Tennis umpire Lois Goodman wants job back after murder case dropped

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Professional tennis umpire Lois Goodman, who had been accused by prosecutors of killing her 80-year-old husband, will now try to resume her life after a judge dismissed the case against her Friday.

‘This is a wonderful woman whose name was tarnished all over this country, and hopefully today everybody knows that she didn’t do anything and she is absolutely innocent,’ defense attorney Alison Triessl, said.

Goodman’s husband died in April in what she has maintained was an accidental fall. A coroner’s investigator, though, found the death suspicious after determining that Alan Goodman died of ‘deep penetrating blunt force trauma,’ and a months-long investigation ensued.

Goodman, a longtime umpire for the United States Tennis Assn., was officiating qualifying matches at the U.S. Open this past summer when police arrested her in New York. The case generated national headlines.

At the request of the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, which said it ‘could not proceed,’ a judge dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning prosecutors have the option to refile charges against her. A spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office said it will continue to investigate.

After Friday’s court hearing, Goodman said she feels ‘wonderful’ and thanked the D.A.’s office for ‘doing the right thing.’ She and her attorneys skirted questions about whether the investigation was shoddy and the charges premature.

‘I don’t know much about the system,’ Goodman said. ‘I feel I have been treated fairly now and it was just a tragic accident.’ When asked if she would return to her job as a tennis umpire, Goodman said, ‘Definitely!’

‘And to the USTA,’ Triessl added, ‘please rehire this woman. She is an amazing lines judge, and she deserves to work for you.’

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-- Andrew Khouri in Van Nuys