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Pro Tennis Referee Pleads Not Guilty To Murdering Husband

VAN NUYS (CBSLA.com) — A professional tennis referee accused of beating her 80-year-old husband to death with a coffee mug pleaded not guilty to murder charges Wednesday.

Bail Lois Ann Goodman was lowered from $1 million to $500,000.

The Woodland Hills resident was arrested last week in Manhattan where she was preparing to be a line judge for the U.S. Open tennis tournament.

Police say the 70-year-old used a coffee mug to bludgeon her husband, Alan, to death on April 17.

She claims her husband of nearly 50 years died from a fall down the stairs while she was out.

Prosecutors say Goodman may have been involved with another man at the time of the murder.

If convicted, she faces up to life in prison.

Goodman will return to court on Oct. 3 to set a date for a preliminary hearing.

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