1 00:00:40,707 --> 00:00:43,960 I got a call from somebody over at my dad's office. 2 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,547 They said, "There's something going on up at Bradbury." 3 00:00:47,547 --> 00:00:48,923 {\an8}"But we don't know what it is." 4 00:00:48,923 --> 00:00:52,343 {\an8}And so I jumped in the car and started going up to Bradbury. 5 00:00:52,343 --> 00:00:54,804 And, um, a cop stopped me. 6 00:00:54,804 --> 00:00:58,016 They said, "Who are you? We're not letting anybody go through." 7 00:00:58,016 --> 00:01:00,685 I said, "I'm Danny Thompson, Mickey Thompson's son." 8 00:01:00,685 --> 00:01:06,232 And the cop, I just saw it in his eyes, you know, 'cause they knew. 9 00:01:06,232 --> 00:01:08,485 And I went, "Ah, fuck." 10 00:01:08,485 --> 00:01:10,153 You didn't believe it. 11 00:01:10,153 --> 00:01:13,656 That was my dad. You couldn't kill him. He was untouchable. 12 00:01:13,656 --> 00:01:17,285 {\an8}Race car driver Mickey Thompson and his wife were murdered 13 00:01:17,285 --> 00:01:19,370 in their driveway in a posh suburb of LA. 14 00:01:19,370 --> 00:01:22,999 Mrs. Thompson and Mr. Thompson were shot several times in the upper torso. 15 00:01:22,999 --> 00:01:25,543 The ambush murders of Thompson and his wife Trudy 16 00:01:25,543 --> 00:01:28,254 in the driveway of the couple's Bradbury home... 17 00:01:28,254 --> 00:01:31,674 Police are calling it one of the most mysterious celebrity murders. 18 00:01:31,674 --> 00:01:34,636 It's an extent of evil that we hope we don't see. 19 00:01:34,636 --> 00:01:40,016 Mickey Thompson was beloved by everyone. He had no enemies, save one. 20 00:01:43,937 --> 00:01:46,856 The LA County Sheriff's Department 21 00:01:46,856 --> 00:01:48,608 is the best of the best. 22 00:01:52,654 --> 00:01:55,824 Some of the highest-profile cases are tried in Los Angeles. 23 00:01:58,701 --> 00:02:01,871 You have to be dedicated 110%. 24 00:02:04,707 --> 00:02:07,627 This is murder. There's no more serious crime. 25 00:02:09,712 --> 00:02:14,634 It boils down to a passion and a sense of duty. 26 00:02:16,970 --> 00:02:19,264 Justice comes from finding the truth. 27 00:02:30,650 --> 00:02:34,445 One of the things about Los Angeles, it's huge. 28 00:02:35,113 --> 00:02:37,115 And to get around, is there mass transit? 29 00:02:37,115 --> 00:02:38,741 No! You have to drive. 30 00:02:40,368 --> 00:02:42,120 People love cars in Los Angeles. 31 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:46,791 It's a huge area for car lovers to display their wares. 32 00:02:47,500 --> 00:02:52,213 Back in the '80s in Los Angeles, street racing, it was its own culture, 33 00:02:52,213 --> 00:02:55,466 from drag racing, to motocross, to off-road. 34 00:02:55,967 --> 00:02:58,553 And being into cars back then, 35 00:02:58,553 --> 00:03:01,389 I knew that Mickey Thompson was a legend. 36 00:03:05,935 --> 00:03:08,396 Thompson was always known as an innovator, 37 00:03:08,980 --> 00:03:12,984 a maverick car builder, and a driver that had to win. 38 00:03:12,984 --> 00:03:17,780 The fastest man on wheels... Mickey Thompson. 39 00:03:18,364 --> 00:03:21,743 See international speed kings in action. Mickey Thompson. 40 00:03:21,743 --> 00:03:24,787 He has competed in every form of automobile racing. 41 00:03:25,413 --> 00:03:29,834 I think, at one time, my dad had over 370 records. 42 00:03:30,752 --> 00:03:33,504 But the one that put him on the map was 43 00:03:33,504 --> 00:03:36,799 when he was the first American to go over 400 miles an hour. 44 00:03:40,011 --> 00:03:44,891 His top speed, 406.6 miles an hour, 45 00:03:44,891 --> 00:03:46,976 a record for the one-way run. 46 00:03:49,270 --> 00:03:52,065 Mickey Thompson was not just a winner, 47 00:03:52,065 --> 00:03:54,108 and not somebody who was just interested in cars. 48 00:03:54,108 --> 00:03:55,652 He was a promoter. 49 00:03:56,152 --> 00:03:59,530 He was the guy that basically invented indoor stadium racing. 50 00:04:00,114 --> 00:04:03,701 We now put on what's called "short course racing." 51 00:04:03,701 --> 00:04:06,746 We put it on in football fields, baseball fields, 52 00:04:06,746 --> 00:04:08,206 inside domes, any place. 53 00:04:08,206 --> 00:04:09,999 Thompson taking the win! 54 00:04:11,918 --> 00:04:14,128 Mickey's son Danny has also decided 55 00:04:14,128 --> 00:04:17,006 to dedicate his future to automobile racing. 56 00:04:17,006 --> 00:04:19,592 I was racing full-time in my dad's series. 57 00:04:19,592 --> 00:04:23,680 We'd fill these stadiums up. It was, I mean, incredible. 58 00:04:29,894 --> 00:04:31,646 Thompson's own son took part, 59 00:04:31,646 --> 00:04:34,774 and his wife Trudy was also involved in promoting the event. 60 00:04:34,774 --> 00:04:37,777 I like to be close to him, and I like to do what he's doing, 61 00:04:37,777 --> 00:04:38,736 and I like to go fast. 62 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:42,699 And I'm gonna be around for a long time driving race cars. 63 00:04:42,699 --> 00:04:45,326 And I'm gonna win a lot more races. 64 00:04:55,378 --> 00:04:58,006 I got a call early in the morning. 65 00:04:58,006 --> 00:05:01,509 They said, "Know who Mickey Thompson is?" I said, "Yeah. Sure." 66 00:05:01,509 --> 00:05:05,888 He says, "He and his wife, it appears, have been shot in front of their house, 67 00:05:05,888 --> 00:05:07,348 and you're rolling to assist." 68 00:05:09,100 --> 00:05:13,563 And we had the queen of our lab, Liz Devine. 69 00:05:13,563 --> 00:05:17,650 She's brilliant, and everybody always wanted her on your crime scene. 70 00:05:17,650 --> 00:05:23,406 {\an8}I love going out. So I put on my jumpsuit and grabbed my kit and went out there. 71 00:05:24,073 --> 00:05:26,659 At the time of this case, I was a senior criminalist 72 00:05:26,659 --> 00:05:29,370 for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. 73 00:05:29,370 --> 00:05:33,458 We met and drove up to Bradbury Estates. 74 00:05:35,793 --> 00:05:39,505 Bradbury Estates is an upscale housing area 75 00:05:39,505 --> 00:05:42,717 that is... is a gated community. 76 00:05:43,593 --> 00:05:45,011 My daughter Juliana, 77 00:05:45,011 --> 00:05:49,807 she was taking horseback riding lessons in Bradbury Estates. 78 00:05:50,308 --> 00:05:53,102 Every time I went there, I had to show ID, 79 00:05:53,102 --> 00:05:57,857 I had to show permission from the stable owner just to get in. 80 00:05:57,857 --> 00:05:59,734 And I couldn't fathom, 81 00:05:59,734 --> 00:06:04,155 "How could somebody get in there to kill Mickey Thompson and his wife?" 82 00:06:05,365 --> 00:06:10,578 Driving up, it was obvious that this was a huge case. 83 00:06:11,871 --> 00:06:15,249 I've never seen so many cameras in one place in my life. 84 00:06:18,378 --> 00:06:21,130 Obviously, it's a very nice house. 85 00:06:21,130 --> 00:06:23,424 It's a very wide driveway. 86 00:06:24,884 --> 00:06:30,264 Mickey's wife Trudy was laid out at the bottom of the sloping driveway. 87 00:06:30,264 --> 00:06:31,641 And she had been shot, 88 00:06:31,641 --> 00:06:33,976 and blood was running down into the gutter. 89 00:06:35,853 --> 00:06:40,066 And Mickey Thompson is now laying up by the garage, which is on the top. 90 00:06:41,067 --> 00:06:42,944 He has been shot in the body. 91 00:06:43,528 --> 00:06:45,655 He had also been shot in the head. 92 00:06:45,655 --> 00:06:47,365 They shot her in the head too. 93 00:06:48,366 --> 00:06:52,578 We're going around and talking to people, and we talk to some of the witnesses. 94 00:06:54,122 --> 00:06:55,998 Uh, we heard a series of shots. 95 00:06:55,998 --> 00:07:01,295 All of a sudden, there was a period of about 10 or 15 seconds of silence. 96 00:07:01,295 --> 00:07:06,134 Then I heard Mickey Thompson yelling, "Don't hurt my wife! Don't hurt my wife!" 97 00:07:06,134 --> 00:07:10,263 And the next thing we heard is another series of shots and then silence. 98 00:07:13,141 --> 00:07:17,311 Well, Dr. Johnson, he lived behind Mickey and Trudy, 99 00:07:17,311 --> 00:07:20,064 and when he heard gunshots, 100 00:07:21,482 --> 00:07:22,400 and he looked out, 101 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:27,738 he sees the bicycles going down Woodlyn Lane. 102 00:07:28,573 --> 00:07:33,286 Dr. Johnson saw two young Black men on ten-speeds. 