MURDER CHARGES DROPPED: Tennis Ref Wins Match Against Prosecution

On Friday, the prosecution’s case crumbled against professional tennis umpire Lois Goodman, leading to all charges being dismissed. Goodman was accused of murder after the death of her 80-year-old husband, Alan Goodman, earlier this year.

According to the Los Angeles Times, LAPD first agreed with Lois Goodman’s account of the story, that her ailing husband had fallen down a flight of stairs. A few days later, the coroner’s office claimed that a wound to Alan Goodman’s head was consistent with having been struck with a sharp object. Homicide was alleged and suspicions turned to Lois.

Now, it appears as though the authorities have come to their senses and dropped their case against the 70-year-old grandmother, who has had to face an awful ideal after the death of her husband. One of Goodman’s lawyers, Alison Triessl, is a friend and colleague of mine. Among other things, Triessl was able to show that Lois Goodman suffered from various physical ailments that prevented her from being capable of the brutality alleged by the district attorney. The prosecution’s case was also lacking in motive, and an independent medical examiner concluded that the wounds suffered by Alan Goodman could very well have been caused by an accident. One expert also found that Goodman was likely to have died from heart failure, citing the fact that Goodman’s heart was four times larger than a normal heart.