O.J. Simpson death updates — Former American football player acquitted for killing Nicole Brown & her friend dies at 76
FORMER NFL player O.J. Simpson has tragically died at 76.
Simpson gained notoriety in particular for the 1994–1995 murder trials in which he was charged with the deaths of ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman.
He was found not guilty on all counts in one of the highest-profile criminal cases in history.
The former running back spent 11 seasons in the NFL playing for only the Bills and San Francisco 49ers.
He was 76 at the time of his death.
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OJ Simpson’s shocking 2021 claim, continued
OJ Simpson continued in his 2021 interview, "I figured eventually somebody would confess to something, you know?
"I had one suspect I told my lawyers to look at. I still think he might be involved, but I can’t talk about it."
OJ then went on to say, "I'm living a good life now."
OJ Simpson's shocking 2021 claim
OJ Simpson made headlines in 2021 for saying that he wouldn't go to Los Angeles in fear of seeing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman's "real" killer.
"People may think this is self-serving, but I might be sitting next to whoever did it. I really don’t know who did this," he said in an interview with .
"I still think I’m a good guy. I didn’t let it change me. It did for a while," he continued.
"I was angry for a while, but I treat everybody the way I want to be treated."
OJ's first family pictured
OJ Simpson with his wife Marguerite (Whitley) Simpson, their daughter Arnelle, and their son Jason on January 8, 1973.Credit: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Arnelle said OJ was her 'best friend'
OJ's daughter Arnelle spoke highly of her father, pleading for him to be released at his parole hearing in 2017 after OJ was jailed for an armed robber at a Las Vegas hotel.
Arnelle described him as her "best friend" before saying: "As a family, we recognize he's not the perfect man, but as a man and a father he has done his best to behave in a way that speaks to his overall nature and character.”
She also managed OJ's finances until his death in April 2024.
Arnelle Simpson opened up about being OJ's daughter
Arnelle Simpson opened up about the difficulties that came with being OJ's daughter in a 2014 interview with Georgia Newsday.
She said she worked, “for a rapper called Hash for a while and then produced some fashion shows.”
Arnelle was the first to take the stand during her father's trial in 1994 when he was accused of murdering his second wife, Nicole Brown. She said that OJ was "emotional," "distraught" and "out of control" when he learned of Nicole's death.
More on OJ Simpson's first daughter
OJ Simpson's daughter, Arnelle, was born on December 4, 1968.
OJ's first wife Marguerite Whitely gave birth to her and Arnelle's two siblings, Jason and Aaren.
Aaren died on August 27, 1979, at only 23 years old. She died at the UCLA Medical Center eight days after she was pulled out of the family's swimming pool unconscious.
Arnelle recalled what life was like before her father's arrest for 'the crime of the century', telling Georgia Newsday in 2014: "Back then we were the first black family in that neighborhood in Brentwood.”
Watch below to see Dave Chappelle's previous comments on OJ Simpson
What did Dave Chappelle say about OJ SimpsonOJ Simpson's car chase
Inside OJ Simpson's infamous police car chase
On June 17, 1994, OJ Simpson, seen driving his white Ford Bronco, led a mass of police cars on a 90-minute chase through southern California.
Two days prior, his wife Nicole Brown, 35, and her friend Ron Goldman, 25, were found brutally stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles condo.
After gathering evidence from the scene, including bloody murder gloves, police filed charges against Simpson, and he was scheduled to turn himself in at 11 am on the 17th.
However, he failed to show up at the police station, and officials started looking for him.
Simpson's defense attorney Ben Shapiro gave detectives the address where he had been lying low, but responding officers found that he ran away.
The former NFL superstar was declared a fugitive and a massive search was launched for him and his friend Al Cowlings, who he had run away with.
Hours after the search was launched, Simpson called 911 from his cell phone while driving his white Ford Bronco, allowing police to track down his location.
At around 6 pm local time, the low-speed chase started and continued down the I-5 Freeway in Orange County, California.
The chase was live-streamed by news outlets and horrified viewers across the nation were glued to their television screens to see what happened next.
Domino's Pizza had its best day ever as families were too busy watching to make any dinner.
By 9 pm that same day, Simpson led cops to his Brentwood estate.
