The Crime

On June 13, 1994, a couple in Las Angeles were surprised when their dog, a small white Akita, returned home with blood on his paws. They took the dog back outside and it led them directly to a neighbor's home – Nicole Simpson. Peering inside the gate they could see Nicole’s lifeless body lying on the sidewalk.

The police were notified and when officers from the LAPD arrived on the scene, they discovered a second body which was later identified as Ronald Goldman. The four officers – Phillip Vannatter, Ronald Phillips, Tom Lange, and Mark Fuhrman, locked down the scene and began searching the premises. In an upstairs bedroom, Nicole and OJ’s children were found safe and had apparently slept through the entire ordeal.

It was immediately clear to the officers that this was no ordinary robbery or rape attempt – this was a rage killing. Nicole’s neck was cut from ear to ear and her head was nearly severed from her body. Ronald was stabbed multiple times including 5 puncture or ‘taunting’ type wounds indicating that he may have been tortured before his murder.

At OJ's House

After securing the scene and making a cursory walk-through, the detectives knew it was time to inform the closest family members. They also decided that O. J. Simpson must be the first to be informed of his ex-wife’s murder partly because they knew he would be concerned with his children who were now in custody of the police.

The officers arrived at the Simpson home and noted several cars in the driveway and lights on in the house. They began calling on the intercom outside of the walled off property. While attempting to reach Simpson inside the home they noticed a white Bronco parked hastily near the gate. Officers immediately noticed blood around the car as well on the car’s exterior. Feeling that Simpson may be in trouble, they decided that they may have a emergency situation on their hands and one of the officers scaled the fence to unlock the gate from the inside (an act that they would later regret).

Upon entering the property they were met by Kato Kaelin and Arnelle Simpson (OJ’s older daughter) who live in bungalows behind the Simpson’s home. Initially, Kato alarmed the Officers. Appearing disheveled, the officers thought he may have been involved in murders until Arnelle defused the situation by verifying that Kato lived on the premises. Arnelle informed the officers that Simpson was in Chicago attending a meeting. Kato, realizing something was wrong, told them of strange noises he heard behind his cabin (thumping noises on the wall). At this point Simpson was not a suspect.

Arnelle voluntarily let the officers inside the home where they made a cursory look over the premises while Fuhrman stayed outside and investigated behind Kato’s bungalow. The officers used Simpon’s phone to call him in Chicago and inform him of the tragedy. Officer Lange detected something unusual about Simpson’s demeanor – when told of his wife’s death he reacted with only mild shock. Lange had investigated hundreds of murders in his 20 year career, and noted that family members usually react with much more emotion, and they usually ask the same questions – how did the person die, where did they die, etc. Simpson asked none of these questions but simply informed officers that he would fly home to Las Angeles immediately.

Next, the officers called Nicole’s parents, again using Simpson’s phone. Nicole’s father and sister, Denise, answered the phone simultaneously. Nicole’s father took the news solemnly while Denise reacts with emotion screaming – ‘OJ did it! OJ killed Nicole!’. Denise dropped the phone and the officers heard several women screaming in the background – ‘OJ killed Nicole!’.  It was at this point that the possibility of OJ's involvement must have been considered by the police.

Criminal Evidence at Simpson's Home

During this, Fuhrman discovered the infamous bloody right-hand glove behind Kato’s bungalow. He immediately informed the other officers of his discovery. The officers began realizing that the Simpson home was related to the original crime scene and they began taking action to secure the premises. They carefully examined the premises and were shocked to discover a blood trail that lead from the Bronco, behind Kato’s home, and directly to the door of Simpson’s house. They even discovered blood inside the foyer of the home. A more careful examination of the Bronco revealed several blood stains and smears both inside and outside of the car. Later examination of the home revealed a pair of bloody socks in Simpson’s bedroom which DNA analysis later revealed to be Nicole’s blood.

Evidence at Nicole's Home

After securing the Simpson’s home the officers returned to the Nicole crime scene where lab specialists were already gathering evidence. Officers found a mountain of evidence which over the course of time, proved without a doubt that Simpson was the perpetrator of the double murder. The matching left-hand glove, one of a pair of rare and expensive Aris Isotoner gloves was found near Ronald’s body. Bloody shoe prints, matched to a expensive brand of Bruno Magli shoes are also found. And of course, there was also lot’s of blood evidence recovered. Eyewitness accounts begin pouring in. Simpson, at this point, had become a strong suspect.

