Transcription
I should have known Peter had something to do with this. You're not the first person whose life he screwed up.
Knock knock. Nicole, Ronald, who's ready for boggle? Oh my god. You know, little known fact about me is that I'm actually an expert at solving unsolved cases. Nobody does it like me. DB Cooper. Yeah, it was this guy, Jack the Ripper. Turns out it was Jack all along. I've solved every crime podcast before it was cast. But there's one unsolved case that's always eluded me. The greatest mystery in American history. Who murdered OJ Simpson's wife and also that waiter also.
But first, we have to start at the start of the juice. Orinthal James Simpson was born in 1947. A running back since high school, he would play for the University of Southern California. He set school records, played in two Rose Bowls, rushed for over 1,700 yards in '68, won the Heisman, and was a member of the world record setting 440 meter relay team to boot. He was drafted first overall by the Buffalo Bills and set NFL records with 23 touchdowns and over 2,000 yards in a season. Despite never even being close to a Super Bowl, I mean, he was on the Bills after all, he was still a superstar. He retired in '79 with the second most total yards in history and was inducted into the Hall of Fame years later.
Afterwards, he became an actor in movies, commercials, and TV shows, and a commentator for football games. In '77, he met the 18-year-old Nicole Brown when he was 30 with a wife and kids. Yet 8 years later, he was divorced and married Nicole. No red flags here. Together, the pair would have two kids, but their marriage wasn't as picture perfect as their LA mansion. Their divorce in '92 after a history of abuse. OJ pleaded no contest to battery charges against her and even after the divorce, police responded to OJ kicking down her door. Things would remain tense between the two until one fateful night.
On June 12th, 1994, both would attend their child's dance recital. Afterwards, Nicole and her family went to a restaurant where her friend Ronald Goldman worked as a waiter. After they left, Nicole had forgotten her glasses, so Ron decided to go to her Brentwood condo to drop them off later that night. Just past 10:00 p.m., Nicole's neighbors noticed her dog barking from just outside her house. When they went to investigate, it was covered in blood and led them back to the house. LAPD quickly responded where they found Nicole and Goldman. Nicole's throat had been cut and Goldman had been stabbed around 30 times. The scene was covered with blood along with footprints, a knit hat, and a lone leather glove.
After closing off the scene, detectives went to OJ's house so he could collect his kids who had slept through the attack. When detectives arrived, nobody answered the gate. While looking around, detective Mark Ferman noticed a blood spot on the white Bronco parked outside. He's probably not important. Don't bother remembering him. Detectives claimed they now believed OJ could also be in danger. So, Ferman hopped the wall, unlocked the gate, and they entered without a warrant. But OJ wasn't home. Only his daughter and his friend Kato Kalin, who was living in his guest house. They told police that OJ had just left on a plane for Chicago.
While other detectives interviewed the two, Ferman walked around the property and behind the guest house found a blood stained glove, the match of the one at the scene. OJ was now a suspect. Kato would help officers paint a picture of the night. After the recital, he and OJ went to McDonald's. And after that, he didn't see OJ for a while. That night, he heard a thumping on his wall. When he went to see what was up, he saw a limo out front. The driver later testified that he was there to pick up OJ for his flight, but nobody came out of the house for half an hour. Around 11:00, he saw a man enter the house, and a few minutes later, OJ appeared, claiming he had overslept. Kato and the driver helped OJ with his bags, except for a small black bag he wouldn't let them touch. Then they drove away.
Simpson would be told about the murder in his Chicago hotel room the next day. Though notably upset, he did not ask when, by who, or how. When he returned to LA to be questioned, officers noticed a cut on his hand. At first, he claimed he didn't know how he got it, but later said that he cut it in his Bronco just coincidentally on the night of the murders and reopened it when he was smashing glass in Chicago in grief. Despite this extremely obvious red flag, cops gave a terrible interview. OJ contradicted himself multiple times, but they ignored key details and didn't ask obvious questions. It was so bad that during the trial, neither side used it. OJ's blood was taken to match DNA and he was sent on his way.
Yet, despite this, they were pretty sure OJ did it, and the DNA would prove it. The gloves contained Nicole, Goldman, and OJ's blood. Socks found in his bedroom contained Nicole's blood. Hair found on the cab matched OJ's. A blood trail led from the Bronco into OJ's house. Nicole and Goldman's blood was found in the Bronco. So, cops got a warrant and agreed with OJ's lawyers that he'd turn himself in after Nicole's funeral. Yet, Big O was a no-show. When cops went to get him, they found that he had left in his Bronco with friend Al Cowlings. They also found a suicide note proclaiming his innocence.
