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Balcony Fall Was Accidental, Aunt Says

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By KEITH MORELLI The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 18, 2007

TAMPA - To investigators, the fatal tumble Joshua Goodin took from the third-floor balcony of a Clearwater hotel amounts to second-degree murder.

To some members of the Goodin family, though, there has been enough pain.

'They were all just down here having a good time,' Goodin's aunt, Elizabeth David, said Monday. 'It was a bad accident. We don't feel it was intentional.'

Goodin, 25, and his brother-in-law, William Donahue, 21, were at a family vacation in Clearwater when a disagreement over politics led to a physical struggle at about 4 a.m. Wednesday. Goodin went over a balcony at the Sea Stone Resort motel. Three days later, he died at Bayfront Medical Center.

Donahue, an airman who lives at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, was arrested and taken to Pinellas County Jail. He remained there Monday on $500,000 bail, facing charges of second-degree murder.

David said the family is deeply shaken by the incident. The two men, she said, were the best of friends. Donahue married Goodin's sister, Chantel, four years ago. They hung out together every chance they got.
Goodin was born in Oklahoma and grew up in Tampa. He moved around a lot. He spent a lot of time living with his father in Oklahoma and his mother in Tampa and Georgia. In Georgia, Goodin lived near his sister and Donahue, David said, and often cared for Donahue's two young children. A third child is on the way, David said.

Goodin's 1-year-old child, Jordan, lives in Oklahoma.

A cook by trade, Goodin worked at a chain restaurant in Georgia and was moving to Tampa to cook at the same restaurant here.

David said Goodin was looking forward to returning to Tampa.

David said Goodin's mother was too upset by the incident to talk about it, but wanted to convey that her son 'had a big smile that would light up a room and that he loved God.'

'He loved to dance and he loved football,' David added.
Goodin rooted for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but deep down loved the Dallas Cowboys.

'He called Tampa his home,' David said. 'He was coming back here. Most of his family is here. He had a lot of friends here. He was real outgoing. He liked to do about everything.

'He was not a violent person at all. He was a sweet boy.'

Donahue, who is assigned to the 1st Communications Squadron at Langley, was in the Bay area on vacation with his wife. Goodin had just gotten into town and was settling in, David said.

They met at the motel last week to party and enjoy the sun at Clearwater Beach.

'They were drinking,' David said. 'It was Josh's brother's birthday, and things got out of hand. There were about five young adults in their early 20s drinking.'

She said Goodin and Donahue argued off and on throughout the day about a lot of things, including politics.

On Monday, the family struggled with making funeral arrangements for one family member and preparing for a protracted court case for another.

'We are in shock,' David said. 'We're devastated. We didn't want to give up on Josh, but the hospital said we had to. All we can do now is stand behind Chantel.'

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or at kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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