awfulart
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Mickey Thompson - Baja Road Racing
Some of you may remember Mickey Thompson of Baja Road Racing fame among others. Mickey & his wife Trudy were murdered many years ago in
California. Thought some of you would be interested in the e mail I received from Collene, his younger sister.
Dear Friends, finally we are able to send you the following news:
Posted Jan. 4, 2007
Ex-associate guilty in murders of racer Mickey Thompson, wife
LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press
PASADENA, Calif. - Michael Goodwin, a once high-living motorsports promoter, was convicted of two counts of murder Thursday in the 1988 killings of
Mickey Thompson and the racing legend's wife.
The jury also found that special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and multiple murder were true. The prosecution has said it will not seek
the death penalty.
Goodwin, who was accused of planning the murders and hiring hit men to commit them, only shook his head slightly back and forth when the verdicts were
read.
Goodwin was a former business partner of Thompson, a racer who pursued land-speed records on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah and drove everything
from dragsters and funny cars to midgets, and was a major figure in popularizing off-road contests.
The killing of Thompson and his wife, Trudy, seemed to be the ultimate "cold case," but it did not die because of the efforts of Thompson's sister,
Collene Campbell, who insisted that investigators pursue the case for more than 18 years. She cried softly in the courtroom after the verdicts.
Outside the courthouse, she waved a checkered flag and said, "This is for Mickey."
Public Defender Elena Saris said the verdicts will be appealed.
"We don't believe justice was served," Saris said. "We believe passion controlled and there was a Hollywood version of events."
Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorneys Alan Jackson and Pat Dixon said the case will never be fully closed until the actual killers are caught.
"This shows the system does work even if it sometimes works slowly," Dixon said.
In the beginning, it seemed to be the perfect crime. Two unknown assailants on bicycles penetrated the gated confines of Thompson's home, shot him and
his wife as they left for work, then escaped through a wooded area where a car could not have traveled.
Neighbors described hearing screams and seeing two men pedaling away. One neighbor actually tried to shoot at them but was too far away and too late
to do any good. The men were never seen again.
As years passed without strong evidence, the case was considered closed. But Thompson's sister, a former mayor of San Juan Capistrano with wide
political connections, pressed authorities to reopen the murder case and look at Goodwin as a suspect.
Eyewitness identifications didn't help much. The only witness to see the killings was a 14-year-old girl who testified at the trial. As an adult she
claimed her memory of events was good, but defense attorneys questioned that. A couple who claimed to have seen Goodwin casing the area with
binoculars before the killings did not come forward until 13 years after the crime when they saw a TV show about it that they said triggered their
memories.
At the six-week trial, Goodwin's attorney presented testimony from a psychologist who said memories fade quickly and suggested that a 13-year-old
identification would not be trustworthy.
Lacking direct evidence, the prosecution put on a strong circumstantial case, alleging that Goodwin arranged the March 16, 1988, slayings of Thompson,
59, and his 41-year-old wife as revenge for a soured business deal. They showed that Goodwin and Thompson entered into a partnership to stage
motocross racing events - a business that failed.
The partnership disintegrated into a bitter legal battle and Thompson, who claimed he was cheated, won a legal judgment of more than $700,000 against
Goodwin.
They showed that Goodwin, 61, liquidated his assets around the time of the killings, bought a $400,000 yacht and sailed off with his then-wife to
spend three years in the Caribbean and elsewhere.
Goodwin was arrested in 2001 when he returned to the United States and has been held without bail.
His lawyer contended he was innocent and that the killings occurred during a robbery attempt. The defense contended Goodwin was a victim of false
assumptions and of TV shows that created a "folklore" and prompted people to come forward with unsubstantiated accounts.
Numerous witnesses gave accounts of Goodwin threatening to kill Thompson, saying Goodwin confided he planned to "waste him," "take care of him" and
see him dead before he would pay him a dime. One witness reported hearing Goodwin say: "I'll kill him. ... I can get it done for 50 grand."
His own attorney acknowledged that Goodwin may have been "a jerk," but said he was not a killer.
During every day of the trial, Thompson's sister sat in court with her husband, Gary Campbell, and stared at Goodwin.
"This has been a long endurance race for justice," she said when the trial began. "We don't plan to drop out till we get to the finish line."
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David K
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This has been a long time in coming... the two thugs who did the killing need to be hung if found!