103 00:07:33,286 --> 00:07:36,247 I mean, that was obviously a route of escape. 104 00:07:36,914 --> 00:07:42,295 Dr. Johnson also said that Mickey Thompson, he had a routine down. 105 00:07:42,795 --> 00:07:48,759 At six o'clock every morning, they would leave their house in Bradbury 106 00:07:48,759 --> 00:07:52,555 and drive all the way to Anaheim Stadium, where their office was. 107 00:07:52,555 --> 00:07:56,601 They used a van, and Trudy would generally drive. 108 00:07:56,601 --> 00:07:57,810 She would back it out. 109 00:07:57,810 --> 00:08:01,230 He would then lower the door, get in, and they would drive to work. 110 00:08:02,064 --> 00:08:04,525 We know that there's two men on bicycles, 111 00:08:04,525 --> 00:08:06,486 who we assume are the shooters, 112 00:08:06,486 --> 00:08:08,029 but what was their purpose? 113 00:08:08,029 --> 00:08:09,572 Now, it could be a robbery, 114 00:08:09,572 --> 00:08:14,410 but when the detectives started checking the van that Trudy was driving, 115 00:08:14,410 --> 00:08:18,080 it was full of jewelry, very expensive jewelry, 116 00:08:18,581 --> 00:08:22,877 and Mickey, he had several thousand dollars in his wallet. 117 00:08:22,877 --> 00:08:24,962 It wasn't taken, wasn't touched. 118 00:08:24,962 --> 00:08:28,424 Obvious stuff is right on the seat, and they didn't grab it? 119 00:08:28,424 --> 00:08:29,926 That makes no sense. 120 00:08:32,845 --> 00:08:35,681 And then the neighbor heard 121 00:08:35,681 --> 00:08:38,684 Mickey call out to Trudy, 122 00:08:38,684 --> 00:08:41,979 and that they went after her first. 123 00:08:42,813 --> 00:08:45,691 If this was a robbery, they never kill the woman first. 124 00:08:45,691 --> 00:08:48,069 They always kill the man first. 125 00:08:48,069 --> 00:08:49,570 He's a big guy. 126 00:08:49,570 --> 00:08:52,114 Absolutely illogical. 127 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,327 Trudy was down on the ground. 128 00:08:56,327 --> 00:08:59,080 There were fingernails broken off. 129 00:09:00,248 --> 00:09:02,750 I mean, I just felt like she was driving. 130 00:09:02,750 --> 00:09:05,044 They shot through the window at her. 131 00:09:05,044 --> 00:09:07,797 I think she was running away and not fighting. 132 00:09:09,757 --> 00:09:13,970 And, Mickey, you know, he was turned toward her. 133 00:09:15,012 --> 00:09:16,055 And it just... 134 00:09:20,142 --> 00:09:21,310 broke my heart. 135 00:09:22,853 --> 00:09:24,313 It's the cruelest thing. 136 00:09:27,108 --> 00:09:30,486 Everybody is telling us Mickey loved Trudy. 137 00:09:30,486 --> 00:09:32,613 He was totally devoted to her, 138 00:09:32,613 --> 00:09:35,116 and he was just madly in love with her. 139 00:09:35,700 --> 00:09:38,953 My dad and Trudy, when they got married, it was a big deal. 140 00:09:39,453 --> 00:09:41,872 She had a great personality, very jovial, 141 00:09:41,872 --> 00:09:44,041 and they had a great relationship. 142 00:09:44,542 --> 00:09:46,711 They were a really good team working together. 143 00:09:47,503 --> 00:09:48,963 They were a good match 144 00:09:48,963 --> 00:09:51,716 in the same way that a chord is a good chord. 145 00:09:51,716 --> 00:09:54,051 They were very, very different, 146 00:09:54,594 --> 00:09:58,347 but it worked in... in amazing ways. 147 00:09:59,473 --> 00:10:03,102 My Aunt Trudy was an important part of my life. 148 00:10:04,437 --> 00:10:07,481 Trudy had grace, kindness, and love. 149 00:10:07,481 --> 00:10:11,027 She was the one who made people feel that they were appreciated. 150 00:10:19,076 --> 00:10:21,370 The entire crime scene was outside, 151 00:10:21,370 --> 00:10:25,124 but I was really trying to be observant and look at what is out of place. 152 00:10:29,712 --> 00:10:33,382 We went into this office that was off the garage. 153 00:10:36,385 --> 00:10:41,223 And out of the corner of my eye, I see somebody in there, 154 00:10:41,807 --> 00:10:43,392 and I screamed. 155 00:10:46,312 --> 00:10:49,482 Now, of course, the deputies come running in. Rey was there. 156 00:10:50,191 --> 00:10:56,822 And it was a full-size mannequin of Mickey Thompson in his racing suit. 157 00:10:58,282 --> 00:11:00,242 And, um, I was so embarrassed. 158 00:11:00,242 --> 00:11:03,329 We were all laughing, but I... 159 00:11:03,329 --> 00:11:07,041 You know, it was a light moment. Another... like, needed light moment. 160 00:11:07,041 --> 00:11:09,752 You have to lighten the air or... I don't know. 161 00:11:09,752 --> 00:11:13,047 You have to laugh so you don't cry. You just have to. 162 00:11:13,047 --> 00:11:17,885 Then you go, "Okay, this is my job. I gotta get back out there." 163 00:11:21,222 --> 00:11:22,890 I was really looking around, 164 00:11:22,890 --> 00:11:26,560 really trying to evaluate what I could bring to the table. 165 00:11:27,144 --> 00:11:31,357 I had photographs taken on the driveway of shoeprints in mud. 166 00:11:31,357 --> 00:11:34,360 There was a stun gun on the ground by Mickey. 167 00:11:34,860 --> 00:11:36,696 There were some cartridge casings. 168 00:11:37,530 --> 00:11:42,535 Next to the garage door were these small, little orange trees. 169 00:11:42,535 --> 00:11:47,248 And I looked, and I saw orange peels on the ground. 170 00:11:48,165 --> 00:11:49,166 They were cut. 171 00:11:50,751 --> 00:11:51,752 And it was fresh. 172 00:11:51,752 --> 00:11:55,589 I mean, I remember just thinking, "They were sitting out there 173 00:11:55,589 --> 00:11:58,968 and they're gonna have an orange while waiting to execute people." 174 00:11:58,968 --> 00:12:01,804 It just made me know 175 00:12:01,804 --> 00:12:05,808 that they knew exactly where to sit and wait. 176 00:12:05,808 --> 00:12:08,269 You start piecing this all together. 177 00:12:08,269 --> 00:12:11,272 They were lying in wait in front of the garage. 178 00:12:11,272 --> 00:12:13,774 There was, yeah, the stun gun. 179 00:12:13,774 --> 00:12:17,862 Now, was that used on Mickey? Was it used on her? We're not quite sure. 180 00:12:17,862 --> 00:12:21,365 But it was there, obviously, to try and take control. 181 00:12:21,365 --> 00:12:24,493 Ten-speed bicycles, guns... 182 00:12:25,327 --> 00:12:30,875 Ah, killing in the sequence that would do the most harm and pain for Mickey. 183 00:12:30,875 --> 00:12:33,711 We're talking a hit. 184 00:12:33,711 --> 00:12:34,879 It is a hit. 185 00:12:41,719 --> 00:12:46,182 {\an8}Our primary suspects are two male Blacks. 186 00:12:47,016 --> 00:12:50,060 They're described as 20 to 30 years of age. 187 00:12:51,187 --> 00:12:55,900 There was a woman that was driving down the road near Bradbury Estates. 188 00:12:56,650 --> 00:13:00,654 And as she's driving, suddenly from across that little driveway, 189 00:13:00,654 --> 00:13:03,574 these two male Blacks on bicycles. 190 00:13:03,574 --> 00:13:06,285 It seemed like they were out of control. They were going too fast. 191 00:13:06,285 --> 00:13:08,621 But she got a look because she nearly hit them, 192 00:13:08,621 --> 00:13:11,081 and as a good citizen, calls in. 193 00:13:11,665 --> 00:13:14,877 {\an8}Uh, she made a comment to the sheriff's department, 194 00:13:14,877 --> 00:13:19,632 and the sheriff's department got her in contact with a forensic artist. 195 00:13:20,341 --> 00:13:23,302 All the officers are aware, all the surrounding areas, 196 00:13:23,302 --> 00:13:27,181 and we put up traffic stops at major intersections. 197 00:13:27,181 --> 00:13:31,018 We're handing out these artist renderings of the suspects. 198 00:13:32,478 --> 00:13:36,106 Homicide detectives in LA hope someone somewhere 199 00:13:36,106 --> 00:13:39,819 will see this report on the murder of racing legend Mickey Thompson 200 00:13:39,819 --> 00:13:41,529 and his wife Trudy, 201 00:13:41,529 --> 00:13:44,740 and volunteer information about these two men. 202 00:13:45,866 --> 00:13:47,701 The media coverage, it was... 203 00:13:48,410 --> 00:13:51,455 As sad as it was, they just shoved it down your throat every two seconds. 204 00:13:51,455 --> 00:13:54,333 Police say he and his wife were shot several times... 