That afternoon, an officer saw the two and a slow chase ensued. The most famous chase in American history. Cowlings called police telling them that OJ had a gun to his head. So police followed slowly behind on the highway. Helicopters soon flooded the skies and crowds formed to watch. Coverage of game five of the NBA finals was interrupted and 95 million Americans watched the chase live. The hourlong chase ended at OJ's Brentwood home where he was surrounded by cops. OJ was officially arrested. Inside the car, police found a revolver, OJ's passport, a few thousand, and a fake mustache and beard. What seemed to be his poorly thoughtout escape plan failed. If there was anyone unaware of the situation, they were aware now, and America was ready for the trial of the century.
OJ pleaded absolutely 100% not guilty. Yet, with a mountain of evidence, the prosecution was very confident that they'd win the case. Along with extensive DNA evidence, OJ was unaccounted for at the time of the murders. OJ had reportedly told Nicole a month before, "If I ever see you with another man, I'll kill you." On the night of the murders, a woman had seen OJ driving his Bronco, contradicting his story. It was about as open and shut as it gets. They had their mistake started before the trial even began. The prosecution decided to file the case downtown instead of in Santa Monica, where the crime happened. They argued it would be better for the media and cut down on commute times. The entire case being jeopardized because they didn't want to deal with LA traffic is the most LA thing I've ever heard. But really, it was probably just for optics. If the trial was in Santa Monica, the jury would likely be mostly white. And being only a few years after the LA riots, a mostly white jury convicting a famous black man could spark more. It's likely they thought the case was so obvious that even a racially mixed jury that they'd get downtown would have to convict. They also didn't go for the death penalty. Which would have got them a friendlier jury and were pretty lax on jury selection in general. They didn't care. One prosecutor said, "We have so much evidence we could convict Christ." Now that's some confident blaspheming. The juice was in the blender.
His only hope was to assemble the greatest and/or sleaziest group of lawyers ever seen. A group that would come to be known as the Dream Team. Robert Shapiro, his old lawyer. Robert Kardashian, friend of OJ and patriarch of the later famous family. Alan Dersowitz, the guy who would go on to defend Trump, Weinstein, and Epstein. Just going to leave that there. And most notably, the styling, high-profile, Rolls-Royce riding Johnny Cochran, who would become the lead attorney. Despite many on the team having next to no experience in murder cases, they all had one thing in common. They loved putting on a show. In the US, a defendant can only be declared guilty if the jury unanimously agrees that they are without a shadow of a doubt. So, all the defense needed to do was give them that shadow. They pieced together the true story of OJ Simpson, a black man framed by a conspiracy involving the entire LAPD. All that evidence planted. I mean, come on. That could have been anyone's OJ Simpson DNA. The system was racist and oppressive, and he was just another victim. With the jury now majority black, they knew it was their only chance.
The televised trial began in January of '94, and the difference in strategies was apparent from the start. The prosecution began by laying out their evidence. The defense began by quoting MLK. They argued the evidence was contaminated, compromised, and ultimately corrupted. The trial began with the prosecution laying out their case extensively. Maybe a little too extensively. Over the next 99 days, the prosecution brought up 72 witnesses. If you think that's a lot for a murder that nobody saw, you wouldn't be alone. They focused on the abusive relationship the two had, playing Nicole's 911 calls, calling friends and family as witnesses who saw the abuse. Even one of OJ's friends who claimed OJ told him he had some dreams of killing Nicole. Despite OJ claiming he was practicing his golf swing at the time, as you do at 10 p.m. at night, phone records show that he made a call from his car at the time. The defense didn't even try to explain this discrepancy. OJ claimed to not own the ugly ass shoes that made the footprints. Photos showed he did. They argued that the little black bag, which had not been seen since, was dumped with the murder weapon.
In the middle of this, jurors took a field trip to the crime scene in OJ's house, which I didn't know you could do. While meant to give them a better picture of the crime scene, the defense used it as an opportunity to shape the narrative on OJ. Before they got to the house, they took down pictures of O.J.'s white golfing buddies and his naked white girlfriend, which was just hanging in his house, I guess, and replaced them with civil rights paintings, pictures of his mom, and a very visible Bible. The trip actually seemed to benefit the defense, and that was a theme throughout the trial. The defense was able to turn the prosecution's case against them. On cross-examinations, the defense was dead set on destroying the cop's credibility, which wasn't too hard. There were photos of cops handling evidence without gloves. Instead of using one of those white sheets, they used a random blanket from inside to cover Nicole. They placed some samples in plastic bags that could produce bacteria. Most of the samples were collected by a junior criminalist without supervision. They even got the prosecution's DNA expert to admit that mistakes had been made. They accused officers of misconduct, even framing one as an alcoholic lying to boost his acting career. Slowly, their theory of contaminated evidence was starting to come together.
