Production on the TV series “Justice On Trial”
Production on the TV series “Justice On Trial” will begin this fall. The half-hour program's premier air date is TBA. Each episode in the series will feature a case of someone who has been wrongly charged or convicted.
Included will be dramatic re-enactments of events, interviews with investigators, prosecutors, witnesses, family and friends of defendants and victims.
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THOMPSON MURDER TRIAL BACKGROUND
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The Profiles and Players in the Mickey and Trudy Thompson Murder Case

The trial of Michael F. Goodwin will bring together an assortment of witnesses, attorneys and experts who will weave together the evidence involving the March 17th 1988 slayings of Mickey and Trudy Thompson.

Mickey Thompson

Mickey Thompson was known as “Mr. Innovator,” “Mr. Promoter, “Mr. Speed” and the “Speed-King.” He had wealth, celebrity and 395 land speed records, an American racing legend. Thompson unofficially broke the 400 mph speed barrier and took part in more than 10,000 races. Before his murder, the Thompson family reported receiving death threats, but who made the threats, if or when they occurred was never substantiated.

Trudy Thompson

Trudy Thompson was Mickey's 41-year-old wife. Before meeting Mickey, Trudy worked as a secretary at Hot Rod Magazine. The two met water-skiing on the Colorado River. Colleen Campbell, Thompson's youngest sister, introduced the two. A romance bloomed and they married July 30, 1970. She was married to Mickey for 18 years.
Michael F. Goodwin

Michael F. Goodwin is accused him of plotting the Thompson murders. He has been behind bars since December 2001, without bail. Investigators allege Goodwin orchestrated the “hit” because of a soured business association that dissolved into legal action. The outcome left Goodwin bitter. This marked him as a prime suspect. Goodwin says he is the target of a conspiracy, orchestrated by Thompson's sister. “I am innocent,” he said during a 2005 interview with John Bradley of Justice on Trial. “My acquittal and vindication are assured because I had nothing to do with these crimes.”
Collene Campbell Collene Campbell is Thompson's younger sister. For 18 years, she has vowed to catch her brother's killer and put them behind bars. She believes Goodwin plotted the murders. Campbell is a former San Juan Capistrano councilwoman, mayor and is politically active in Orange County politics. “In my heart, do I believe Michael Goodwin is guilty? ‘' Campbell said during an Aug. 6, 2003 interview with “48 Hours Mystery. “You bet your life I do.”
Attorney Patrick Dixon Deputy District Attorney Patrick Dixon is the lead prosecutor in this case. An experienced and respected attorney, Dixon heads the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office's, Major Crimes Unit. The section tries complex criminal cases. He is tough, aggressive and a no-nonsense attorney. Dixon is also part of the prosecution against music producer Phil Spector.
  • Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson is the second prosecutor on the case.
  • Deputy Public Defender Elena Saris represents Goodwin. She plans to prove the evidence is based on circumstantial evidence. She is assertive and thorough, often clashing with the prosecution. Saris has represented defendants in more than a dozen major cases in Los Angeles courts.
  • Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Griggs was the lead detective on the case in 1988. Griggs wrote a memo, that was submitted into evidence, that “outside forces” were interfering with his investigation. He followed witness statements who said they saw a man – a man named Joey Hunter--frantically trying to hitchhike out of the area on the morning of the slayings. Hunter failed three polygraph tests, and had no alibi. However, detectives dropped Hunter as a suspect and zeroed in on Goodwin, even though there was not then, nor has there ever been, any direct evidence linking Goodwin to the crimes.
  • Sheriff's Detective Mark Lillienfeld is now the lead investigator on the case. Lillienfeld has been an L.A. Sherriff's deputy for more than 20 years and has handled more than 100 cases. Lillienfeld contends he “misinterpreted” two ballistic reports when he alleged that Goodwin provided a murder weapon to the killers. The defense in the Orange County case proved the affidavits Lillienfeld used to arrest and charge contained key evidence that was false, making them illegal.

Sources: Colene Campbell, CBS' "48 Hours," and newspaper reports from Los Angeles Times, the Pasadena Star News, an interview with John Bradley of “Justice on Trial,” F.B.I. Ballistics Manual, Smith & Wesson, L.A. Sherriff's Dept Ballistics Reports.

 


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