Family Proclaims Innocence Of Pro Tennis Ref Accused Of Killing Husband With Coffee Cup
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The family of the pro tennis referee who is accused of killing her 80-year-old husband with a coffee cup insists the woman is not capable of murder.
Lois Goodman, 70, was arrested Aug. 21 in New York for allegedly killing Alan Goodman in April at their Woodland Hills home.
Goodman pleaded not guilty to murder charges and is on house arrest after she posted bail Sept. 2.
Investigators originally believed the victim had fallen down the stairs, but later confirmed they found coffee cup fragments in the man's scalp and said that he'd been hit repeatedly.
The 70-year-old claimed she found her husband dead. She attributed it to a fall down the stairs or a heart attack.
Goodman's daughter, Allison Rogers, said it doesn't make sense that her mother is accused of killing her father.
"(My parents) were very happy. There was never a foul word in my house growing up. They never fought. It was a great relationship," she said.
Rogers said her mother maintains she was not home when her husband died.
"She doesn't know what happened. As far as I'm concerned, she's physically and emotionally not capable of something," she said.
Rogers said her mother's public arrest in New York was questionable because Goodman has been accessible to detectives in the months following the death.
"My mom travels once a year. For 30 years, she's been doing the U.S. Open. 30 years! She's been in contact with police. They did not call her and tell her to come in. They waited until she went to New York. Maybe to make two headlines. I don't know," she said.
Rogers' husband, Ron, also said Goodman wasn't having an affair, as reports have suggested.
"Regarding the possibility of a love triangle… that did not exist. And police are aware that it did not exist," he said.
Ron claims the family has put everything they have on the line to prove Goodman's innocence.
"We sold a car, we took out loans, we maxed out credit cards…and we have a lien on our house," he said.
The tennis ref's family has posted a defense fund for supporters to pitch in for her attorney fees.
"We are behind her, our whole family is behind her and we're going to get through this," said Rogers.
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