205 00:13:54,333 --> 00:13:57,294 The two men then fled on ten-speed bicycles. 206 00:13:57,294 --> 00:14:00,756 The biggest question still unanswered is, "Why?" 207 00:14:00,756 --> 00:14:02,508 It was on every station. 208 00:14:02,508 --> 00:14:06,846 It was on all the major networks. Even the non-major networks were there. 209 00:14:06,846 --> 00:14:08,639 The media was out of control. 210 00:14:11,392 --> 00:14:17,273 It was very oppressive and very hard seeing it on the news... 211 00:14:18,816 --> 00:14:22,862 uh, with the helicopters... 212 00:14:23,821 --> 00:14:26,907 ...showing pictures of where their bodies were. 213 00:14:30,661 --> 00:14:34,290 And there was no personal space for grief. 214 00:14:41,338 --> 00:14:44,925 Now, one of the things you've got to do is learn your victim. 215 00:14:44,925 --> 00:14:48,137 {\an8}When did they get into that position where they were gonna be victimized? 216 00:14:48,137 --> 00:14:49,138 It's very important. 217 00:14:49,930 --> 00:14:55,311 We were directed to go to a house not far from the crime scene 218 00:14:55,311 --> 00:14:57,521 where the family had gathered. 219 00:14:58,480 --> 00:15:01,358 Everybody was very, very hurt, very broken up. 220 00:15:01,859 --> 00:15:04,028 And we were coming in to talk to 'em. 221 00:15:04,028 --> 00:15:06,155 That's one of the worst parts about the job. 222 00:15:06,155 --> 00:15:08,324 I think everybody was in a daze. 223 00:15:08,324 --> 00:15:10,868 I mean, "Is this really happening?" 224 00:15:12,703 --> 00:15:16,415 {\an8}I tell you one thing, they killed the finest two people in the whole world. 225 00:15:17,333 --> 00:15:21,045 Part of the gathering was the sister, who is Collene, 226 00:15:21,045 --> 00:15:24,131 and she just loved Mickey and Trudy to death. 227 00:15:24,131 --> 00:15:28,761 Danny, who was trying to fill in as much information as he could, 228 00:15:28,761 --> 00:15:30,471 but he was... he was crushed. 229 00:15:30,471 --> 00:15:31,805 He was hurting. 230 00:15:32,306 --> 00:15:36,936 I told the investigators right at first, "This wasn't an easy residence to get in." 231 00:15:37,937 --> 00:15:39,730 "You had to have a plan." 232 00:15:41,607 --> 00:15:44,151 "And it had to be premeditated." 233 00:15:50,282 --> 00:15:54,870 While we're interviewing everybody in the family, they had a feeling of, 234 00:15:54,870 --> 00:15:58,749 {\an8}"If it's done, Mike Goodwin was responsible." 235 00:16:00,626 --> 00:16:05,631 Mickey Thompson and Mike Goodwin were in similar businesses. 236 00:16:06,131 --> 00:16:10,803 Mickey Thompson would bring in Baja-style racing indoors. 237 00:16:10,803 --> 00:16:13,639 Mike Goodwin was emulating that to a certain degree 238 00:16:13,639 --> 00:16:16,100 on the motocross circuit. 239 00:16:16,100 --> 00:16:19,728 The two of them decided a partnership would benefit them. 240 00:16:20,729 --> 00:16:25,442 Mike Goodwin was incredibly bright, incredibly big personality, 241 00:16:25,442 --> 00:16:28,320 incredibly charismatic, and he was used to winning. 242 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,155 He won at everything he did. 243 00:16:30,155 --> 00:16:33,867 Mickey and Trudy had focused in on the car side of it, 244 00:16:33,867 --> 00:16:37,079 and at the same time, Goodwin was beginning to promote 245 00:16:37,079 --> 00:16:40,499 motorcycle racing under similar conditions. 246 00:16:41,333 --> 00:16:43,252 Bringing the motorcycles in, 247 00:16:43,252 --> 00:16:46,422 motorcycle events along with the car event together, 248 00:16:46,422 --> 00:16:47,923 you know, made good sense. 249 00:16:48,882 --> 00:16:50,467 Mickey Thompson had the name. 250 00:16:50,467 --> 00:16:54,722 He was lending his name and reputation to the event to fill the stadium. 251 00:16:55,806 --> 00:16:58,642 My dad secured the contracts at Anaheim Stadium 252 00:16:58,642 --> 00:17:00,769 for both off-road and supercross. 253 00:17:00,769 --> 00:17:03,856 It looked like Goodwin would've been a good partner. 254 00:17:03,856 --> 00:17:07,818 But Goodwin, after a couple events there, ran the bills up, didn't pay 'em, 255 00:17:07,818 --> 00:17:10,738 and burnt the relationships with the stadiums, you know, 256 00:17:10,738 --> 00:17:12,948 by not paying and being Goodwin. 257 00:17:12,948 --> 00:17:15,701 When we looked into Goodwin's background, 258 00:17:15,701 --> 00:17:17,578 one of the things we found about him is, 259 00:17:17,578 --> 00:17:20,289 any time he got a chance, he would screw you. 260 00:17:20,289 --> 00:17:22,624 He was a crook. 261 00:17:22,624 --> 00:17:24,084 For Mickey, 262 00:17:24,084 --> 00:17:28,047 integrity and making sure that everyone was taken care of 263 00:17:28,047 --> 00:17:30,049 was incredibly important. 264 00:17:30,632 --> 00:17:33,761 There... There was a realization on Mickey's part. 265 00:17:34,386 --> 00:17:37,139 "No, I'm not gonna lend my name to something like that." 266 00:17:37,139 --> 00:17:40,142 So Mickey terminated the partnership, 267 00:17:40,142 --> 00:17:45,314 and that was the beginning of a long legal battle. 268 00:17:47,191 --> 00:17:48,484 All the court battles. 269 00:17:48,484 --> 00:17:52,112 My dad kept winning, and the judgements were in his favor. 270 00:17:52,112 --> 00:17:54,531 Goodwin started switching money around, 271 00:17:54,531 --> 00:17:56,700 and, you know, claiming bankruptcy here, 272 00:17:56,700 --> 00:17:59,244 switching it to this person, that person. 273 00:17:59,745 --> 00:18:02,748 The last time that I saw Mickey and Trudy, 274 00:18:02,748 --> 00:18:04,458 there was a phone call. 275 00:18:06,210 --> 00:18:08,587 Mickey turned it over to speakerphone. 276 00:18:08,587 --> 00:18:11,882 I... I recognized, uh, Goodwin's voice, 277 00:18:12,382 --> 00:18:14,551 and what he was saying was, 278 00:18:15,260 --> 00:18:17,179 "I'm going to make you pay." 279 00:18:17,179 --> 00:18:20,099 "You'll never see the loss through its end." 280 00:18:20,766 --> 00:18:22,976 Goodwin's tone was deadly serious. 281 00:18:24,603 --> 00:18:26,772 One of the last conversations I had with my dad, 282 00:18:26,772 --> 00:18:31,693 he warned me that Goodwin was out of control. 283 00:18:33,779 --> 00:18:37,116 Well, obviously, we've now got to interview Mike Goodwin. 284 00:18:38,575 --> 00:18:40,953 So we drive down to their law offices. 285 00:18:41,453 --> 00:18:44,915 As we get in, Mike Goodwin was standing behind his attorney. 286 00:18:44,915 --> 00:18:48,085 His attorney said, "We're not gonna allow him to talk to you." 287 00:18:48,085 --> 00:18:49,461 And he stood there... 288 00:18:49,461 --> 00:18:51,922 God, he went through this ritual of... 289 00:18:53,048 --> 00:18:54,842 Hands up. [sarcastically] "Ooh!" 290 00:18:57,177 --> 00:19:01,640 He kept pointing at his attorney. I thought, "Oh, God, I'm gonna throw up." 291 00:19:03,308 --> 00:19:05,018 Goodwin had told his attorney 292 00:19:05,018 --> 00:19:09,439 that he was at a gym at six o'clock that morning, 293 00:19:09,439 --> 00:19:10,983 and he was talking to people. 294 00:19:10,983 --> 00:19:14,361 A lot of people could verify he was there. 295 00:19:14,361 --> 00:19:17,698 Mike Goodwin was on a treadmill in Orange County 296 00:19:17,698 --> 00:19:21,326 at the time these two people were killed in the San Gabriel Valley. 297 00:19:22,327 --> 00:19:25,956 So there was nothing connecting Mike Goodwin to that crime scene. 298 00:19:27,708 --> 00:19:30,794 There is no direct evidence, there is no smoking gun, 299 00:19:30,794 --> 00:19:33,505 because no one ever determined who were the shooters. 300 00:19:34,965 --> 00:19:38,927 And then a short time later, Michael Goodwin and his wife, 301 00:19:38,927 --> 00:19:40,637 they just disappear. 302 00:19:40,637 --> 00:19:46,226 And when they contacted Michael Goodwin's attorney, they said, 303 00:19:46,226 --> 00:19:48,604 "All that we know is they bought this boat, 304 00:19:48,604 --> 00:19:51,356 and they left the country." 305 00:19:51,356 --> 00:19:54,443 So he couldn't be questioned, he couldn't be investigated. 306 00:19:55,068 --> 00:19:58,906 Every homicide investigator in the history of mankind 307 00:19:58,906 --> 00:20:00,908 has one or two cases 308 00:20:00,908 --> 00:20:04,077 that they can't pull the trigger on that last bit of evidence. 