After a tense standoff, he turned himself in, and he was taken to the Los Angeles County Jail.
More about OJ Simpson's trial, conclusion
In the aftermath of the 1992 race riots in the city, Simpson's team also took advantage of the racial tensions that existed between the Black community and the Los Angeles police.
When testifying, Detective Mark Fuhrman—who discovered the glove on Brown's property the night of the murders—was shown by Cochran's team to be a bigot.
An audio tape of Fuhrman uttering the "n-word" a startling 41 times was played by the defense.
On October 3, 1995, at ten in the morning, a jury found Simpson not guilty of the killings.
'If it doesn't fit, you must acquit'
Following DNA testing, Simpson was linked to the two gloves — one of which was discovered close to the corpses of Brown and Goldman — by the prosecution, headed by Marcia Clark.
However, Simpson made the now-famous trial-changing attempt to try on the objects that seemed too tiny for his hands.
During his closing remarks, famed litigator Cochran rejected the gloves as evidence, saying, "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
'Absolutely, one hundred percent, not guilty'
OJ's legal “Dream Team” included charismatic lawyers Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran along with Simpson’s close friend Robert Kardashian – the late father of Kim Kardashian.
“Absolutely, one hundred percent, not guilty.”
The actor's well-compensated legal team notwithstanding, the odds seemed to be stacked against him.
More to know about the OJ Simpson trial, continued
Eventually, police gave Simpson till 11 am to turn himself in.
But rather than surrender, he took off in another White Bronco that his friend Al Cowlings was driving.
The ensuing police vehicle pursuit was the highest-rated basic cable event of the year, with around 95 million Americans watching it on national television.
After the slow-moving pursuit, Simpson and the police engaged in a brief standoff during which Simpson threatened to shoot them before surrendering.
The celebrity also had a fake mustache and goatee, $9,000 in cash, and his passport in his hands in addition to the gun.
Simpson's murder trial, dubbed the "Trial of the Century," started on January 24, 1995, and dominated American news coverage until the conviction was announced in October of the same year.
More to know about the OJ Simpson trial
A single bloody glove was discovered at the murder scene at Brown's home.
Upon arriving at Simpson's house to inform him of the death of his ex-wife, detectives discovered a white Ford Bronco covered in and containing blood.
He had flown to Chicago late the night before, therefore he wasn't present.
After that, a second glove was discovered on the deceased athlete's land, and it was eventually connected to the glove discovered at the crime site.
About Ron Goldman's death
Ron was found dead alongside Nicole on the walkway of Nicole's house.
Police believe Ron came during or shortly after Nicole's death. Their bodies were discovered just after midnight.
According to Ron's relatives, they think he died attempting to protect Nicole from her assailant.
About Ron Goldman
Ron Goldman was born on July 2 1968 and passed away on June 12, 1994.
At the age of 18, he relocated to Southern California from Buffalo Grove, Illinois, where he had grown up.
He worked as a waiter at a restaurant and was friends with Nicole Brown Simpson.
In addition, Ron was a model and mentioned his desire to start his own bar.
About Nicole Brown Simpson's death
The corpse of 35-year-old Brown was discovered outside her Brentwood, Los Angeles, home on June 13, 1994.
Ron Goldman, a waiter at a restaurant, was discovered at her house in a pool of blood, likewise in the fetal position.
According to an autopsy, Brown suffered seven stab wounds to her neck and scalp, a 5.5-inch gash across her throat that severed both of her carotid arteries and punctured her jugular veins, and defensive wounds on her hands.
She was nearly beheaded by the deep cut across her throat.
About Nicole Brown Simpson
Nicole Brown was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to a German mother and American father, and would later attend high school in California.
In 1977, Brown started working as a waiter at an exclusive club in Beverly Hills, where she eventually met OJ Simpson, a professional football player.
Sydney and Justin were their two children from their 1985 marriage to Simpson. Afterward, she filed for divorce from Simpson, alleging "irreconcilable differences."
'I don't think he did it'
Bernstein expressed his hope that, despite Simpson's tainted record, his friend will be remembered for more than just his negative traits.
