Detectives: We Know Why Referee Murdered Her Husband

WOODLAND HILLS (CBSLA.com) — Elite tennis referee Lois Goodman arrived in Los Angeles Thursday night to face murder charges.

Police suspect the 70-year-old Woodland Hills resident murdered her 82-year-old husband, Alan, at their home in April.

Detectives Thursday said they believe Goodman murdered the victim with a coffee mug after finding ceramic fragments in his scalp.

"The injuries appear to be deep-penetrating, blunt force trauma that was consistent with being inflicted with a sharp object," investigators stated in their report.

Goodman has been denying the accusation and up until Friday investigators hadn't confirmed a motive for the crime.

Now, detectives say evidence proves the U.S. Open referee was in contact with another man, a love interest online, and told him she wanted to leave her husband.

The referee initially told detectives she found her husband's body, covered in blood, in their bed and indicated that he may have fallen.

A coroner's official intercepted Goodman's plans to have her husband cremated.

"Lois' emotional reaction to what she had seen and the loss of her husband was not typical of that of a grieving spouse.." the official said in the report.

Coroner's officials later found the ceramic fragments in his scalp.

Over the months, crime scene investigators obtained seven search warrants and found blood in several areas of the home.

Earlier Thursday, Goodman left an extradition hearing in New York City, where she had been asked to officiate for the U.S. Open Tournament.

Goodman was still wearing her Ralph Lauren uniform when she boarded a flight at JFK airport back to L.A.

Her attorney said Goodman is eager to get home and defend herself.

RELATED STORY: Detectives Say Pro Tennis Referee Murdered Her Husband With Coffee Mug