Lawrence Goodine in court
photo by Brent McDonald. See video on NewsChannel 9.
A Ring video played in court on Thursday showed a former city police officer pushing a woman as she pleaded for him to stop.
Kara Akins, 48, was later found dead in her apartment in the 2600 block of Carr Street last Nov. 29.
Lawrence Goodine, 43, had charges of first-degree murder and especially aggravated kidnapping bound to the Grand Jury.
General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes kept him on the same $3,050,000 bond, calling him "a danger to the community" and a flight risk.
The Ring video was from a neighbor's porch that caught the fight outside Ms. Akin's unit.
Ms. Akins could be heard saying "Stop!" 10 times, "Lawrence!" four times, and "Why are you doing this?" three times.
Goodine had told police that he and Ms. Akins went for cigarettes and she went missing. He said he later found her and it appeared she was high on drugs. He said they went to her unit, had sex, then he woke up and found her unconscious.
However, the autopsy showed that the mother of seven had been strangled and she had bruises all over her body and blunt force injury to the head. There was no sign of drugs in her body.
Blood was found on a living room carpet and couch. Goodine's wallet was also located in the apartment.
Goodine, while on the police force, was charged with perjury and theft, but he was found not guilty in a trial in 2008. He was not given his police job back.
Attorney Bill Speek interviews investigator in the courtroom of Judge Gary Starnes
photo by Brent McDonald. See video on NewsChannel 9.