5 chilling details about Mickey Thompson’s murder

The second episode of Netflix’s Homicide: Los Angeles titled Race Car Killer deals with the murder mystery of 90's popular auto-car racer Mickey Thompson and his better half Trudy. Homicide: Los Angeles came to Netflix with five spine-chilling true-crime cases on July 16, 2024.

On March 16, 1988, in Bradbury Estates, California, Mickey and Trudy Thompson were murdered outside their home by two unidentified men. On January 4, 2007, Mickey's former business partner, Mike Goodwin, was arrested and later convicted of their murders after revealing to lovers how he had committed the crime.

However, it's unclear if Goodwin was genuinely responsible or just boasting. The actual shooters have never been arrested.

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5 chilling details about Mickey Thompson’s murder

1) There was blood running down the gutters near Mickey Thompson's house

There was blood running down the gutters at the crime scene (Image by Cassi Josh/Unsplash)

As we saw in the second episode of Homicide: Los Angeles, the crime scene was gory and gruesome. Liz Devine and Rey Verdugo, who were the first to investigate the crime scene found blood running down the gutter.

The blood was of Mickey Thompson and his wife, who were brutally shot by two African-American males, as reported by Allison Triarsi an eyewitness to this brutal crime that took place on January 4, 2007. The neighbors also heard Mickey's cry, which was followed by several gunshots.

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2) Trudy's fingernails were broken

Trudy's fingernails were broken (Image by Gift Habeshaw/Unsplash)

LA detectives found Trudy Thompson's fingernails broken, indicating she fought back against the killers. Her body was found near the driveway. The broken fingernails highlight the brutality of the attack. Despite their efforts to defend themselves, Trudy and Mickey were ultimately overpowered and killed.

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3) The killers first killed Trudy and then Mickey

The killers first killed Trudy (Image by Viktor Forgacs/Unsplash)

As shown in the documentary, and revealed by neighbors and witnesses to this horrible tragedy, the killers first killed Trudy. Mickey begged the killers to not kill her but the killers wanted Mickey to witness the most brutal and painful event of his life ~ the murder of his wife, before they killed Mickey.

This shows us how heartless and psychotic the killers were. Before they killed Mickey, they killed his wife, which destroyed Mickey mentally and emotionally, with perhaps no will whatsoever to live anymore.

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4) Mickey Thompson was shot in his head and body

The couple was shot in the head (Image by Tammy Doucette/Unsplash)

Mickey who begged the killers for mercy, was shot in the head and body too as witnessed in the second episode of Homicide: Los Angeles. While the couple begged for their lives, the killers showed no mercy.

A stun gun and orange peels were found near the crime scene. The detectives who found the same reported that the killers could have used the stun gun on the victims. The orange could have been a treat for the killers, while they waited for the couple to come out of the house.

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5) The killers have never been found and arrested

The shooters were never arrested (Image by Bermix Studio/Unsplash)

Allison Triarsi, an eyewitness, spotted the probable killers and described as two men African Americans who left the scene of the murder. Even though forensic drawings of the two were created with the leads, the murderers still roam around free to date.

It's still unknown why they killed the two, too. Decades later, it is still unclear if Mike Goodwin, who is currently serving a jail sentence for the murder of Mickey Thompson and his wife, personally appointed these killers.

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Homicide: Los Angeles is now available to stream on Netflix.