Mickey Thompson’s killer gets 2 life terms

A judge Thursday sentenced Michael Goodwin to two consecutive life sentences without parole for the murders of racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife in what prosecutors said were revenge killings for a business partnership gone awry.

Goodwin, who was dressed in a dark gray jacket and had brown-rimmed glasses perched low on his nose, showed no reaction as Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Teri Schwartz sentenced him. A jury in the same Pasadena courthouse had convicted him Jan. 4 of two counts of murder.

Before he was sentenced, Goodwin called the Thompsons’ 1988 murders a “tragedy” but continued to insist on his innocence as Thompson’s sister, Collene Campbell, sat two rows behind him.

“I have condolences for Ms. Campbell,” said Goodwin, 62. “But I can’t apologize, because I’m not guilty.”

Campbell, 74, called Goodwin a “liar and a killer.”

“Mickey was a true man, an icon, and he is missed beyond what any words could describe,” she said, reading a statement as she choked back tears. “I have received calls from around the world by those distressed and impacted by the murders.”

Goodwin was largely impassive as Campbell read her statement, though he closed his eyes and shook his head whenever Campbell referred to him as a “killer.”

Afterward, Campbell called the sentence “a relief.”

She exchanged hugs with about a dozen friends and family members and waved a large, black-and-white-checkered racing-style flag.

Schwartz also denied defense motions for a retrial and to dismiss the charges. Deputy Public Defender Elena M. Saris said she planned to file a notice of appeal today.

The killings became a long-running Southern California mystery, the subject of nearly two decades of police investigation and several national television shows.

Thompson was the first American to reach 400 mph in a piston-driven vehicle and was the holder of numerous speed records. He and his wife, Trudy, were gunned down in the driveway of their eastern Los Angeles County home by two hooded assassins who escaped on bicycles.

Prosecutors always considered Goodwin, a former business partner of Thompson, the prime suspect in plotting the killings, although no evidence linked him to the scene. Thompson had won a $514,000 judgment against Goodwin that was pending at the time of the killings. Goodwin declared personal and business bankruptcy as a result of the judgment, which was never paid.

Prosecutors filed murder charges against Goodwin in 2004. Witnesses testified that they had heard him threaten Thompson’s life, and one key witness said he saw Goodwin scout the Thompsons’ neighborhood.

The defense countered that the passage of time and the “Hollywood” treatment of the case in the media called the veracity of witnesses’ testimony into doubt.

The sentence was a long time coming for Campbell, who arrived in court Thursday wearing a diamond necklace and a pair of golden pins with the likeness of angels waving checkered flags. The pins came from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and were for her brother and his wife. As for the necklace, Campbell’s mother had made her promise to not remove it until her brother’s killer had been found.

“It’s going to be hard to take it off,” Campbell said. “It’s become such a part of me.”

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charles.proctor@latimes.com