O.J. Simpson Murder Case
The O. J. Simpson murder case was a criminal trial held in the LA, California Superior Court in which former American football star and actor O.J. Simpson was charged with the 1994 murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend. The case has been described as the most publicized criminal trail in American history. Simpson was acquitted after a lengthy trial that lasted over nine months—the longest jury trial in California history. Simpson hired a high-profile defense team initially led by RObert Shaprino and subsequently led by F. Lee Bailey and Johnnie Cochran. LA county DNA evidence including that the blood-sample evidence had allegedly been mishandled by lab scientists and technicians - and about the circumstances surrounding other exhibits. Cochran and the defense team also alleged other misconduct by the LA Police Department. Simpson's celebrity and the lengthy trial riveted national attention on the so-called "Trial of the Century". By the end of the criminal trial, national surveys showed dramatic differences between most blacks and most whites in terms of their assessment of Simpson's guilt.
At 12:05 a.m. on June 13, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found fatally stabbed outside Brown's condo in the Brentwood area of LA. Her two children, Sydney (aged 8) and Justin (aged 5), were asleep inside in an upstairs bedroom. O. J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson had divorced two years earlier. Evidence found and collected at the scene led police to suspect that O. J. Simpson was the murderer. Nicole had been stabbed multiple times through the throat to the point of near decapitation; her vertebrae were almost severed, and she also had a swollen face.
Simpson was suppose to turn himself in to the Police Department, but he never showed up. On June 17, 1994, over one thousand reporters waited for Simpson at the police station. The police tracked calls placed on the cellular telephone from Simpson's van in Orange County A sheriff's patrol car saw a white Ford belonging to Simpson's friend, Al Cowlings, going north on Interstate 45. When the officer approached the Bronco, Cowlings, who was driving, yelled that Simpson had a gun to his own head. The officer backed off but followed the vehicle with Simpson in a slow-speed chase at 35 miles per hour. Thousands of spectators and on-lookers packed overpasses along the procession's journey waiting for the white Bronco. Some had signs urging Simpson to flee and others were caught up in a festival-like atmosphere. Over twenty helicopters were following this chase. It was televised by local as well as national news outlets, with 95 million viewers tuning in. The chase ended at 8 P.M. at Simpson's Brentwood home, 50 miles later. He was allowed to go inside for about an hour. His attorney Robert Shapiro arrived and a few minutes later, Simpson surrendered himself to authorities.
Simpson pleaded not guilty to both murders. It was apparent he committed the crime. One dark leather glove was found at the crime scene, with its match found near Kato Kaelin's guest house behind Simpson's Rockingham Drive estate. Kaelin testified that he had heard "bumps in the night" in the same area around the guest house the night of the murder. Brown had bought Simpson two pairs of this type of glove in 1990. Both gloves, according to the prosecution, contained DNA evidence from Simpson, Brown and Goldman, with the glove at Simpson's house also containing a long strand of blonde hair similar to Brown's. Prosecutors contended that the presence of O. J. Simpson's blood at the crime scene was the result of blood dripping from cuts on the middle finger of his left hand. Police noted his wounds on June 13, 1994, and asserted that these were suffered during the fatal attack on Ronald Goldman. However, the defense noted that none of the gloves found had any cuts. They also alleged that Fuhrman had planted the glove at Simpson's house and that the analysis finding that the hair could be Brown's could not be reliable. The prosecution contended that this was not the case, pointing out that by the time Fuhrman had arrived at the Bundy home, the crime scene had already been combed over by several officers for almost two hours, and none had noticed a second glove at the scene.
At 10:07 a.m. on October 3, 1995, after only four hours of deliberation the previous day, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. KHAOS IN THE STREETS!
At 12:05 a.m. on June 13, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found fatally stabbed outside Brown's condo in the Brentwood area of LA. Her two children, Sydney (aged 8) and Justin (aged 5), were asleep inside in an upstairs bedroom. O. J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson had divorced two years earlier. Evidence found and collected at the scene led police to suspect that O. J. Simpson was the murderer. Nicole had been stabbed multiple times through the throat to the point of near decapitation; her vertebrae were almost severed, and she also had a swollen face.
Simpson was suppose to turn himself in to the Police Department, but he never showed up. On June 17, 1994, over one thousand reporters waited for Simpson at the police station. The police tracked calls placed on the cellular telephone from Simpson's van in Orange County A sheriff's patrol car saw a white Ford belonging to Simpson's friend, Al Cowlings, going north on Interstate 45. When the officer approached the Bronco, Cowlings, who was driving, yelled that Simpson had a gun to his own head. The officer backed off but followed the vehicle with Simpson in a slow-speed chase at 35 miles per hour. Thousands of spectators and on-lookers packed overpasses along the procession's journey waiting for the white Bronco. Some had signs urging Simpson to flee and others were caught up in a festival-like atmosphere. Over twenty helicopters were following this chase. It was televised by local as well as national news outlets, with 95 million viewers tuning in. The chase ended at 8 P.M. at Simpson's Brentwood home, 50 miles later. He was allowed to go inside for about an hour. His attorney Robert Shapiro arrived and a few minutes later, Simpson surrendered himself to authorities.
Simpson pleaded not guilty to both murders. It was apparent he committed the crime. One dark leather glove was found at the crime scene, with its match found near Kato Kaelin's guest house behind Simpson's Rockingham Drive estate. Kaelin testified that he had heard "bumps in the night" in the same area around the guest house the night of the murder. Brown had bought Simpson two pairs of this type of glove in 1990. Both gloves, according to the prosecution, contained DNA evidence from Simpson, Brown and Goldman, with the glove at Simpson's house also containing a long strand of blonde hair similar to Brown's. Prosecutors contended that the presence of O. J. Simpson's blood at the crime scene was the result of blood dripping from cuts on the middle finger of his left hand. Police noted his wounds on June 13, 1994, and asserted that these were suffered during the fatal attack on Ronald Goldman. However, the defense noted that none of the gloves found had any cuts. They also alleged that Fuhrman had planted the glove at Simpson's house and that the analysis finding that the hair could be Brown's could not be reliable. The prosecution contended that this was not the case, pointing out that by the time Fuhrman had arrived at the Bundy home, the crime scene had already been combed over by several officers for almost two hours, and none had noticed a second glove at the scene.
At 10:07 a.m. on October 3, 1995, after only four hours of deliberation the previous day, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. KHAOS IN THE STREETS!
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