Where is Michael Goodwin from Netflix’s Homicide: Los Angeles today? Current whereabouts of Mikey Thompson’s killer explored

Homicide: Los Angeles is a Netflix docuseries released on July 16, 2024. The five-episode series delves into the dark side of the city of Los Angeles. The series is created by Tom Thayer, Jane Lipsitz, Dan Cutforth, Nan Strait, Dan Volpe, and Adam Kassen.

The motive behind creating a series is to highlight the legal battles of murder cases that lasted for more than a decade. Each episode deals with “the most brutal and complicated murders,” in the city as explained at the start of the docuseries.

One of the cases covered in the series is Mikey Thompson and his wife’s murder. Years after their killing it was found that the murderer was Mikey’s business partner, Michael Goodwin. He is currently serving a life sentence at a state facility in San Diego, California.

The official synopsis of Homicide: Los Angeles reads:

"Sift through evidence, run down leads, interview suspects, and pursue the truth with the real investigators dedicated to solving homicide cases."

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Homicide: Los Angeles - What happened to the murderer of Mikey Thompson?

As seen on Homicide: Los Angeles, Michael Goodwin was convicted of murdering Mikey and Trudy in January 2007, following which he was sent to jail on April 11, 2007. He is currently serving a lifetime imprisonment at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, California.

Reuters also reported at the time that Mikey Thompson and Trudy were killed in 1988 by two gunmen on motorbikes and the primary suspect of their murder was Michael Goodwin. The case kept going on for 29 years until Goodwin was finally convicted in January 2007. During the legal proceedings back in 1988, Michael presented an alibi because of which he was set free with no criminal charges.

Following this, he soon left the country and the investigation remained hanging for many years. After the investigating officer retired in 1994, the case was transferred to Mark Lillienfeld who investigated the case from ground zero.

Just a year before Mark took over the case, Michael Goodwin had returned to LA and was reportedly arrested for fraud. Soon after when he got paroled in his case of fraud, Mark met him at the airport as one of the co-passengers.

Following the Mark's strong suspicion, the police found witnesses that could confirm Michael's alleged involvement in the murder of the couple. One of the witnesses was his ex-girlfriend who admitted that he told her about setting up someone’s murder.

Another witness who confirmed his presence at the crime spot was one of the neighbors. Michael was seen sitting in his car near Thompson’s house just before the incident.

These witnesses connected Michael to the murder and he got two life sentences one after the other, but the two shooters on the bike remained unidentified.

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More about Mikey and Trudy's murder case from Homicide: Los Angeles

The second episode titled Race Car Killer of Homicide: Los Angeles shows the murder mystery of internationally known racing car driver, Mikey Thompson, and his wife, Trudy. On March 16, 1988, the couple was shot down by two men on a bike outside their house.

In the beginning, it was suspected that the potential cause of the murders could be robbery but the possibility was soon denied as no jewelry or money was found missing.

Mikey Thompson (Image via Tudum By Netflix)

It was stated that this was a revenge killing, pointing it out to Michael. Thompson sued him as they were once business partners and had some clashes. He won $514,000 against Michael which still remains pending as the couple was murdered. To avoid paying this money to Mikey, Goodwin announced that he was bankrupt and left the city.

Over the span of 29 years, the case was highlighted in shows like America’s Most Wanted, which motivated the witnesses to come forward and testify against Goodwin. Around 15 people testified against Goodwin along with two primary witnesses, which ultimately led to him being imprisoned with a lifetime sentence.

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Fans of crime docuseries can watch Homicide: Los Angeles on Netflix.