Woman Pleads Not Guilty in USC Athlete’s Slaying

In a courtroom packed with relatives and friends of the victim, Angela Marie Shepard pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murdering former USC basketball standout Audrey Gomez.

Shepard, 37, was arraigned before Commissioner Gerald N. Mansfield in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Whittier on one count of murder, one count of possession of a firearm by a felon with a prior conviction, and one count of possession of ammunition.

Shepard stood behind a plexiglass barrier, her eyes slightly widened, as her lawyer entered the plea. Later, the attorney, Bill Seki, declined to comment on the case.

Bail was set at $2.08 million for Shepard, who worked as a Los Angeles police officer from 1989 until she was fired in 1995. She is due to return to court Sept. 20.

After the brief hearing, Gomez’s mother was led weeping from the courtroom, accompanied by a group of the slain woman’s friends, including several who played basketball with her at USC.

Shepard and Gomez had worked together at the Price Mid-Term Residential Shelter in Los Angeles. Shepard, the program director, had supervised Gomez.

Prosecutors said the two had also spent time together outside work.

Family members and longtime friends of Gomez said they knew nothing more about the relationship.

“I never even heard about Angela Shepard before,” said Michelle Campbell, one of Gomez’s college roommates.

Shepard was arrested Sunday at her home in unincorporated Whittier after Gomez’s body was discovered in the back seat of Gomez’s Mazda 626 at Murphy Ranch Park, in an affluent hillside Whittier neighborhood. She had suffered two gunshot wounds to the chest. A bloodhound led detectives from the car about two miles to Shepard’s home, where she was arrested.

Neighbors of Shepard said they heard two shots Friday night between about 11 p.m. and midnight.

A Whittier police spokesman declined to comment further Wednesday on the circumstances of the killing or a possible motive. Police confirmed that Shepard had a criminal record but did not give details.

Erica Gomez, the victim’s sister and herself an All-American basketball player at rival UCLA, said Audrey majored in psychology at USC and had a lifelong commitment to working with youth, first volunteering in her Catholic church growing up.

Friends described the slain woman, a native of Keyport, N.J., who has also lived in Puerto Rico, as outgoing and lively. She loved to lie by the pool or on the beach and was known for always having a deep tan, they said. “She made people laugh; I smiled when I’d see her,” said former roommate Campbell.

The young boys she worked with at the shelter related to her, said another former roommate, Erica Jackson.

“She was kind of a tomboy and into sports. But she also taught them a responsible way of life and how to treat females,” Jackson said. “They showed her respect. She was tough, and they loved her.”

In 1998, Gomez was on the Los Angeles Sparks training camp roster. Karleen Thompson, team manager, remembered her as “very laid-back, very cool, always smiling. Every time I saw her she was always laughing.”

Said Jackson, “She loved life, loved kids, loved dogs . . . loved the water, and she loved basketball.”

The family plans to bury the former athlete in Alabama, where her parents have recently taken up residence, Erica Gomez said.

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Times sports writer Mike Terry contributed to this story.