I had met and talked with Mickey and Trudy in 1974 when I was covering his Riverside Off Road Championship Race for the Baja Bulletin Magazine...
Really great people! Mickey and Danny camped next to my dad and I in '73 where we watched the Baja 1000 which they failed to get qualified for.
Here is a photo I took of Mickey and Danny (kneeling by tire) at Valle de Trinidad where their rear engine Chevy LUV came to a stop at the '75 Baja
1000...
Here is a photo I took of Mickey at the '81 Parker 400 when his Challenger sprint-car style racer broke down next to my pit near the Turtle Mountains.
[Edited on 1-5-2007 by David K]
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surfer jim
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Just heard the news tonight on the radio.....in the words of the old Clint Eastwood movie....Hang 'em high.....
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thebajarunner
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Mickey was a true sportsman, a fearless competitor and certainly 'marched to a different drum.'
We wrote quite a bit about him in Bernie's latest book, "Think you know Baja"
A true warrior!!!
Sadly, the assassins will likely never be found.
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capt. mike
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why didn't the lib prosecutors force the death penalty under a deal to get him to squeel on the perps in exchange for LWP??
formerly Ordained in Rev. Ewing\'s Church by Mail - busted on tax fraud.......
Now joined L. Ron Hoover\'s church of Appliantology
\"Remember there is a big difference between kneeling down and bending over....\"
www.facebook.com/michael.l.goering |
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awfulart
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Capt Mike, Good question. I will ask Collene, his sister.
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MrBillM
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Plea Bargaining
Generally, they get lucky and arrest the Shooter(s) and Plea Bargain them to get to the individual contracting for the kill. This case is unusual in
that, they have the the guy on top, but not the triggermen. Given the circumstantial nature of the case and its age, I'm not surprised that they
decided against asking for the Death Penalty and risk an acquittal because of it.
It's a sad commentary on the lengths that some people will go due to avarice. Mickey Thompson was a truly nice guy in addition to being a great
competitor.
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thebajarunner
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Anyone who thinks those two crack-heads are still among the living is very optimistic (or pessimistic, as the case may be)
And, to implicate the shooters would mandate admission of guilt, which obviously this guy has never done...
So, asking him to plea bargain down to 30 to life, when he is trying to get a free pass is asking a bit much IMHO
A better question.... if he had a $400k yacht then how come us taxpayers had to pay for his defense???
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thebajarunner
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Of course he did not kill Mickey
The two guys he hired killed Mickey.
What a waste!!!
I hope that he enjoys his new life "up the river."
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dean miller
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Very interesting posts.
I knew both parties at difierent times in my life..
Met Mickey after we both had graduated from HS. A few years later he was running in the Mexican road race ( not a Baja Race). He became the manager
of the LADS --(Lions associated drag strip) in Wilmington and remained in that position until it closed. He married his first wife and had as I
recall two children. Little Danny had a slight speach impediment, that made him a cute little fellow, "The Opie" of LADS...After LADS closed I lost
interest Saturday night drag racing as entertainment and never saw the Thompsons again.
I met Michael Goodwin many years later when he some how migrated to spearfishing. He wanted in the worst way to establish a world record so he
enlisted the aid of a number of the SoCal "Guns," I was one of the "Guns." He never trained and was not anywhere near world class.
He owned two homes side by side on top of a hill in Laguna Beach, ($$$) both with fantastic views which I visited on several occasions. I recall
when he had his open house for the second house...it was an "event,"
with no expense being spared to make an impression.
A few years later he and Mickey were at odds and somehow Mike lost every thing...A number of years later Mickey and Judy were gone.
Both Mickey and Mike were as I recall what would be known as "Hot heads" easy to anger, yet they were also world class A#1 promoters..
Do I think Mike was responsible for Mickey's death--I don't know! I would hope he wasn't--- But the legal system thought he was.
SDM
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55steve
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I made my living in the offroad industry in the late 60's & 70's - built quite a few vehicles that were used in the various offroad races of the
era - I raced against Mickey a couple of times and most of the folks that I knew were not impressed with the guy, myself included.
I can say the same about Robby Gordon - I was on one of the BFG pit crews for the 500 last year and after the race everyone spent the night at the
Estero Beach hotel - now I realize that Robby was in a hurry to get to the Nascar race but there we were parked right next to his rig and not even a
wave or anything - we busted our asses to refuel his freakin' spotter helicopter at Erindira and the guy just blows us off.