309 00:20:04,077 --> 00:20:06,496 There is those cases that you think, 310 00:20:06,496 --> 00:20:09,458 "My God, that one bothers me." 311 00:20:09,458 --> 00:20:12,336 Mickey didn't deserve this. Trudy didn't deserve this. 312 00:20:12,336 --> 00:20:15,797 And you have this punk Mike Goodwin fleeing. 313 00:20:15,797 --> 00:20:19,051 {\an8}Yeah, I mean, I think it really hurt those detectives. 314 00:20:19,718 --> 00:20:23,680 They all were really upset that they just couldn't break it. 315 00:20:24,348 --> 00:20:26,725 Everybody wanted that to be solved. 316 00:20:27,351 --> 00:20:29,102 They don't always get solved. 317 00:20:43,700 --> 00:20:46,578 The Cold Case Unit of the LA County Sheriff's Department 318 00:20:46,578 --> 00:20:48,038 at that time was composed of 319 00:20:48,038 --> 00:20:52,918 about six older, mature, close-to-retirement detectives. 320 00:20:53,502 --> 00:20:55,879 A great detective, a guy named John Yarbrough, 321 00:20:55,879 --> 00:21:00,217 he basically said, "Hey, I've got this really big unsolved cold case, 322 00:21:00,217 --> 00:21:02,636 the Mickey Thompson, Trudy Thompson murders." 323 00:21:03,387 --> 00:21:06,932 "And I'd like you to learn about the nuances of this case 324 00:21:06,932 --> 00:21:11,687 because there's a lot to it, and I'm old. I'm gonna retire soon." 325 00:21:11,687 --> 00:21:16,650 "You're young. It'll be easy for you. It won't be hardly anything at all, kid." 326 00:21:18,402 --> 00:21:21,446 He ultimately retired around 1994, 327 00:21:21,446 --> 00:21:23,615 and myself and my new partner 328 00:21:23,615 --> 00:21:27,369 then kind of assumed control of the case from that point on. 329 00:21:29,871 --> 00:21:32,291 I'd never heard of Mickey Thompson in my life 330 00:21:32,291 --> 00:21:34,584 until I got introduced to the case. 331 00:21:35,252 --> 00:21:37,129 It's a high-profile case, 332 00:21:37,129 --> 00:21:39,589 and I'm really at the beginning of my murder career. 333 00:21:39,589 --> 00:21:41,925 I've only been a murder cop two years. 334 00:21:42,426 --> 00:21:44,970 I went to Rey for advice. I respected him greatly. 335 00:21:44,970 --> 00:21:46,471 He gave me great advice. 336 00:21:46,972 --> 00:21:48,932 "Only one way to eat an elephant." 337 00:21:48,932 --> 00:21:50,350 "One bite at a time." 338 00:21:50,851 --> 00:21:53,520 Mark Lillienfeld. I was always impressed by him. 339 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,898 If I am murdered, I want him investigating my murder. 340 00:21:56,898 --> 00:22:01,445 He has the skills, tenacity, intelligence, humor, 341 00:22:01,445 --> 00:22:07,451 and, uh, he was not impressed or pushed around by hierarchy. 342 00:22:09,161 --> 00:22:11,663 It's good sometimes to question authority. 343 00:22:11,663 --> 00:22:16,209 You gotta think globally, be open to other ideas, 344 00:22:16,209 --> 00:22:20,589 but to not dismiss out of hand certain other theories that may come up. 345 00:22:20,589 --> 00:22:24,760 Was somebody mad at somebody else for another reason other than 346 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:28,680 {\an8}this business dispute between Michael Goodwin and Mickey Thompson? 347 00:22:29,181 --> 00:22:30,474 {\an8}You've gotta be open to that. 348 00:22:30,474 --> 00:22:33,935 {\an8}So one of the first things we did was I met Collene Campbell, 349 00:22:33,935 --> 00:22:36,688 Mickey Thompson's kid sister. 350 00:22:36,688 --> 00:22:40,525 Collene Campbell is a force of nature. 351 00:22:41,193 --> 00:22:42,778 She's an amazing woman. 352 00:22:42,778 --> 00:22:46,239 Anybody that's had somebody murdered, I think, understands. 353 00:22:46,239 --> 00:22:50,369 There is so much anger inside of you, and you don't get past it, 354 00:22:50,369 --> 00:22:53,372 and you relive it every night in your nightmares. 355 00:22:58,293 --> 00:23:00,545 The first time I met Collene was at her home. 356 00:23:00,545 --> 00:23:03,006 I hit it off with her. I liked her right away. 357 00:23:03,006 --> 00:23:04,508 We kind of had a connection. 358 00:23:04,508 --> 00:23:07,928 And of course, after four minutes of being in the home, 359 00:23:07,928 --> 00:23:09,554 I had to use the restroom. 360 00:23:09,554 --> 00:23:11,264 As I'm walking down the hallway, 361 00:23:11,264 --> 00:23:14,017 I see a photograph of a young man on the wall, 362 00:23:14,017 --> 00:23:15,894 and it was Scott, her son. 363 00:23:19,523 --> 00:23:21,733 In 1982, Collene suffered, you know... 364 00:23:21,733 --> 00:23:25,946 The most horrific tragedy any parent could suffer is the loss of a child. 365 00:23:26,696 --> 00:23:29,449 Scott had been hanging around with the wrong people. 366 00:23:31,076 --> 00:23:34,329 He was killed, and his body was tossed out of a plane. 367 00:23:36,081 --> 00:23:38,208 She basically investigated it herself. 368 00:23:38,208 --> 00:23:41,420 She brought everything, all the information together. 369 00:23:41,420 --> 00:23:44,631 She worked those innards to make 'em outards. 370 00:23:44,631 --> 00:23:51,096 And she was very instrumental in pushing for, uh, prosecution. 371 00:23:51,930 --> 00:23:54,599 I mean, she was relentless, never giving up, 372 00:23:54,599 --> 00:23:56,768 and she was all the time on it, 373 00:23:56,768 --> 00:24:01,231 and on it in ways that you would never even imagine. 374 00:24:01,231 --> 00:24:06,445 Larry Cowell was ultimately convicted for the murder of Collene's son, 375 00:24:06,445 --> 00:24:09,698 and Collene, she described repeatedly, 376 00:24:09,698 --> 00:24:12,909 "You need to at least look at this and eliminate Larry Cowell." 377 00:24:12,909 --> 00:24:16,830 Because it turns out during the trial of Larry Cowell and his crime partner 378 00:24:16,830 --> 00:24:18,665 for the murder of Scott Campbell, 379 00:24:18,665 --> 00:24:20,834 Mickey Thompson actually testified. 380 00:24:22,252 --> 00:24:27,883 Larry Cowell was, uh, deeply enmeshed in the narcotics world 381 00:24:27,883 --> 00:24:29,134 'cause he was a dope dealer, 382 00:24:29,134 --> 00:24:31,470 but also, he was a big auto racing guy. 383 00:24:32,304 --> 00:24:35,056 And Mickey testified as an expert witness 384 00:24:35,056 --> 00:24:38,059 regarding these car parts found in Larry Cowell's shop. 385 00:24:40,228 --> 00:24:46,860 The trial ended eight or ten months prior to the deaths of Mickey and Trudy. 386 00:24:47,444 --> 00:24:50,322 It's kind of unusual that murder should hit a family like that. 387 00:24:50,322 --> 00:24:52,365 So we looked for a connection. 388 00:24:53,033 --> 00:24:55,952 We reviewed all the Scott Campbell murder reports. 389 00:24:55,952 --> 00:24:58,038 We spoke to the original detective. 390 00:24:58,538 --> 00:25:00,415 You know, we took it seriously. 391 00:25:00,916 --> 00:25:05,128 There was not a shred of evidence to indicate any relationship 392 00:25:05,128 --> 00:25:07,672 between the murders of Mickey and Trudy Thompson 393 00:25:07,672 --> 00:25:10,258 and the murder of Mickey's nephew Scott Campbell, 394 00:25:10,258 --> 00:25:16,973 other than the fact that they devastated a very nice, big, warm, loving family. 395 00:25:20,352 --> 00:25:23,438 My partner and I wound up going back, really, to square one. 396 00:25:24,523 --> 00:25:26,983 We'd come up with theories, ideas. 397 00:25:26,983 --> 00:25:30,779 All those things have been eliminated. The one thing that hasn't been eliminated 398 00:25:30,779 --> 00:25:33,240 is the fact that somebody was paid to do this murder, 399 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:35,534 and they were paid by Michael Frank Goodwin. 400 00:25:41,081 --> 00:25:42,791 Once Mickey Thompson was murdered, 401 00:25:42,791 --> 00:25:44,209 once Trudy Thompson was murdered, 402 00:25:44,209 --> 00:25:46,211 if Mike Goodwin had nothing to do with it, 403 00:25:46,211 --> 00:25:48,797 you'd expect him to live his life very normally, 404 00:25:48,797 --> 00:25:50,215 going about his business, 405 00:25:50,215 --> 00:25:52,384 not changing anything of any note. 406 00:25:52,384 --> 00:25:55,637 But what did Mike Goodwin actually do after Mickey was killed? 