T.R. Thomas - Celebrity Cases

TIMELINE

June 12, 1994

Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are murdered.

October 3, 1995

O.J. Simpson is found not guilty of murder at his criminal trial.

December 5, 2008

O.J. is sentenced to 33 years in prison for other crimes.

Where is Lovelock, Nevada?

KEY TERMS

decapitatedbeheaded; head cut off

domestic violenceharming someone in the same family or home

plaintivesad or mournful

possessivewanting to keep another person all to yourself

propheticpredicting the future

DID YOU KNOW?

After Nicole Brown Simpsons death, her sister Denise Brown established a foundation. Its motto is: There is no excuse for abuse. The groups goal is to help end domestic violence.

There was almost no traffic on the I-405 freeway in Los Angeles. This was unusual for a late afternoon in June. A white Ford Bronco traveled slowly down the freeway. It was going about 35 mph. A large group of police cars followed it.

About 20 news helicopters flew overhead. People lined up along the overpasses to watch. More than 95 million people watched on TV. Most TV stations stopped their regular shows to cover the chase. NBC even broke into its coverage of the NBA Finals.

Al Cowlings was driving the white Bronco. Orenthal James O.J. Simpson was in the passenger seat. O.J. had a gun to his own head. He was talking on his cell phone with an LAPD officer. Detective Tom Lange was trying to talk O.J. out of killing himself.

O.J., or the Juice, was Al Cowlings best friend. The two men were both from San Francisco. They had gone to high school and college together. They had both played pro football in the NFL. O.J. later went on to become a popular sportscaster.

June 17, 1994, was a very bad day for Simpson. The police charged him with two murders. His ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, had been stabbed to death. Her friend, Ron Goldman, was also murdered. The police thought O.J. had killed them both in a fit of rage. They wanted him to turn himself in. Finally, he did. The low-speed chase ended at his mansion. O.J. was arrested.

O.J. and Nicole met in June 1977. Beautiful, blonde Nicole was only 18 at the time. She worked as a waitress at a swank Beverly Hills nightclub. That is where they met. O.J. was 30. He was still married to his first wife, Marguerite. They had three kids. But that did not stop O.J. from dating other women. Later, he would cheat on Nicole, too.

O.J. and Marguerite got a divorce. O.J. and Nicole married in 1985. Later that year, they had a baby girl, Sydney. In 1988, they had a baby boy, Justin.

By then O.J. had retired from professional football. He was working as a sportscaster. He also acted in movies and did commercials. He was famous as the spokesman for Hertz car rentals.

O.J. and Nicole seemed to make a beautiful couple. But, their marriage was no bed of roses. O.J. was very possessive and jealous. He couldnt stand to think of his wife with another man.

He also had an explosive temper. Nicole was a victim of domestic violence. O.J. beat her and called her names. He tried to make her feel worthless. She had to call 911 on him several times. She wrote about it in her diary.

Eventually they divorced. O.J. continued to stalk his ex-wife. A week before her death, Nicole told a friend O.J. was going to kill her. She said he was going to get away with it. He was going to charm the world because he was O.J. Simpson. Later, Nicoles words seemed prophetic.

Sunday, June 12, 1994, was a beautiful day in Los Angeles. Nicole Brown Simpson woke up early. She fixed breakfast for her two kids. For Nicole, weekends meant doing fun things with the kids. At the time, Sydney was eight and Justin was six.

Nicole and her children lived in a comfortable condo. It was in Brentwood. Brentwood is a wealthy Los Angeles neighborhood.

They had a busy day planned. First Nicole was taking the kids out shopping. Sydney had a dance recital that afternoon. The little girl had practiced a lot. She was excited about her costumes.

Early in the afternoon, O.J. called Nicole from his car. They talked about Sydneys recital. O.J. was planning to attend. Nicoles parents and sisters would be there as well.

Later that afternoon, O.J. met everybody at the recital. He arrived a little late. Several people noticed that he did not say hello to Nicole.

Nicole and her family were going out to dinner afterward. O.J. was not invited. They were going to Mezzaluna. It was a nice restaurant in Brentwood. Nicoles friend Ron Goldman worked there as a waiter.

O.J. had to catch a late flight to Chicago that night. He said goodbye after the recital. Everyone else went to the restaurant. Ron Goldman greeted the Brown party when they arrived. They had a nice dinner. Afterward, Nicoles mother went home. She did not realize she had left her glasses behind.

Later, the glasses were found in front of the restaurant. Ron Goldman offered to take them to Nicole. He left the restaurant. It was the last time his coworkers saw him alive.

Sometime between 10 and 11 p.m., neighbors heard Nicoles dog barking. It seemed very distressed. The dog was wailing plaintively. It was running around loose in Nicoles neighborhood. The dog had blood on its back paw. Several neighbors tried to help. They did not know who the dog belonged to. It led them back to Nicoles condo.

The neighbors found the bodies of Nicole and Ron at the condo. They had been stabbed numerous times. Nicoles throat was slashed. She was nearly decapitated. The police immediately suspected O.J. They called him. He flew home from Chicago.

O.J. was questioned and released. Several days later, police arrested the former football star at the end of the famous slow-speed chase. O.J. Simpson was charged with the murders.

People from all over the world followed the trial. There were new developments every day. The evidence included a bloody glove and a Bruno Magli shoe print. Kato Kaelin, O.J.s houseguest, testified. O.J.s limo driver also testified. Every piece of the puzzle was examined.