Game. Set. Match.
The feisty US Open referee who was busted before the tournament this year for allegedly killing her husband in LA was cleared of all charges yesterday.
Prosecutors had accused veteran tennis umpire Lois Goodman, 70, of bludgeoning and slashing her 80-year-old hubby, Alan, to death with a broken coffee mug in their Woodland Hills, Calif., condo in April.
She was arrested in Midtown on murder charges in August en route to Flushing Meadow and dragged off to Rikers Island, before being humiliatingly flown back to LA in handcuffs.
But in an LA County courtroom yesterday, the charges were dropped without prejudice after prosecutors admitted that the case had fallen apart and that new facts pointed conclusively to her innocence.
“I’m just thrilled, thrilled [to] get back to my life,” Goodman told reporters after the hearing. “I’m so happy. I feel wonderful.”
The embattled ump — who has called matches involving the likes of Andre Agassi and John McEnroe — had insisted that Alan’s death was an accident that happened after he fell down a flight of stairs.
“I feel I’m being treated fairly now. It was just a terrible accident,” said Goodman, who flashed a huge smile in court after the charges were dropped and hugged attorney Alison Triessl.
LA Prosecutors refused to say exactly what made them drop the case. They released a statement that only said “we received additional information regarding the case. Based upon this information … we are unable to proceed.”
Goodman’s other attorney, Robert Sheahen, says he believes that the fact that his client’s DNA was not found on the mug and that she passed a polygraph test helped convince prosecutors she was not guilty.
He also noted there was no splattered blood in the home, which surely would have been there if Goodman had hit her husband as hard as cops said she did.
But officials said that the investigation was continuing and the fact it was dismissed without prejudice means that charges could still be brought against Goodman, who hopes to resume working tennis matches.
Sheahen retorted that there was little chance that his client would be recharged and that it was LA officials who should worry.
“She’s going to sue the pants off Los Angeles County for this,” he said.