike’s virtually assured exoneration.
“Third, if the verdict had not been affirmed, this would have been on a “technicality,” not hard evidence. By getting the evidence we now have heard by a court, Mike will be exonerated as innocent. Once this evidence comes out at any of the above hearings, there is little or no chance of the D.A. re-filing charges. The documentation that this was a wrongful conviction is now overwhelming.”
Michael Goodwin still maintains his innocence for the murders of Trudy Thompson and former hotrodder Mickey Thompson. Be sure to catch an all new Murder Book on Investigation Discovery tonight at 8 p.m. After the show, discuss the murder case using hashtag #MurderBook on social media.
[Image via Unsolved Mysteries/Facebook]
