Washington, Aug 22 (IANS) A 70-year-old woman tennis referee, who was preparing to work at the upcoming US Open in New York, has been arrested for bludgeoning her 80-year-old husband to death with a coffee mug at their home in Los Angeles, a media report said.
Police arrested Lois Ann ‘Lolo’ Goodman at the Sheraton Hotel in New York city where she was staying, the Daily Mail reported.
She has refereed at the US and Australian Opens for years and is well known in tennis circles. She was preparing to serve as a referee at the US Open, said Jane Robison, a district attorney’s office spokeswoman.
She has umpired with some of the world’s top tennis players since the 1970s, including matches featuring Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova, the daily said.
The woman was wearing her official US Open uniform — a blue sweatsuit and sneakers — when she was taken away by police.
Goodman, a mother of three daughters, is accused of killing her husband, Alan, during a fight at their home in April, and then trying to make it appear as if he had fallen down the stairs, the Mail reported.
She stands accused of smacking him across the head with a coffee mug and then stabbing him with of its smashed pieces.
The woman, however, told police she returned home after umpiring a tennis match and found him dead.
But police said there was a lot of blood inside the apartment, and there was no sign of forced entry.
Police said it was difficult to track down Goodman as she often travels for weeks at a time. Los Angeles police worked with their New York counterparts to take her into custody.
She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