407 00:25:56,763 --> 00:26:00,058 Michael Goodwin and his wife decided to sell their house, 408 00:26:00,058 --> 00:26:04,229 {\an8}and they take all the assets that they have, 409 00:26:04,229 --> 00:26:08,984 and they funnel 'em into a Caribbean bank. 410 00:26:08,984 --> 00:26:12,904 Eighty-eight days after the murder, he fled the country on a boat 411 00:26:12,904 --> 00:26:14,823 that he obtained through fraud. 412 00:26:17,367 --> 00:26:22,205 In 1993, Mike Goodwin was charged with fraud 413 00:26:22,205 --> 00:26:24,666 after he came back to the United States. 414 00:26:24,666 --> 00:26:28,378 He was found guilty and went to federal prison. 415 00:26:29,504 --> 00:26:33,466 And he would receive a sentence of two and a half years. 416 00:26:36,136 --> 00:26:37,971 Mike Goodwin wasn't gonna talk. 417 00:26:37,971 --> 00:26:41,224 He'd never talk to the cops, but we had his phone calls monitored. 418 00:26:42,100 --> 00:26:42,934 At the same time, 419 00:26:42,934 --> 00:26:46,229 every person that was ever interviewed by the original detectives, 420 00:26:46,229 --> 00:26:48,940 my partner and I went back and re-interviewed those people. 421 00:26:49,691 --> 00:26:51,443 In speaking with Dr. Lance Johnson, 422 00:26:51,443 --> 00:26:54,446 who was kind of an earwitness to the assault, 423 00:26:54,446 --> 00:26:57,490 he said, "My daughter, her best friend, Allison Triarsi, 424 00:26:57,490 --> 00:26:59,326 lived across the street from Mickey Thompson." 425 00:26:59,326 --> 00:27:00,660 "She saw the whole thing." 426 00:27:00,660 --> 00:27:05,957 And he wasn't sure if law enforcement had ever contacted Allison Triarsi. 427 00:27:05,957 --> 00:27:10,086 It turned out, in reviewing the records, law enforcement never had. 428 00:27:10,670 --> 00:27:11,838 They didn't overlook her. 429 00:27:11,838 --> 00:27:15,634 At the time of the murders, Allison Triarsi, a 15-year-old girl, 430 00:27:15,634 --> 00:27:18,345 she was actually hidden by her parents 431 00:27:18,345 --> 00:27:21,056 because of the psychological trauma that she had. 432 00:27:21,056 --> 00:27:23,350 And I get it. If I had children... 433 00:27:23,350 --> 00:27:26,478 If it was my dog that was an eyewitness, I would have hidden my dog. 434 00:27:26,478 --> 00:27:28,897 I wouldn't let my dog talk to the cops either. 435 00:27:30,398 --> 00:27:32,859 Allison Triarsi, she's a grown woman now, 436 00:27:32,859 --> 00:27:34,944 so we were able to locate her. 437 00:27:36,196 --> 00:27:37,614 Allison told my partner and I 438 00:27:37,614 --> 00:27:39,532 that she was getting ready to go to school, 439 00:27:40,033 --> 00:27:43,203 and she heard this really high-pitched screaming 440 00:27:43,203 --> 00:27:47,957 as she ran to these living room windows that looked down on the Thompson estate. 441 00:27:50,293 --> 00:27:53,254 So Allison actually saw 442 00:27:53,755 --> 00:27:57,008 Trudy Thompson crawling on her hands and knees down the driveway. 443 00:27:57,592 --> 00:28:00,637 Mickey Thompson was kneeling with his hands raised, 444 00:28:00,637 --> 00:28:04,140 begging, "Please don't kill my wife. Please don't kill my wife." 445 00:28:04,140 --> 00:28:06,559 Not begging for his life, begging for her life. 446 00:28:07,811 --> 00:28:09,562 When Trudy got to the end, 447 00:28:09,562 --> 00:28:12,899 the suspect pulled the trigger and fired into Trudy's head. 448 00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:18,947 Allison watches that same suspect walk up the hill, shoot, and kill Mickey. 449 00:28:20,407 --> 00:28:22,742 Allison was able to describe right away 450 00:28:22,742 --> 00:28:27,080 that it was two African-American males that fled on ten-speed bicycles. 451 00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:31,876 They wanted Mickey to watch her suffer, 452 00:28:32,836 --> 00:28:34,754 allowing him to understand 453 00:28:34,754 --> 00:28:38,133 that the last thing he's ever gonna see on this earth 454 00:28:39,050 --> 00:28:42,011 was the love of his life being executed. 455 00:28:43,513 --> 00:28:45,181 He so treasured her. 456 00:28:45,682 --> 00:28:47,767 He was that kind of person. 457 00:28:48,268 --> 00:28:52,230 The fact that he'd try and put himself in harm's way to protect her, 458 00:28:52,939 --> 00:28:54,566 it was no surprise at all. 459 00:28:55,650 --> 00:28:58,361 It was planned to torture my dad. 460 00:29:01,281 --> 00:29:02,115 Cut and dry. 461 00:29:02,699 --> 00:29:04,033 And it did. 462 00:29:11,291 --> 00:29:14,127 Hearing Allison's version of what occurred 463 00:29:14,127 --> 00:29:18,173 really kind of drove the nail into the coffin a little bit more 464 00:29:18,173 --> 00:29:20,759 in corroborating what we already believed. 465 00:29:21,259 --> 00:29:24,137 She is the only living eyewitness 466 00:29:24,137 --> 00:29:28,558 that was able to describe the actual shooting of both victims. 467 00:29:28,558 --> 00:29:30,101 So she was pretty critical. 468 00:29:30,101 --> 00:29:34,063 It's one thing to hear about it. It's another thing to actually see it. 469 00:29:34,647 --> 00:29:38,109 There was only one reason to kill these two people in this manner, 470 00:29:38,109 --> 00:29:40,820 and that was pure, unadulterated revenge. 471 00:29:41,446 --> 00:29:43,323 But more evidence was needed 472 00:29:43,323 --> 00:29:48,119 to literally tether Mike Goodwin to the actual murders. 473 00:29:51,623 --> 00:29:54,167 Mike Goodwin paroled from federal prison. 474 00:29:54,167 --> 00:29:57,337 {\an8}He flew out to Orange County, Santa Ana airport. 475 00:29:57,337 --> 00:30:02,801 {\an8}So I wound up having his luggage somewhat lost, um, when the plane landed. 476 00:30:02,801 --> 00:30:07,055 So I pretended, you know, that I was a passenger on the plane too, 477 00:30:07,055 --> 00:30:09,432 and we're both pissed off, waiting for our luggage. 478 00:30:09,432 --> 00:30:10,642 He was clueless. 479 00:30:11,476 --> 00:30:14,729 I had a tape recorder going 'cause I wanted to record his voice, 480 00:30:14,729 --> 00:30:17,482 'cause I knew at some point in time 481 00:30:17,482 --> 00:30:21,194 I was gonna attempt to wiretap his telephones, 482 00:30:21,194 --> 00:30:23,238 so I wanted to know what he sounded like. 483 00:30:23,238 --> 00:30:26,032 So that was really my primary goal, 484 00:30:26,741 --> 00:30:29,536 and secondarily, it was simply just to meet the guy. 485 00:30:30,036 --> 00:30:32,455 Much like knowing about your murder victims, 486 00:30:32,455 --> 00:30:34,415 the more you know about your suspect, 487 00:30:34,415 --> 00:30:38,837 the more you can find their weak spots and exploit that to your advantage. 488 00:30:38,837 --> 00:30:41,381 During that 40-minute airport meeting, 489 00:30:41,381 --> 00:30:43,383 it was all Mike Goodwin, all the time, 490 00:30:43,383 --> 00:30:45,176 and it was all bullshit. 491 00:30:45,176 --> 00:30:49,389 Mike Goodwin claims to be the youngest Eagle Scout in history. Bullshit. 492 00:30:49,389 --> 00:30:52,934 Mike Goodwin claims to have bedded every Playboy Bunny. Bullshit. 493 00:30:52,934 --> 00:30:57,981 Mike Goodwin claims he's the Golden Gloves Champion of Pensacola, Florida. Bullshit. 494 00:30:57,981 --> 00:31:00,650 Really bullshit, inconsequential lies 495 00:31:00,650 --> 00:31:04,153 that don't amount to a hill of beans, but show a pattern of conduct. 496 00:31:04,153 --> 00:31:05,905 The guy can't tell the truth. 497 00:31:05,905 --> 00:31:07,824 His whole life was a lie. 498 00:31:15,039 --> 00:31:18,209 At first, it was quiet. Nothing was really happening. 499 00:31:18,209 --> 00:31:21,713 As much as I like Lillienfeld, he didn't tell me anything. 500 00:31:21,713 --> 00:31:23,631 But he couldn't. That's not... He... 501 00:31:23,631 --> 00:31:28,386 His job is not to blab around everything. His job is to investigate, figure it out. 502 00:31:30,096 --> 00:31:36,269 After so many years on this Mickey Thompson, Trudy Thompson killing, 503 00:31:36,269 --> 00:31:38,730 you needed to approach in a different way. 504 00:31:38,730 --> 00:31:42,817 The Sheriff's Department Homicide Bureau were not media-driven, 505 00:31:42,817 --> 00:31:47,697 but I had used the TV show America's Most Wanted previously 506 00:31:47,697 --> 00:31:49,782 on another unrelated murder case, 507 00:31:50,366 --> 00:31:52,535 and it generated some really good clues. 