"I hope people remember him as one of the greatest running backs of all time. I hope they remember him as a family man, as an actor, and as a sports commentator," he said.
"I hope people don't rush to judgment until they know all the facts, because it's hard to know what did happen, because he wasn't found guilty so it's all just speculation.
"There are things that suggest he did do it and there are things that suggest he didn't.
"I don't think he did it, but that's just me personally."
Bernstein was unable to catch up with OJ, continued
"It sucks because the guy was very gregarious and he could hold a conversation with anybody. It could be scary but on the other hand, when you're with him, you feel very welcomed."
He added, "People have that perception of, 'Did he do it? Or did he not do it.' "So that was scary, as was the fact he was one of the greatest football players of all time, and he could run through 300-500lb people and get up and walk away like nothing happened."
Bernstein was unable to catch up with OJ
Bernstein continued, expressing his sadness at not having had the opportunity to see his former co-star before his unexpected death.
He claimed to have spoken with Simpson for the last time in late 2019 or early 2020 after receiving a message from The Naked Gun star inquiring how he was doing and encouraging him to get in touch if he was ever in Vegas.
"He told me if I ever go to Vegas to call him, which I did [in November], but I never heard back from him – and now I know why because he was going through what he was going through. I wish I knew," said Bernstein.
OJ Simpson 'liked women, that was his thing'
Bernstein said that even after being arrested for murder, Simpson remained a well-known ladies' man who throngs of adoring women on evenings out would frequently surround.
"He liked women, that was his thing," said Bernstein. "I never saw any violence or anything like that, or any other negative behavior towards women. I would see a lot of women try to go up to him and encroach on him. They flocked to him regardless of the situation at the time.
"You think it would be the opposite but it wasn't they were very aggressive with him sometimes."
'I don't know if it did happen'
Bernstein claims the two never talked about Simpson's trial but he still doesn't think his late friend was a murderer.
"I don't know if it did happen, but I hope it never did happen," said Bernstein of Simpson's alleged role in Brown and Goldman's deaths. I know the Goldmans have a different view of him and I'm very sorry for their loss, I really am, and I hope to God this guy didn't do what he was accused of doing.
"All I can say is he was very nice to me," he added. "He was a normal guy who loved his family and his kids. He was great with people. Of course, some people didn't like him because of the situation but he didn't he didn't engage with those people, he just turned the other way or ignored them.
"I just think he was a very protective father who would do whatever he could for his kids. I don't know if he's a killer, and I don't think anybody really knows if he is a killer. Some suspect it, but we'll never know now because he was never proven guilty."
Bernstein calls Simpson a 'great guy'
Following the completion of the film, Bernstein and Simpson were friends for many years.
The NFL Hall of Famer, according to him, was a "great guy" who was enjoyable to work with and never showed signs of aggression.
According to Bernstein, it's difficult for him to connect the Simpson he knew with the defunct celebrity who was charged with the gruesome killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Creator of OJ Simpson’s final movie speaks out, part two
In response to an usher's question about whether he wanted to "kick The Juice out," Bernstein ordered him to leave Simpson alone.
During the second half of the game, he then spontaneously proposed Simpson a movie concept.
"I started talking to him and I said 'Yo, OJ, I'm thinking about doing a movie. Do you want to be in it?' And he goes, 'Sure, What am I gonna do?" said Bernstein, recounting the conversation.
"I told him he'd be playing the jealous boyfriend and that he'd be punching me out, and he goes 'Alright.'
"So I had the green light, I took his number and we shot the movie the next year in Miami."
The movie, titled , was a five-minute short that debuted in 2004.
Creator of OJ Simpson's final movie speaks out
The creator of OJ Simpson's final film said he never thought the divisive football player-turned-actor was capable of killing someone, but with his shocking cancer death, we'll never know for sure.
Simpson, referred to as The Juice, suffered in the years after his acquittal, his previously erratic Hollywood career coming to an abrupt end.
OJ made his big-screen comeback in 2003, following a 10-year break, thanks to a fortuitous meeting with producer and actor Arthur Bernstein during a basketball game.
In an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun, Bernstein said that Simpson accidentally occupied one of his seats during the Orange Bowl Classic in Miami, whereupon they began up a discussion.