OJ Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goodman were murdered on June 12, 1994. At 11.40pm on that day Brown and Goodman were found stabbed to death outside Brown's condominium in Bundy Drive, Los Angeles. Her two children with Simpson, Sydney and Justin were asleep in an upstiars bedroom. Evidence found and collected at the scene led police to suspect Simpson of the killings - Brown had been stabbed through the throat to the point of near decapitation, and Goodman had several 'teaser' wounds, suggeting the killer taunted him before klling him.
Simpson was announced as a suspect, and his lawyers convinced the police to allow the former NFL star to turn himself in. He didn't. He sent a letter to be read by his lawyers which included the mystifying line "Don't feel sorry for me. I've had a great life." It sounded, to most of the world, like a suicide note from a guilty man. Simpson then, driven by friend Al Cowlings, led the police on a merry chase in his white Ford Bronco. 95 million tuned into this prime time farce. When the chase finally ended - back at Simpson's home - he simply turned himself in.
Covered and televised by Court TV, and in part by other cable and network news outlets, the trial began on January 25, 1995. Los Angeles County prosecutor Christopher Darden argued that Simpson killed his ex-wife in a jealous rage. The prosecution opened its case by playing a 911 call which Nicole Brown Simpson had made on January 1, 1989. She expressed fear that Simpson would physically harm her, and he could be heard yelling at her in the background. The prosecution also presented dozens of expert witnesses, on subjects ranging from DNA fingerprinting to blood and shoeprint analysis, to place Simpson at the scene of the crime. The prosecution spent the opening weeks of the trial presenting evidence that Simpson had a history of physically abusing Nicole. Simpson's lawyer Alan Dershowitz argued that only a tiny fraction of women who are abused by their mates are murdered.
After a nine-month trial which at times was farce, on October 3, 1995 Simpson was aquitted of all charges.
On February 5, 1997 a civil jury in Santa Monica, California unanimously found Simpson liable for the wrongful death of and battery against Goldman, and battery against Brown. Daniel Petrocelli represented plaintiff Fred Goldman, Ronald Goldman's father. Simpson was ordered to pay ,500,000 in damages. However, California law protects pensions from being used to satisfy judgments, so Simpson was able to continue much of his lifestyle based on his NFL pension. In February 1999, an auction of Simpson's Heisman Trophy and other belongings netted almost 0,000. The money went to the Goldman family. A 2000 Rolling Stone article reported that Simpson still made a significant income by signing autographs. He subsequently moved from California to Miami, Florida. In Florida, a person's residence cannot be seized to collect a debt under most circumstances. The Goldman family also tried to collect Simpson's NFL pension of ,000 a month but failed to collect any money.
Simpson is currently serving 33 years on kidnapping and robbery charges. He is inmate 1027820 at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Nevada if you want to drop him a line.
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