The prosecution didn't do themselves any favors either. When they brought Kato Kalin to the stand, he seemed to contradict himself. So, in a strange move, they had their own witness declared hostile. And in the most famous moment of the trial, they were the ones who dramatically asked OJ to try on the gloves. They were a size extra large purchased by Nicole and there were photos of OJ wearing similar ones. So they walked him right in front of the jury where he struggled to put them on. The gloves did not properly fit, which I mean, am I crazy or are they not literally on his hands in this famous photo? Not to mention he has latex gloves on underneath and it's not even like they have to fit perfectly for him to, you know. You know what I'm saying? I don't know. Maybe I'm crazy. The prosecution argued that blood and moisture had shrunk the gloves. And when OJ tried on a new pair, they fit. But the damage was done. The prosecution rested their case on far shakier ground than they intended.
Now it was time for Johnny the [ __ ] Cochran to get to work. Nobody calls him the [ __ ]. I made that up. The Dream Team argued that the prosecution's timeline didn't make any sense and that the arthritis-riddled OJ could never pull off a double homicide. They called O.J.'s family as witnesses who spoke to his good character. This seemed to have a greater impact on the jury than the families of the victims. I mean, come on. Murders happen every day. 143 yards per game is generational.
Then they played their ace. Earlier in the trial, Detective Furman was called as a witness by the prosecution. They painted him as a standup American cop whose work had found key evidence. The defense's cross-exam was brutal. But most importantly, they asked Ferman if he had ever used the n-word. Furman said no. Bingo. The defense had found tapes of someone interviewing Ferman, which they presented to the court. In it, he used the n-word 41 times. In fact, it was revealed that he once told a friend he would burn all black people if he could. Jesus, more like fewer men. They also revealed that he was part of a secret group of cops called men against women who tried to force women out of the LAPD with harassment. He even badmouthed the judge's wife, who was a cop. Just a comically evil dude. Furman even had a history with OJ, responding to one of his abuse calls. When he returned to the stand, he refused to answer questions. Cochran presented his theory. Furman took one of the gloves from the crime scene and found it at OJ's. And the DNA evidence wasn't what it seemed. For one, Cochran questioned investigators on why blood stains found on the back of Nicole's gate were not collected until 20 days after the murder. They had no answer. Weirdly, this blood was found to have a high concentration of EDTA in it, a compound that preserves blood. The cops didn't actually bother keeping a record of how much blood they took from OJ for DNA testing. So, when they overestimated, Cochran said that the missing blood was used to frame OJ. That's why the blood was filled with preservatives. The prosecution pointed out that EDTA is also just naturally forming in blood and also in paint. But the jury was still perplexed. The defense brought their own forensic expert who doubted blood splatters, said the shoe prints could indicate more than one assailant, and that something's wrong with the DNA tests. Jurors later said he had a major impact. All the defense had to do was build a reasonable doubt, and they were incredible at doing it.
Yet, it wasn't all perfect. They argued OJ was too feeble to kill with his arthritis. The prosecution embarrassingly showed OJ being extremely active in his new workout video he had just released, including one exercise that was just straight up punching.
"When I'm a little angry or have a little too much stress, I think of Mount St. Helen and I see it exploding and shooting all of the dust and stuff."
Regardless, the defense had not only made it, you know, an actual case, but had turned it into a worldwide phenomenon. The coverage was like nothing before. 2,000 reporters shared the scene. News channels devoted long segments giving their opinions. Millions watched the trial, turning everyone involved into celebrities. One poll showed that 74% of Americans knew who Kato Kalin was, but only 25% knew the vice president. Sorry, Al. Larry King told viewers, "If we had God booked and OJ was available, we'd move God." Now that's some confident blaspheming. One of the first things Russian President Yeltsin asked Clinton when they met was if he thought OJ did it. America, of course, was particularly obsessed with the trial. Yet, people saw it very differently. It was clear that opinions were split down racial lines. To black people, it was about if obviously incompetent and racist police officers could again take down a black man. To whites, it was about whether a minority jury would let a black man go despite all the evidence. And this was serious stuff. A CNN poll estimated that the trial may have set back US race relations by 30 years. What in reality was just a pretty sad murder trial was transformed into a national question of social justice. As one commentator put it, "What's really on trial is racism in the United States." It really was two trials, the one in the courtroom and the one in America. And it was all about to come to a head.
