Goodwin convicted of killing Mickey Thompson

PASADENA, California — Michael Goodwin, once a high-living motorsports promoter, was convicted of two counts of murder Thursday in the 1988 ambush 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 was a former business partner of Thompson, a posthumous Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee who pursued land-speed records and drove everything from dragsters and funny cars to midgets.

Goodwin, 61, was accused of planning the murders and hiring hit men to commit them. The prosecution has said it will not seek the death penalty.

The killing of Thompson and his wife, Trudy, seemed to be the ultimate "cold case." But Thompson's sister kept the pressure on to solve it.

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. More of AP article