Tennis umpire believes husband died after tripping over cat

LOS ANGELES – A tennis umpire arrested before a U.S. Open match and accused of beating her husband to death with a coffee mug before seeing the charges dropped says he may have died after tripping over their cat.

Lois Goodman says in an interview Friday with NBC News that she believes her husband, Alan, died after tripping and falling down the stairs of their Los Angeles home.

She said on “Megyn Kelly Today” that he was legally blind and one of their cats would usually lie on the steps.

Goodman was arrested before a 2012 U.S. Open match in New York. Authorities accused her of bludgeoning her 80-year-old husband with a coffee cup. The charges were later dropped.

Goodman is suing the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.