A preliminary DNA test did not find Lois Goodman’s fingerprints on the coffee mug she’s accused of using to bludgeon her husband to death inside their Woodland Hills home, the 70-year-old tennis referee’s lawyer announced Thursday.
“The DNA on the coffee mug belongs to Alan Goodman, the deceased. There is no information at this time that Mrs. Goodman's DNA is on the coffee mug that was purportedly used as a weapon,” said defense attorney Robert Sheahen.
Sheahen claimed the evidence is consistent with the theory that Alan Goodman fell down a flight of stairs, meaning his death was accidental and not murder.
Prosecutors contend Goodman attacked and bludgeoned her 80-year-old husband with a coffee mug in April, adding that pieces of the mug were found in his scalp.
After the defense’s announcement Thursday, prosecutors alleged that a large amount of the victim’s blood may have washed away any traces of his wife’s DNA.
According to a search warrant, detectives reported there was blood throughout the couple’s home “inconsistent with accidental death.”
Goodman was arrested on Aug. 21 in New York, where she was set to work as a line judge at the U.S. Open. She has pleaded not guilty to murder and remains under house arrest. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}
