Woodland Hills tennis umpire sues LA County coroner over arrest in husband's death

Thursday, March 8, 2018
LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A Woodland Hills tennis umpire charged with murdering her husband in 2012 -- a charge later dismissed -- is now suing the Los Angeles County coroner's office.

Lois Goodman was 70 years old at the time and had a prestigious job officiating major tennis matches for the U.S. Tennis Association.
[Ads /]
She was about to umpire matches at the U.S. Open in New York when she was arrested and charged with murdering her husband with a heavy coffee mug in their Woodland Hills home.

The charge was later dismissed for lack of evidence, but the L.A. County coroner had issued a report calling her husband's death a homicide.

Goodman claims the coroner recklessly or intentionally falsified the autopsy report, leading to her arrest, and causing her great financial and emotional hardship.
[Ads /]
"I miss him," Goodman said. "I am having a hard time. I make very little money, and I am trying to umpire as much as I can. I have lost at least half the jobs that I had before, and I depend on my Social Security."

Goodman said she was a highly regarded umpire, but after her arrest, jobs dried up.



The trial will take place in federal court in downtown Los Angeles, and Goodman will take the stand as a witness.
Copyright © 2024 KABC Television, LLC. All rights reserved.