508 00:31:53,453 --> 00:31:56,748 I was trying to identify the shooters. They were still interested. 509 00:32:01,586 --> 00:32:03,713 We got a couple hundred phone calls, 510 00:32:03,713 --> 00:32:06,549 and some of them were the crazy phone calls, 511 00:32:06,549 --> 00:32:09,802 the alien phone calls, or John Wayne did it, or whatever, 512 00:32:09,802 --> 00:32:11,471 but a number were of value. 513 00:32:13,139 --> 00:32:17,018 What makes Mark so great is 514 00:32:17,018 --> 00:32:19,395 he's gonna find these little things 515 00:32:19,395 --> 00:32:23,816 and figure out a way to get information. 516 00:32:23,816 --> 00:32:28,279 {\an8}In this case, found a girl that got done wrong by him. 517 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,366 We received a call on a tip line. 518 00:32:31,366 --> 00:32:34,869 This woman, she'd had a brief romantic relationship with Goodwin. 519 00:32:34,869 --> 00:32:37,830 She told us on the phone that Mike Goodwin and her 520 00:32:37,830 --> 00:32:40,875 were watching a crime show on the Mickey Thompson murders, 521 00:32:40,875 --> 00:32:43,211 and that Mike had confessed to her 522 00:32:43,211 --> 00:32:47,256 his responsibility for having arranged those murders. 523 00:32:47,256 --> 00:32:50,218 And he was bragging about how he'd never be caught 524 00:32:50,218 --> 00:32:51,427 'cause he was too smart. 525 00:32:52,845 --> 00:32:54,973 So she became a good witness, 526 00:32:54,973 --> 00:32:57,809 but it was one part of the bigger puzzle 527 00:32:57,809 --> 00:33:01,437 that the women in Mike Goodwin's life had obtained admissions from him, 528 00:33:01,437 --> 00:33:05,233 and God knows how many other women are out there that hold that secret. 529 00:33:06,943 --> 00:33:09,487 I was asked by Mark, 530 00:33:09,487 --> 00:33:11,823 "Hey, I'd like you to head this up." 531 00:33:11,823 --> 00:33:16,536 "I want you to go to Virginia to monitor the activity of Goodwin's ex-wife." 532 00:33:16,536 --> 00:33:17,578 Mike Goodwin was married 533 00:33:17,578 --> 00:33:20,832 at the time of the murders of Mickey and Trudy Thompson, 534 00:33:20,832 --> 00:33:24,794 but, eventually, he and his wife of that time divorced. 535 00:33:25,878 --> 00:33:28,548 Mike Goodwin paroled from federal prison 536 00:33:28,548 --> 00:33:32,427 pretty close to the same time his ex-wife Diana Goodwin 537 00:33:32,427 --> 00:33:36,222 went to live with her parents in Virginia Beach, Virginia. 538 00:33:36,222 --> 00:33:39,517 We applied for and received permission to do a wire intercept 539 00:33:39,517 --> 00:33:42,395 in the state of Virginia on Diane Goodwin's home phone 540 00:33:42,395 --> 00:33:44,105 and her business telephone. 541 00:33:45,940 --> 00:33:47,650 During undercover operations, 542 00:33:47,650 --> 00:33:51,195 we sometimes want to stimulate people to talk about crime. 543 00:33:53,197 --> 00:33:58,244 One of the ways, and it's very common, is quite frankly by calling the person. 544 00:33:58,244 --> 00:34:01,956 "I'm Detective Mark Lillienfeld from Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide." 545 00:34:01,956 --> 00:34:05,043 "I would love to talk to you about your ex-husband." 546 00:34:05,543 --> 00:34:09,005 I don't really care if she talks to me or tells me to go fuck myself, 547 00:34:09,005 --> 00:34:11,007 which is basically what she did. 548 00:34:11,007 --> 00:34:12,800 All I care about is I got her brain going. 549 00:34:14,010 --> 00:34:17,930 When she started getting phone calls from Mark Lillienfeld, 550 00:34:17,930 --> 00:34:24,187 we were there to monitor her in an assortment of surveillance tactics, 551 00:34:24,187 --> 00:34:25,730 and see what she did, 552 00:34:25,730 --> 00:34:28,066 because it's gonna lead to more evidence. 553 00:34:29,025 --> 00:34:31,986 One phone call in particular we listened to, 554 00:34:31,986 --> 00:34:36,324 she basically makes an admission that Mike had admitted to her 555 00:34:36,324 --> 00:34:38,618 that he was responsible for the Thompson murders. 556 00:34:38,618 --> 00:34:40,286 We've got two different people 557 00:34:40,286 --> 00:34:42,622 in two different states at two different times 558 00:34:42,622 --> 00:34:43,706 making the same statement, 559 00:34:43,706 --> 00:34:47,043 that Michael Goodwin admitted being responsible for the murders 560 00:34:47,043 --> 00:34:48,461 of Mickey and Trudy Thompson. 561 00:34:48,461 --> 00:34:50,755 That's good shit, a legal term in my world. 562 00:34:54,592 --> 00:34:58,596 Everything about this case was circumstantial, 563 00:34:58,596 --> 00:35:02,350 in terms of connecting Mike Goodwin to the actual murders. 564 00:35:02,934 --> 00:35:07,980 {\an8}That changed with the revelation of new eyewitnesses. 565 00:35:07,980 --> 00:35:11,317 The America's Most Wanted show generated a call from a gentleman 566 00:35:11,317 --> 00:35:13,528 who was an accountant, and they said, 567 00:35:13,528 --> 00:35:17,490 "I've got a client, and he saw some suspicious activity 568 00:35:17,490 --> 00:35:19,408 a couple days before the murder." 569 00:35:19,408 --> 00:35:23,037 "He's tried calling the cops, but they always brush him off." 570 00:35:23,037 --> 00:35:24,914 This gentleman's name is Ron Stevens. 571 00:35:24,914 --> 00:35:27,792 Basically, he said, "I didn't know Mickey Thompson, 572 00:35:27,792 --> 00:35:28,709 I never met him, 573 00:35:28,709 --> 00:35:31,879 but I lived about three blocks away from where he was killed." 574 00:35:31,879 --> 00:35:34,382 Ron goes on to tell me, "I come home early, 575 00:35:34,382 --> 00:35:37,468 and my wife steps outside the house to greet me in the driveway." 576 00:35:37,468 --> 00:35:39,303 "She said, 'Hey, I'm glad you're home.'" 577 00:35:39,303 --> 00:35:41,848 "'There's a suspicious car parked on the street.'" 578 00:35:41,848 --> 00:35:44,183 "'It's got two men in it, and they got binoculars, 579 00:35:44,183 --> 00:35:45,643 and I think something is up.'" 580 00:35:45,643 --> 00:35:49,981 "'There's a grade school down the street. Maybe they're pedophiles, kidnappers.'" 581 00:35:49,981 --> 00:35:55,695 And Ron Stevens actually walks towards where this car's parked, 582 00:35:55,695 --> 00:35:58,447 and he can see the side of the driver. 583 00:35:58,447 --> 00:36:00,283 Driver was white. Passenger was Black. 584 00:36:00,283 --> 00:36:03,911 When Ron Stevens gets closer to the driver, he gets out of there. 585 00:36:03,911 --> 00:36:06,956 He, like, peels rubber leaving the scene. 586 00:36:06,956 --> 00:36:08,833 And Ron thinks, "God, that's odd." 587 00:36:08,833 --> 00:36:10,918 He called the LA County Sheriff's Department. 588 00:36:10,918 --> 00:36:13,629 Sadly, we never sent a radio car out there. 589 00:36:13,629 --> 00:36:15,756 So it... it's on us. It's our bad. 590 00:36:18,092 --> 00:36:21,971 This is about four days before the Mickey and Trudy Thompson murders. 591 00:36:21,971 --> 00:36:24,307 And when he describes the driver, 592 00:36:24,307 --> 00:36:26,601 he describes Michael Goodwin almost to a tee. 593 00:36:29,020 --> 00:36:30,646 Could this have been Goodwin? 594 00:36:30,646 --> 00:36:33,858 Could he have been there actually surveilling the area 595 00:36:33,858 --> 00:36:37,320 in order to set the plans in motion to have them murdered? 596 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:42,325 So now what had to be done was there had to be a lineup 597 00:36:42,325 --> 00:36:46,996 to see if this witness really could identify Goodwin. 598 00:36:46,996 --> 00:36:49,457 That was the problem. How are you gonna do that? 599 00:36:49,457 --> 00:36:52,627 If the person was in custody, you could do it. 600 00:36:53,252 --> 00:36:55,379 So the idea was, 601 00:36:55,379 --> 00:36:58,007 "Well, let's arrest him on a Ramey warrant." 602 00:36:58,007 --> 00:37:02,345 Ramey is a term we use in California for a probable cause arrest warrant, 603 00:37:02,345 --> 00:37:05,264 where we take the actual warrant to a judge. 604 00:37:05,264 --> 00:37:07,391 He signs it. The prosecutor is not involved. 