OJ Arrives from Chicago

Upon arriving back in LA, officers were further surprised that Simpson had already secured the services of a famous lawyer – Robert Shapiro. Later Simpson would add Johnnie Cochran, F. Lee Baily, Alan Denshowitz, and the other members to his elite ‘dream team’ of attorneys. Surprisingly, Simpson voluntarily accompanied the detectives to the police station. At the station, Simpson allowed the officers to fingerprint him, take blood samples, and photograph mysterious cuts on his hands. He also gave a statement. It was during the course of this statement that the officers were certain that they’d got their man. Simpson gave varying accounts of how he cut his hand and produced several inconsistencies in his alibi.

The hotel that Simpson stayed in Chicago was secured and police discovered a broken glass left in the sink – no blood was found on or near the glass although blood was found on the sheets and towels. They are able to interview several witnesses in the Chicago area who had contacted with Simpson during his brief stay.

Evidence Presented

During the course of the investigation police gathered so much evidence that they were extremely confident that this was going to be a open and shut case. Their confidence may have led to sloppy detective work that eventually contributed to the surprising outcome of the court case.

• DNA analysis of the blood found in, on, and near Simpson’s Bronco revealed traces of Simpson’s, Nicole’s, and Robert Goldman’s blood.
• DNA analysis of bloody socks found in Simpson bedroom were proven to be Nicole’s blood.
• Simpson’s hair was found on Goldman’s shirt even though Simpson claims to have not been at he home and to never have met Goldman.
• DNA analysis of blood on the gloves was proven to be a mixture of Simpson’s Nicole’s, and Ronald Goldman’s. The gloves also contains particles of Goldman’s hair and carpet fibers from Simpson’s Bronco.
• Officers find arrest records indicating that Simpson was charged with the beating of his wife Nicole. Photos of Nicole’s bruised and battered face emerge. Simpson was sentenced with 3 years of community service for this crime.
• Police discover the dome light in the Bronco has been removed. A search of the vehicle reveals the light was carefully placed under the passenger seat and was in good working condition. Puzzling blood smears on the passenger floorboard indicate that Simpson may have purposely removed the light and placed it under the seat before the murders. Then after the murders he may have unsuccessfully tried to find it to put it back in the socket. Police on stakeouts routinely remove the dome lights from their vehicles to avoid detection when the car doors are opened.
• It was discovered that Nicole has one set of keys to her home missing. She had indicate to several family members and friends that she feared Simpson had stolen them to gain entry into her home. The keys were later found in Simpson’s home.
• Paula Barbieri indicated that she had broken up with Simpson the day of the murders. She indicated he seemed very disturbed at the news. Phone records proved that Simpson attempted to contact her shortly before the murders from his Bronco’s cellular phone.
• The left-hand glove found at Nicole’s home and the right-hand glove found at OJ’s home proved to be a match. They also proven to be Simpson’s size. Even though Simpson claimed under oath that he did not own a pair of Aris Isotoner gloves, several media pictures emerged showing Simpson wearing these exact gloves.
• The bloody footprints are quite easily identified as being made from a pair of Bruno Magli shoes. These shoes are quite expensive and extremely rare. The size 12 prints match Simpson’s shoe size. Simpson claims under oath that he does not own any such shoes and in fact indicates that he thinks they ‘are ugly’. A photograph is introduced showing Simpson wearing the exact shoes at a NFL football game. Simpson claims under oath that the photo is a forgery and is backed up by an expert witness. Later, another photo taken by a different source, also shoes Simpson wearing the same shoes at another NFL football game.
• Friends and family indicate that Nicole was quite consistent in her claims that Simpson had been stalking her. She claimed that everywhere she went she noticed Simpson would be there, watching her. She is afraid because Simpson had already told her he would kill her if he ever found her with another man.
• Ross Cutlery provided store receipts indicating that Simpson had purchased a 12 inch stiletto knife six weeks before the murders. A replica of the knife was purchased by the police and provided a exact match to the wounds on Nicole and Ronald Goldman.

The Timeline

By this time, police had put together eyewitness testimony and pieced together the evidence to form a complete timeline of events. Simpson, possibly in a distraught state of mind due to his breakup with Paula Barbieri earlier in the day, left his home around 10:15 and drove to Nicole’s house. The phone records showed several attempted calls to Paula from Simpson’s Bronco.

