Dick Wolf’s ‘Homicide: Los Angeles’ Cases: What Happened to the Killers?

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Homicide: Los Angeles.]

Homicide: Los Angeles is the highly-anticipated follow-up to Homicide: New York, which launched on Netflix earlier this year. Law & Order honcho Dick Wolf brings his Homicide series to the City of Angels.

Over the course of five episodes, detectives break down Los Angeles-centered cases. From the high-profile murder of Lana Clarkson to the murder of a pregnant woman found on the beach, the episodes peel back the curtain on the investigations, victims’ families, and the killers.

Scroll down to get a status update on the killers responsible for these grisly murders.

Hunting Phil Spector (Episode 1)

The first episode of Homicide: Los Angeles examines the shocking murder of Lana Clarkson. Clarkson was shot and killed by record producer Phil Spector inside his mansion on February 3, 2003.

The producer’s driver, Adriano, claimed that Spector called him the night of the murder and said he “killed” someone. Adriano made the initial 911 call. Spector claimed Lana shot herself.

Spector delayed his trial several times by hiring new attorneys. In 2007, a mistrial was declared because of a hung jury. Spector was later convicted of second-degree murder in 2009. He was sentenced to 19 years to life in prison. Spector died on January 16, 2021, at the age of 81.

Race Car Killer (Episode 2)

Race car driver Mickey Thompson and his wife, Trudy, were gunned down in the driveway of their Bradbury, California, home on March 16, 1988. Mickey begged for Trudy’s life to be spared. The two shooters killed Trudy first before killing Mickey.

Mickey’s former business partner, Mike Goodwin, suspiciously funneled his assets into a Caribbean bank and left the United States eight days after Mickey and Trudy’s murders. He fled on a boat he obtained through fraud. Goodwin was charged and convicted of fraud in 1993 when he returned to the U.S.

The Thompson murders case went cold until 2007. Then, a nearby eyewitness revealed that she watched the shooting unfold and said two Black males killed Mickey and Trudy before riding away on their bicycles.

Goodwin was charged with Mickey and Trudy’s murders after a witness confirmed Goodwin was seen near Mickey’s house with one of the shooters days before the murders. He was convicted of all charges, two counts of murder and special circumstances. He is serving two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

The two men who actually committed the murders have never been found. The investigation into those two men is still an active case.

Murder at the Beach (Episode 3)

Pregnant Teresa Broudreaux was found dead on the beach of Malaga Cove in Palos Verdes on March 4, 1980. Her head was bashed in, and she appeared to have been sexually assaulted.

Her husband, Ronnie Fematt, was immediately questioned by police. He had gone to a friend’s house the night of his wife’s murder. After a fight, Fematt last saw Broudreaux in the alley near their apartment, seemingly going to her sister’s house. Broudreaux’s family believed Fematt had killed her.

Thirty-three years after Broudreaux’s murder, there was a break in the case. One sperm head was found and tested for DNA. In 2014, the CODIS database got a hit on the DNA found on Broudreaux’s body. The DNA came back as a match to Robert Yniguez. His DNA was in the database because of his previous rape conviction.

Simultaneously, Fematt told the detective that a friend of his came up to him in the 1990s and said she knew who killed his wife. She had been kidnapped and sexually tortured by two men. One of the men mentioned dumping Broudreaux’s body during the car ride.

Yniguez was brought in for questioning and denied everything. In 2017, he was arrested and charged with murder and rape. Yniguez went for a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and admitted he killed Broudreaux. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in 2019. Yniguez will be eligible for parole in 2026.

Related

Dick Wolf's 'Homicide: New York': Where Are the Killers Now?

A Hollywood Affair (Episode 4)

FOX executive and UCLA basketball star Gavin Smith went missing on May 1, 2012. As the investigation unfolded, detectives learned that Smith had an affair with a woman named Chandrika Creech, who was the last person to speak with him before he went missing. Investigators later found out that Smith and Creech had been in physical contact the night Smith went missing.

Smith and Creech had met in 2008. Their affair lasted for about a year before coming to an end in 2010. Both of their spouses knew about their first affair prior to Smith’s disappearance.

The night Smith went missing, Creech’s husband, John, called an associate of his, Jorge Valles, seven times and asked for help. Valles saw what looked like a mummified body in John’s car, and John admitted that he had killed this person.

In October 2014, more than two years after Smith disappeared, his body was found in Palmdale, California. Creech was brought in for questioning again. After John found her with Smith, Creech said she witnessed her husband beat Smith to death.

The trial began in 2017. On the stand, John claimed he accidentally killed Gavin in self-defense. John was found not guilty of first-degree murder. He was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. John was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was later prosecuted for the transportation and sale of drugs. He was sentenced to an additional 26 years in prison, more than 40 years, when all of his sentences are combined.

The Disappearing Wife (Episode 5)

Jana Koklich’s husband, Bruce Koklich, reported his wife missing in August 2001. Days later, her car was found near oil wells. A significant amount of blood was discovered in the car, but her body was not. Detectives concluded that Jana had been murdered.

Bruce was later charged with Jana’s murder in 2002. He went on trial in 2003. A mistrial was declared after a hung jury. In a retrial, Bruce was convicted of second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 15 years to life and denied parole in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2023. Bruce will next be eligible for parole in 2028.

Jana’s body has never been found.

Homicide: Los Angeles, Streaming Now, Netflix