605 00:37:08,184 --> 00:37:10,519 So I write an arrest warrant for Mike Goodwin. 606 00:37:11,103 --> 00:37:12,021 Fuck Mike Goodwin. 607 00:37:16,234 --> 00:37:17,693 Mr. Goodwin, you are here 608 00:37:17,693 --> 00:37:20,154 because you refused to volunteer for the lineup. 609 00:37:20,154 --> 00:37:22,490 Would it have been easier, in hindsight, 610 00:37:22,490 --> 00:37:25,159 to simply volunteer rather than go through this? 611 00:37:25,159 --> 00:37:29,121 No, I think we have to challenge government misconduct whenever we can. 612 00:37:29,121 --> 00:37:32,833 But let me ask you this, if I committed otherwise a perfect crime, 613 00:37:32,833 --> 00:37:36,003 would I have been so stupid to go to the scene of the crime? 614 00:37:36,629 --> 00:37:39,298 I mean, this is beyond belief. 615 00:37:39,298 --> 00:37:42,760 I coordinate a live lineup in Men's Central Jail with Ron Stevens, 616 00:37:43,344 --> 00:37:44,428 with him and his wife. 617 00:37:45,513 --> 00:37:47,223 We have them both view the lineup. 618 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:51,727 They both identified Michael Frank Goodwin 619 00:37:51,727 --> 00:37:54,772 as the guy sitting in the car with an African-American 620 00:37:54,772 --> 00:37:57,984 three blocks from Mickey Thompson's house four days before the murder. 621 00:37:57,984 --> 00:38:00,945 Being able to place him at or close to the crime scene 622 00:38:00,945 --> 00:38:03,030 was a revelation, was a huge deal. 623 00:38:03,614 --> 00:38:06,909 We got him now, and we charged him with murder. 624 00:38:06,909 --> 00:38:09,453 This whole thing is a farce and a setup, 625 00:38:09,453 --> 00:38:12,540 and my treatment in jail was exemplary of that. 626 00:38:13,791 --> 00:38:15,501 That's it. - It's a Bible. 627 00:38:15,501 --> 00:38:16,794 Thank you. 628 00:38:23,551 --> 00:38:25,928 I looked up in the sky, and talked to Mickey about... 629 00:38:25,928 --> 00:38:29,807 {\an8}I said, "You think you've gone through some endurance races in your life." 630 00:38:29,807 --> 00:38:31,058 "Let me tell you." 631 00:38:31,726 --> 00:38:36,022 "We've just gone through a 13-year-nine-months endurance race." 632 00:38:36,022 --> 00:38:39,734 "And this is a tough one, but I did what you taught me to do." 633 00:38:40,318 --> 00:38:41,652 "Never, never give up." 634 00:38:42,445 --> 00:38:44,739 I remember when he was arrested. 635 00:38:44,739 --> 00:38:46,115 It was hopeful. 636 00:38:46,699 --> 00:38:48,534 But it wasn't done. 637 00:38:48,534 --> 00:38:51,620 Goodwin called the case against him "character assassination." 638 00:38:51,620 --> 00:38:54,457 Knowing what a slimy bastard Goodwin was... 639 00:38:54,457 --> 00:38:56,792 Is he gonna wiggle his way out of this one? 640 00:38:58,753 --> 00:39:03,299 Mike Goodwin had a hot red, burning hate for me after I'd arrested him. 641 00:39:03,299 --> 00:39:05,843 The threats and everything started around that time. 642 00:39:06,427 --> 00:39:07,803 He had people working for him, 643 00:39:07,803 --> 00:39:12,266 and it was a continual, you know, never-ending thing. 644 00:39:12,266 --> 00:39:16,395 Mark Lillienfeld was starting to get some pretty significant threats. 645 00:39:16,395 --> 00:39:18,773 Um, threats on his life, death threats, 646 00:39:18,773 --> 00:39:20,649 but Mark was of the opinion, 647 00:39:20,649 --> 00:39:23,194 "I've got a job to do. I'm not gonna be deterred." 648 00:39:23,778 --> 00:39:27,698 Mark is one of those guys that learned to let blows glance off them, 649 00:39:27,698 --> 00:39:29,867 and I was that dumb Irish boxer 650 00:39:29,867 --> 00:39:32,995 that stood there taking... absorbing every frickin' blow 651 00:39:32,995 --> 00:39:34,663 to show everyone how tough you are. 652 00:39:35,581 --> 00:39:38,459 To do it as long as Mark did it, you have to be like Mark, 653 00:39:38,459 --> 00:39:41,629 where you really can let things glance off of you. 654 00:39:45,383 --> 00:39:49,470 After seeing what these people will do, I am concerned about anything. 655 00:39:49,470 --> 00:39:50,721 They will make up evidence. 656 00:39:52,056 --> 00:39:56,227 The DA's office didn't want to get involved in this if it was a loser. 657 00:39:56,727 --> 00:40:00,189 If you don't have all your ducks in order, you don't want to take a chance, 658 00:40:00,189 --> 00:40:02,691 especially on a publicity case like this. 659 00:40:03,859 --> 00:40:07,279 I met Ron Bowers. He was a deputy district attorney. 660 00:40:07,279 --> 00:40:09,031 He had retired at the time, 661 00:40:09,031 --> 00:40:11,951 and he'd been hired back in their Trial Support Division. 662 00:40:11,951 --> 00:40:16,414 So, the two prosecutors, Alan Jackson and Pat Dixon, 663 00:40:16,414 --> 00:40:18,958 had elicited Ron's help 664 00:40:18,958 --> 00:40:23,045 in preparing all of the court exhibits and helping get the case organized. 665 00:40:23,045 --> 00:40:24,255 It was a massive case. 666 00:40:24,255 --> 00:40:27,174 And I said, "Well, I'm more than happy to look at it, 667 00:40:27,174 --> 00:40:30,594 uh, but I'm gonna have to have the case files." 668 00:40:30,594 --> 00:40:34,306 And Mark said, "Okay, we'll take care of it." 669 00:40:35,516 --> 00:40:39,728 Next day, I come to work, and I barely can get into my office. 670 00:40:39,728 --> 00:40:43,065 It is filled with boxes and boxes. 671 00:40:43,566 --> 00:40:46,318 And scribbled on my yellow tab, 672 00:40:46,318 --> 00:40:48,070 Mark had written, 673 00:40:48,070 --> 00:40:50,823 "Ron, these are the boxes that you requested." 674 00:40:50,823 --> 00:40:54,285 "Now put the case together, and do it quickly." 675 00:40:56,495 --> 00:40:57,913 Ron Bowers was integral 676 00:40:57,913 --> 00:41:01,000 to putting together a blueprint presentation 677 00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:02,209 to get the case to trial. 678 00:41:04,336 --> 00:41:06,464 Ron was a master at that. 679 00:41:07,173 --> 00:41:11,010 I put together a presentation, showed it to the district attorney, 680 00:41:11,010 --> 00:41:14,972 and the district attorney said, "Okay, we're gonna file it." 681 00:41:15,556 --> 00:41:18,476 So that was the beginning of the preparation 682 00:41:19,059 --> 00:41:22,021 for the trial of Michael Goodwin. 683 00:41:26,650 --> 00:41:28,652 From day one, 684 00:41:29,570 --> 00:41:31,822 literally day one, 685 00:41:33,032 --> 00:41:35,534 Michael Goodwin had bad intentions. 686 00:41:36,118 --> 00:41:38,871 I'm unaware of any other case in the history of California 687 00:41:38,871 --> 00:41:42,833 where the actual shooters were never even identified. 688 00:41:43,959 --> 00:41:46,504 There's just no other conclusion that's reasonable 689 00:41:46,504 --> 00:41:49,465 but that Mike Goodwin hired these people. 690 00:41:49,465 --> 00:41:52,176 We just kept coming back to the idea 691 00:41:52,176 --> 00:41:57,139 that I don't have to prove that Mike Goodwin did it 692 00:41:57,139 --> 00:41:58,807 as much as I can prove 693 00:41:58,807 --> 00:42:01,644 that seven billion other people on the planet didn't do it. 694 00:42:01,644 --> 00:42:03,562 Nobody else wanted Mickey Thompson dead. 695 00:42:03,562 --> 00:42:07,691 So in this case, motive became very, very important. 696 00:42:08,692 --> 00:42:13,572 Mike Goodwin was homicidal, angry, claiming to everybody that would listen, 697 00:42:13,572 --> 00:42:17,159 "I'll see Mickey Thompson dead before I give him a nickel of my money." 698 00:42:17,159 --> 00:42:19,286 The killers of Mickey and Trudy Thompson 699 00:42:19,286 --> 00:42:20,788 {\an8}have never been identified. 700 00:42:20,788 --> 00:42:24,166 {\an8}Never been named, never been caught, never been arrested. 701 00:42:24,750 --> 00:42:29,463 The defense's case could be most easily summed up as 702 00:42:29,964 --> 00:42:33,926 Mike Goodwin was at a gym at the time these two people were killed. 703 00:42:33,926 --> 00:42:37,471 He had nothing to do with it. There are too many unanswered questions. 704 00:42:38,931 --> 00:42:41,350 There were many witnesses we called 705 00:42:41,350 --> 00:42:44,061 to testify regarding the threats, 706 00:42:44,061 --> 00:42:48,148 regarding the pre-offense conduct that occurred between Mickey and Goodwin. 