The prosecution made its closing statements attempting to put out the Furman fire. They denounced him as a racist, but that doesn't mean OJ was framed, and they went over all their evidence again. They assured the jury that he could be both a great football player and a murderer and said that Nicole was the only n-word that should matter. Luckily, this was said by the only black guy on the prosecution. The defense's closing statement was one of the most controversial of the trial, which is really saying something. Cochran encouraged the jury to stand up to the racist system and against Ferman. You know, there was another racist who had a lot of power. That's right, Hitler. And Hitler was bad. And since Hitler is bad, OJ didn't kill his ex-wife. That makes sense to me. Even other members of the Dream Team condemned the closing as playing the race card from the bottom of the deck. Yeah, the Dream Team didn't like each other much. Turns out combining a slew of attention-starved lawyers leads to fighting for the spotlight. Who knew? But Cochran ended his statement with the now famous line, "Do the right thing." Remembering that if it doesn't fit, you must acquit.
The trial was over and the jury went to deliberate. OJ never even testified. The case had over 150 witnesses, cost $15 million, and lasted 133 days, the longest in state history. Yet, the jury had a decision in only 3 hours. Helicopters circled the courthouse, streets were closed off, and hundreds of extra cops patrolled the streets. They were ready for riots if it came to it. 142 million people tuned into the verdict on TV and radios and it read:
"In the matter of the People of the State of California versus Orinthal James Simpson. Orinthal James Simpson not guilty of the crime of murder in violation of penal code section 187 a, a felony upon Nicole Brown Simpson."
People were stunned, either due to the victory over a corrupt legal system or a corrupt legal system that just let a guilty man walk. The trial of the century was over and the juice was set loose.
"It is finally official. Murder is legal in the state of California."
Theories on what went wrong began immediately. Other high-level prosecutors called the prosecution team the most incompetent they'd ever seen. They sucked and everybody knew it. They were the ones who had him try the gloves on. They were the ones that called Ferman to the stand. Another large criticism was how long they took. The jury had been sequestered, aka locked away from the outside world this entire time, except for when the judge sent them on field trips in the Goodyear blimp and to Catalina Island, which again, didn't know a judge could do. But if you make me listen to the same points over and over and over again while keeping me away from my family, I'm probably going to get pretty annoyed with you. And since the jury was sequestered this whole time, they only knew what the prosecution told them. Despite all their evidence, they left out key parts like the woman who saw OJ driving that night or the items in the Bronco during the chase or the fact that OJ bought a knife similar to the one suspected of the killing shortly before. Evidence that, according to the jury, could have changed their minds. Hell, if you couldn't tell by Kardashian's guilt-stricken face, not even OJ's team thought he was innocent. But one of the jurors said it best: "Mr. Simpson would have been behind bars if the police work had been done properly."
After the win, OJ declared that he would dedicate the rest of his life to finding the real killers. Instead, he was immediately sued by the victim's family in civil court for wrongful deaths, this time in Santa Monica. The judge was not as lax as the previous and didn't allow O.J.'s lawyers to build up the conspiracy angle again. OJ was forced to testify, fumbling through explaining the unexplainable. The jury agreed that OJ had wrongfully caused the deaths of Nicole and Goldman. He was ordered to pay $33.5 million, even being forced to hand over his Heisman trophy as compensation. OJ didn't really have a lot of money considering he had to pay the greatest lawyer team of all time thousands per week for 9 months. So, he decided to become an author. His book, If I Did It, was a hypothetical scenario in which he explained in detail how he would theoretically commit the murders. It was a borderline confession. The public was obviously outraged, as were the courts, who gave the book's rights to the Goldman family as financial compensation. They published the book, but made the "if" on the cover barely noticeable.
Years later, Simpson was still strapped for money. So, in 2007, he and some buddies robbed two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint. After he was arrested, Simpson claimed he was just trying to get back items that were rightfully his, saying, "I didn't know I was doing anything illegal." He'd served nine unhappy years before being released on parole, assuring his parole board that he was not a guy who lived a criminal life. And in 2023, he got ass cancer and died the next year. And that brings us to today.
Yet, after all that evidence, I still don't know who the murderer could be. It just doesn't make sense. I mean, who could have killed these people? Unless you think it's possible that the guy who constantly abused his wife, had dreams of killing her, said he'd kill her in the exact situation she was killed in, purchased a similar knife, had matching footprints, had hair and blood on the scene, had blood in his car and socks, was unaccounted for at the time of the murders, tried to run away, changed his story multiple times, wrote a book about how he did it, and was later arrested for violent crimes, was actually the killer. Nah.
Like and subscribe. Bye-bye.
"YO, COACH, THERE'S NO STOPPING the juice. And when I'm on the field, I'm like a lion going loose. You better shoot me with a tranquilizer drop. Don't be fooled, stupid. I'm not a simple name."