I never wish bad things on anyone (bad karma & all) but let's just say that some folks are (will be) missed more than others.
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David K
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Steve, you and 'thebajarunner' (Dick 'Sterling' Hagerty) probably have some things in common.
I was just a kid (15+) when my dad took me to my first Baja race ('73 1000), but I could walk up to Parnelli, Walker Evans (NICE MAN), Mickey
Thompson, etc. and chat with them... I remember talking with Roger Mears when he raced the Jeep Honcho truck... bragging about having A/C.
Oh well, the old days of Off Road racing are long gone, I guess!
Today I was at Andy Felix's garage and there is some great off road racing stuff on his walls. Andy raced AMCs in Class 6 (Gremlin, Hornet) and builds
Challenger cars today.
[Edited on 3-7-2007 by David K]
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55steve
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Yes, the good old days indeed...I really do miss the early days of offroad racing - you're absolutely right about most of the "big" names being just
"one of the guys".
I'm still doing custom fab work as a hobby - mostly roll cages, bumpers, etc. I recently did a batch of replica trailer hitches for Bill Stroppe
"Baja" Bronco's that a fellow is selling on the web.
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thebajarunner
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Mickey, a good guy!
55- no idea why you don't have good memories of Mickey.
(Heck, read Bernie's latest book and you will read how much I disliked James Garner)
But, Mickey was always gracious and friendly with us. We all drove in the same class and before SCORE he always had time for a few words and was a
generous guy.
He always spent more on his rig than you could justify (in light of the present Tecate Trophy foolishness that is not even relevant)
He always drove faster than anyone, even PJ.
And we always finished ahead of him.
He was innovative and gregarious.
When we struggled with the class rules for trucks he invited every member of the class to come to his shop for an evening, gave us royal treatment,
showed us all of his stuff and we all came to mutual agreement on the rules for the class... weight, engine size, everything.
Sorry to hear you have bad memories... mine are terrific.
And you and David both left off the two incredibly talented buggy drivers of our day, Rick Mears and Bobby Ferro. Now, their battles were epic!
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LarryK
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In 1955 a friend of mine purchased one of Mickey’s Bonneville 3/8x3/8 engines and Mickey let us rebuild the engine in his El Monte home garage. That
was a great experience for a couple of kids. Mickey and Trudy were really great people.
I remember the day they returned from San Fernando Drag strip and had set a new ¼ mi speed of 157 MPH. That engine was a Chrysler overhead valve.
This was when the overhead valve engines were just showing up.
[Edited on 3-7-2007 by LarryK]
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David K
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| Quote: | Originally posted by thebajarunner
55- no idea why you don't have good memories of Mickey.
(Heck, read Bernie's latest book and you will read how much I disliked James Garner)
But, Mickey was always gracious and friendly with us. We all drove in the same class and before SCORE he always had time for a few words and was a
generous guy.
He always spent more on his rig than you could justify (in light of the present Tecate Trophy foolishness that is not even relevant)
He always drove faster than anyone, even PJ.
And we always finished ahead of him.
He was innovative and gregarious.
When we struggled with the class rules for trucks he invited every member of the class to come to his shop for an evening, gave us royal treatment,
showed us all of his stuff and we all came to mutual agreement on the rules for the class... weight, engine size, everything.
Sorry to hear you have bad memories... mine are terrific.
And you and David both left off the two incredibly talented buggy drivers of our day, Rick Mears and Bobby Ferro. Now, their battles were epic!
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Oh, I just mentioned a couple... Bobby Ferro (Hollywood stunt man) teamed up with Santee's Johnny Johnson to win the 1973 Baja 1000... Johnny now
lives in La Paz or on his boat in the Sea of Cortez, somewhere. Rick Mears is Roger's brother and went on to Indy... Roger has a place near
Humfreville's in Baja, I believe.
Trudy Thompson was a class act, helping get SCORE off the ground with Mickey... Local racing family Mark & LeRoy Hanson (F.A.S.T. Company for
'Father And Son Team') invited me to help pit in '78 500 which is how I got invited to co-drive in the '79 1000.
Anyway, lots of good memories of the early years of Desert Racing.... Baja, Parker, Plaster City, Carlsbad!
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BajaNomad
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FYI:
http://www.thompson-motorsports.com/mt.html
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
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