707 00:42:49,024 --> 00:42:52,361 I testified about hearing the threats made 708 00:42:52,361 --> 00:42:54,405 and recognizing Goodwin's voice. 709 00:42:54,405 --> 00:42:58,409 He looked smug, like he was sure that he wasn't going to be convicted. 710 00:42:58,993 --> 00:43:01,996 Yet, at the same time, he never met my eyes. 711 00:43:02,997 --> 00:43:07,835 It was a big acknowledgement to me that he knew the pain he had caused. 712 00:43:15,384 --> 00:43:16,635 Our closing arguments, 713 00:43:16,635 --> 00:43:22,224 one of the things that I thought was incredibly... poignant, 714 00:43:22,224 --> 00:43:25,060 sad, but still important, 715 00:43:25,060 --> 00:43:30,107 was the way Mickey drew his last few breaths. 716 00:43:30,107 --> 00:43:33,569 Mickey Thompson's last vision on this planet 717 00:43:33,569 --> 00:43:36,447 was that of his wife being executed. 718 00:43:37,072 --> 00:43:38,907 Why is that so important? 719 00:43:38,907 --> 00:43:43,704 Because there's no other person on the face of the earth 720 00:43:43,704 --> 00:43:46,790 who wanted Mickey Thompson to suffer like that. 721 00:43:46,790 --> 00:43:48,667 There's only one guy. 722 00:43:49,793 --> 00:43:51,128 And that was Mike Goodwin. 723 00:43:52,463 --> 00:43:56,383 When Alan Jackson came on and did closing arguments, I was dazzled. 724 00:43:56,884 --> 00:43:58,927 I was going, "Yeah! Yeah!" 725 00:43:58,927 --> 00:44:00,804 Now, he convinced me. 726 00:44:00,804 --> 00:44:03,390 Did he convince those other 12 people over there? 727 00:44:11,649 --> 00:44:15,194 The jury deliberated about six days, 728 00:44:15,194 --> 00:44:17,404 and that wait was brutal. 729 00:44:17,905 --> 00:44:20,282 So you're left in this limbo 730 00:44:20,282 --> 00:44:24,078 of not knowing what those jurors are gonna think of your presentation. 731 00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:28,040 When the jury buzzed to say they have a verdict, 732 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:32,002 it was a very, very jarring moment, 733 00:44:32,002 --> 00:44:33,420 thinking, "Okay, here we go." 734 00:44:34,421 --> 00:44:36,882 We the jury in the above entitled action 735 00:44:36,882 --> 00:44:39,468 find the defendant Michael Goodwin guilty. 736 00:44:42,721 --> 00:44:45,349 When they came back with that, Collene's squeezing my hand. 737 00:44:45,349 --> 00:44:46,558 It was just like... 738 00:44:47,976 --> 00:44:50,479 There is justice. You know, there is justice. 739 00:44:52,815 --> 00:44:55,859 Mike Goodwin was convicted of all charges, 740 00:44:56,610 --> 00:44:58,862 two counts of murder, and special circumstances, 741 00:44:59,446 --> 00:45:03,742 and he was sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole. 742 00:45:04,702 --> 00:45:07,955 I stood up, turned around, and... 743 00:45:07,955 --> 00:45:10,541 Collene was just sobbing 744 00:45:11,041 --> 00:45:14,128 with joy and... and relief. 745 00:45:14,128 --> 00:45:17,089 This is for Mickey. This is for Mickey. 746 00:45:17,089 --> 00:45:18,882 He won this race. 747 00:45:20,801 --> 00:45:22,010 It's a great feeling. 748 00:45:22,010 --> 00:45:24,972 This doesn't bring my dad back, but there's some justice here. 749 00:45:26,014 --> 00:45:27,641 When I heard the verdict, 750 00:45:28,726 --> 00:45:32,020 I remember saying out loud, "Finally." 751 00:45:33,772 --> 00:45:36,775 I gave a piece of myself to the case. 752 00:45:37,568 --> 00:45:40,571 There's an enormous amount of personal satisfaction 753 00:45:40,571 --> 00:45:45,325 knowing that the family of Mickey Thompson and Trudy Thompson, 754 00:45:45,325 --> 00:45:49,163 what they had fought for, dedicated their lives to... 755 00:45:49,163 --> 00:45:51,832 For every fiber of myself that I gave to the case, 756 00:45:51,832 --> 00:45:54,501 I got so much more back from them. 757 00:45:54,501 --> 00:45:57,337 My promise to Collene and Gary Campbell, 758 00:45:57,337 --> 00:45:59,339 and the Thompson family, really, 759 00:45:59,339 --> 00:46:03,260 was simply that I would work it as hard as anybody and do my best. 760 00:46:03,886 --> 00:46:05,345 I intentionally don't use... 761 00:46:05,345 --> 00:46:08,640 I think it's a horrible word and a horrible term, 762 00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:10,851 and that would be the C-word, meaning closure. 763 00:46:12,227 --> 00:46:15,439 When you lose two loved ones through a horrible act of violence, 764 00:46:15,439 --> 00:46:17,149 you're not getting any closure. 765 00:46:18,066 --> 00:46:21,236 I remember when the verdict came in, there was finality to that, 766 00:46:21,236 --> 00:46:23,030 both for me and for the family, 767 00:46:23,614 --> 00:46:26,950 but there was a nagging little thing in the back of my brain. 768 00:46:26,950 --> 00:46:29,661 "But it's unresolved. The two killers are still out there." 769 00:46:30,537 --> 00:46:34,333 We've got one out of three, but we still want these people. 770 00:46:35,292 --> 00:46:39,755 During the entire investigation, we never developed a solid lead 771 00:46:39,755 --> 00:46:41,799 on who the actual shooters were. 772 00:46:41,799 --> 00:46:43,675 That's still an active, ongoing case. 773 00:46:45,969 --> 00:46:50,891 It's wonderful to know that a conviction was gotten. 774 00:46:52,518 --> 00:46:53,685 But their murder... 775 00:46:55,687 --> 00:46:56,939 is part of my life. 776 00:46:57,815 --> 00:46:59,441 My Aunt Trudy, 777 00:47:00,609 --> 00:47:02,236 she's there in the back of my mind. 778 00:47:02,236 --> 00:47:05,280 Mickey decided it was time to fulfill his lifelong dream 779 00:47:05,280 --> 00:47:07,157 and to set the world land speed record. 780 00:47:08,200 --> 00:47:11,411 The one thing that my dad never accomplished 781 00:47:11,411 --> 00:47:12,996 was the world land speed record. 782 00:47:14,915 --> 00:47:18,210 He did it one way, but he didn't have the official record. 783 00:47:18,210 --> 00:47:23,632 So when he called me in 1987, and he said, "I want you to drive it," 784 00:47:23,632 --> 00:47:27,970 that meant more to me probably than maybe anything else. 785 00:47:27,970 --> 00:47:31,306 And then we started talking about it, how to do it and everything, 786 00:47:31,306 --> 00:47:35,018 and then my dad got murdered. 787 00:47:35,727 --> 00:47:38,897 Then I let it go, and I let it sit for 22 more years. 788 00:47:38,897 --> 00:47:41,191 And then I thought, "You know what?" 789 00:47:41,191 --> 00:47:43,277 "I don't want to be sitting on the couch when I'm 80 790 00:47:44,528 --> 00:47:48,156 wondering if that car would have gone 450 miles an hour." 791 00:47:50,784 --> 00:47:52,786 We gave up everything to do that. 792 00:47:52,786 --> 00:47:56,331 We gave up every single thing we had in life to do that. 793 00:48:10,345 --> 00:48:12,097 And it happened. 794 00:48:12,848 --> 00:48:13,682 Way to go! 795 00:48:13,682 --> 00:48:15,726 Car went 459 miles an hour. 796 00:48:17,311 --> 00:48:19,229 I take my helmet off. 797 00:48:19,229 --> 00:48:22,232 I'm still standing in the car, and I'm looking up. 798 00:48:25,027 --> 00:48:28,071 I finished his mission... 799 00:48:29,656 --> 00:48:31,158 and completed mine. 800 00:48:32,701 --> 00:48:35,245 {\an8}Probably one of the most meaningful moments... 801 00:48:37,998 --> 00:48:38,999 ever. 802 00:48:55,599 --> 00:48:59,978 {\an8}If there's one enemy of a homicide detective, it's time. 803 00:48:59,978 --> 00:49:01,063 Time is your enemy. 804 00:49:03,815 --> 00:49:08,278 Teresa Broudreaux was found naked and dead on the beach. 805 00:49:10,989 --> 00:49:14,117 It's been 33 years of no answers. 806 00:49:14,117 --> 00:49:15,786 What was your wife's name? 807 00:49:15,786 --> 00:49:18,163 Terri. T-E-R-R-I. 808 00:49:18,163 --> 00:49:19,957 And you guys were legally married? 809 00:49:19,957 --> 00:49:21,083 Right? Okay. 810 00:49:24,044 --> 00:49:25,337 Everybody thought I did it. 811 00:49:26,755 --> 00:49:28,507 That I got away with it. 812 00:49:29,007 --> 00:49:32,678 A murder case is never closed until someone's held accountable for it. 813 00:49:32,678 --> 00:49:34,262 Somebody out there knows something.