Exactly why the murder took place is not clear but could have possibly been due to a jealous rage when Simpson discovered Goldman at Nicole’s home (it was well documented that Simpson had already threatened to kill Nicole if he ever found her with another man). One of Nicole’s neighbors, Robert Heidstra, testified that at 10:30 he heard a white man’s voice hollering ‘Hey! Hey! HEY!’. The neighbor also claimed to have heard a black man’s voice reply (what he said was not clear) followed by what seemed to be an argument. He also claimed he saw a white 'Jeep' flee rapidly from the home.

At 10:40 Simpson left the scene and rushed home. Jill Shively, who lived in Simpson’s neighborhood, testified that she saw Simpson run a red light around 10:45. The white Bronco was driving very fast and almost ran into the side of a van. She recognized the driver as Simpson because he stuck his head out of the Bronco window to scream at the van driver – ‘Get out of the way!’.

At 10:50, Kato heard a noise behind his cabin. He at first thought it was a mild earthquake since it was strong enough to rattle the pictures on his wall.

At 11:00 the chauffeur who was to take Simpson to the airport called Simpson on his mobile phone. The chauffeur had been waiting for over 20 minutes during which time he unsuccessfully attempted to reach Simpson on the phone.  He noticed what appeared to be a black man resembling Simpson, walk up the driveway into the home (from the direction where the white Bronco was parked). When Simpson finally did answer, he claimed that he overslept and was just getting out of the shower. He arrived downstairs with his bags. Kato was already there, talking to the chauffeur and asking if he felt a earthquake – the chauffeur said he did not. Kato asked Simpson for a flashlight so he could examine behind his cabin to see what the source of the noise was. Simpson said he will retrieve a light for Kato on his next trip into the house.

Kato helped Simpson load his bags. One bag, a half-moon shaped travel bag was left on the curb. Kato offered to retrieve it for Simpson who hastily stopped Kato saying that he would take care of that bag himself. Kato believed the bag was quite full. Simpson told Kato that he could not find a flashlight (working flashlights were found in the home during the police investigation).

Simpson flew to Chicago. Witnesses on the plane claimed that Simpson acted normally on the flight but made many trips to the bathroom. They noted that he had a half-moon shaped bag with him on the flight. At the Chicago airport other witnesses claimed to have seen Simpson. This time witnesses accounts of the half-moon shaped bag indicate that the bag was quite empty. An architect later relayed to police that he witnessed Simpson standing near a garbage can with the bag, waiting on a cab. The witness turned to point out Simpson to his wife. When he turned back around he saw Simpson pulling his hand out of the garbage can.

The Arrest

Police obtained a warrant for Simpson’s arrest. Discussions with Simpson’s lawyers produced an agreement that Simpson would turn himself in at 11:00. When Simpson did not show up the police called his home. Shapiro (Simpson’s lawyer) indicated that Simpson was running behind. He was telling his family goodbye, writing a will, and writing various notes to his family members. He appeared very distraught. After several hours the police finally reach their limit and indicated that they were going to the Simpson home to arrest him personally. At this point they discovered that Simpson had not been at home at all but rather at a friend’s house. Shapiro then indicated that Simpson has left the premises with A.C. Cowlings – Shapiro indicated that he thought Simpson might be suicidal.

The bizarre low speed chase ensued. The entire chase was broadcast live over nationwide TV. Police talked to Simpson on a cellular phone and begged him to turn himself in. Simpson held a gun to his head and claimed that he simply wanted to return to his home one more time. He eventually arrived at his home where, clutching a picture of his family in his hands, he collapsed on the ground. Police then discovered that Simpson was in possession of a passport, a large sum of money, a travel bag, a comical disguise, and a suicide note. Police took Simpson into custody and put him under a suicide watch.

The Case

The case itself was just as bizarre as the previous details of this murder. The defense, led by Shapiro was quickly found to use every dirty trick in the book. They turned on the LAPD and attempted to make the cases’ focal point a racial issue. They indicated to the jury (which consisted of 10 blacks, 1 Hispanic, and 1 white person) that Fuhrman, who was only involved with the first few hours of the investigation, was a known racists. Fuhrman denies this and claimed that he has never used the N***** word. When later tape demonstrated Fuhrman using the N***** word 45 times, Furhman was charged with perjury (he later plead no contest claiming that the tape was from a interview with a writer for a fictional police story). The defense also pointed out that lead investigators reside in Simi valley, a known racially divided community in LA with strong associations with the famous Rodney King beatings. The defense also pointed out many mistakes that investigators made.

