Detectives Say Pro Tennis Referee Murdered Her Husband With Coffee Mug
WOODLAND HILLS (CBSLA.com) — Elite tennis referee Lois Goodman was being extradited back to Los Angeles Wednesday amid allegations that she murdered her 82-year-old husband with a coffee mug in April.
Detectives told CBS2/KCAL9 that they doubted Lois Goodman's story that she found her husband of nearly 50 years dead. She attributed it to a fall down the stairs or a heart attack.
Investigators have since obtained seven search warrants to enter the couple's townhouse.
Those visits raised neighbors' suspicions.
"This morning I found out she was arrested — not much of surprise," said Goodman's neighbor Michael Rudchenko, in the Warner Hill community. "The police was coming every day for weeks. We got suspicious she may be involved."
Investigators are now confirming that they found coffee cup fragments in Alan Goodmans' scalp and said that he'd been hit repeatedly.
Goodman has been calling tennis matches for 30 years and was working at the U.S. Open Tournament in New York City when she was arrested Tuesday.
South Bay resident Karen Brown said she remembers Goodman calling her matches at Manhattan Beach Country Club.
"She's definitely a well-known ump in the industry, if you follow the sport you always see her on during the major USTA and tennis tournaments around the world," Brown said.
Professional tennis player and Camarillo native Mike Bryan said Lois has been on his court to call his matches.
"It was shocking to see a lady in cuffs wearing a U.S. Open shirt," said Bryan, who is a part of the second-ranked doubles team in the world.
"It blew my mind. She seemed like a nice lady…I was completely shocked, obviously. I had to do a double take at the screen to make sure it was her," Bryan said.
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