PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 4 (UPI) -- A former business partner was convicted in California of arranging the killing almost 19 years ago of drag racing champion Mickey Thompson and his wife.
Michael Goodwin, who has been in jail for five years, is likely to receive a life sentence for the double murder, The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.
Goodwin, who invented supercross racing, had reportedly threatened Thompson's life a number of times after a company the two men formed to promote motor sports failed. Thompson won a court judgment of more than $500,000, bankrupting Goodwin. Even Goodwin's lawyer, Elena Saris, admitted the threats, the Times said.
Prosecutors said that the killers shot and wounded Thompson, forced him to watch as his wife, Trudy, was killed and then shot him in the head. They argued that the killing was clearly revenge because the killers left thousands of dollars worth of cash and jewelry.
"Michael Goodwin signed his name to this crime. He planned it from the start and it was executed exactly the way Michael Goodwin wanted it," prosecutor Alan Jackson said in the Times report. "Michael Goodwin made good on his promise."