The jury was taken to the crime scenes by the defense in an effort to show that Simpson could not have possibly arrived at his home undetected or unnoticed (the chauffeur thought he saw a black man enter the home but was not positive). The prosecution thought this was comical since the Simpson estate was concealed by many large bushes that would easily hide entry to the home. The prosecution was shocked to discover that the bushes around the home had been recently trimmed by the defense. A complaint was filed with the judge claiming tampering of evidence.

The well-publicized glove incident was bizarre in its own right. An executive with Aris Isotoner indicated that the gloves have shrunk one full size due to the moisture from the blood. In addition to this, Simpson was allowed to wear a latex glove when trying on the gloves. In a widely publicized scene, a experienced actor was allowed to try on a pair of gloves that have shrunk one size while wearing rubbers gloves underneath. The prosecution was horrified as Simpson struggled to pull on the gloves all the while claiming ‘ they are too small’. Later, outside of the courtroom, Shapiro laughs and joked with the lead investigators exclaiming ‘Why in the world did you allow us to do that!’.

The prosecution, lead by Marcia Clark, was quite lax in their case. When the initial jury selection produced 10 black, 1 Hispanic, and 1 white juror, the prosecution made no arguments at all for the lack of racial diversity. Possibly overconfident that they would easily win this case, Clarke never attempted to defend the LAPD or counter with any of the solid points of the case. Eventually, Clark stopped using LAPD evidence at all, and began to focus on the marriage history of OJ Simpson instead.

The outcome

On October 13, 1994, the jury of 10 black, 1 Hispanic, and 1 white made their announcement. The outcome was not shown live but rather relayed to the media by a few select reporters inside the courtroom. The entire nations stopped what they are doing and watched as the jury announces, ‘We the jury, in the above titled action, find the defendant Orenthal James Simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder’. The court erupts in bedlam.

The Mistakes

How could this injustice have happened? Several mistakes were indeed made, even though there was a astounding amount of evidence that could have resulted in a conviction. What we must remind ourselves that it is not the opinion of the majority of the United States that matters but rather the opinion of a small group of 12 people that determines the outcome of a criminal case such as this. Whether their decision resulted from the lack of evidence, the misunderstanding of the evidence that was presented, or racial bias may never be truly known. But here are some bizarre circumstances that may have contributed to that unjust verdict:

• The evidence of the knife purchase from Ross Cutlery was not allowed in court. The owner of Ross Cutlery, taken in by all the media attention, sold the story to the National Enquirer before making his testimony.
• The evidence presented by Jill Shively of Simpson rushing home around the time of the murders was not presented in court. Jill also sold her story prior to testimony to Hard Copy for $5,000.
• The man in the Chicago airport who claimed to have seen Simpson dumping the contents of the half-moon shaped bag into an airport trashcan was actually a witness for the defense. He was intended to provide proof of the time that Simpson was in Chicago. Even thought this proof was not needed due to the vast paper trail collaborating Simpson’s stay in Chicago, the defense felt it necessary that this person be used on Simpson’s behalf. Not surprisingly, he was never called to testify during the court battle.
• During a subsequent search of Simpson’s business office, police discovered a 3-page document written by Simpson describing his abuse of Nicole. For procedural reasons and blocked by Simpson’s attorneys, the police were not allowed to seize the document. Returning later with the proper authority to confiscate the document, they were told by Simpson’s assistant that it had already been shredded.
• Marcia Clark discarded much of the evidence collected by the LAPD. Since the trial became more focused on police conduct rather than Simpson’s guilt, Clark decided to stop using the LAPDs evidence rather than redirect the focus of the court to the appropriate matters. Among the evidence that was never introduced included: proof of OJ’s ownership of the Bruno Magli shoes, Robert Heidstra’s testimony of voices heard during the time of the murders, testimony from the architect in Chicago who saw Simpson dump the contents of his travel bag in a trash container, detectives taped interview of Simpson which contained may inconsistencies and false statements, Simpson’s suicide note, the taped discussion with Simpson during the low-speed car chase, Nicole’s stolen house keys found in Simpson’s possession, and evidence found after the low-speed chase including Simpson’s possession of a large amount of money, travel bag, disguise, gun, and passport.
• Even though incontrovertible DNA evidence indicated that Simpson was present at the crime scene and that blood from Nicole and Goldman were left on Simpson’s clothes, the jury dismisses this evidence. The fact that DNA analysis identifies the different blood types with such accuracy that you could exclude every other human being on the face of the earth, seems to have been ignored by the jury. Later interviews with jury members revealed that they indeed did not truly understand how accurate DNA analysis was and that the blood evidence was not that important.

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