Horace Joseph Big Mac McKenna, a prominent strip club owner and former California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer, was ambushed and killed on March 9, 1989, at the gate of his hilltop home in Brea, Orange County. McKenna, a towering 6 feet 6 inches, was sitting in his chauffeured limousine when attackers opened machine-gun fire; investigators recovered more than 30 bullet casings at the scene and found him riddled with bullets.

Early suspicion briefly fell on his son Michael because of the potential inheritance, but Michael was cleared of involvement. Years later authorities linked the killing to McKenna’s business partner, Mike Woods, who allegedly conspired to eliminate McKenna to gain control of their strip club interests. Two accomplices were said to have carried out the hit; evidence used against Woods included forensic findings, witness testimony, and examination of the partners’ business affairs, leading to a conviction for special circumstances murder.

Does anyone have additional information about McKenna’s life or business contacts from the late 1980s that could shed more light on the case?