THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501170091
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Charles Griffith, Norfolk Commonwealth's Attorney
LENGTH: Long : 236 lines
The prosecution of O.J. Simpson will go down as one of the most celebrated prosecutions in history. News coverage of the case has brought it into the living rooms of the American public to a degree unrivaled in modern time. Such coverage is reserved for the rich and famous - not ordinary citizens.
The prosecution of O.J. Simpson is different from the prosecution of other people who, through some indescribable character flaw, murder another person. Long before Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were stabbed to death on June 12, 1994, O.J. Simpson was a household name, even to people who were not football fans. He was one of the most exciting running backs to ever play football. After football, he was an actor and a color commentator for football telecasts. Since he began shaking tacklers at the University of Southern California he has never left the limelight. Virtually everyone knows who O.J. Simpson is.
Or do we? For example, before he was charged with murdering his ex-wife and Ron Goldman, few knew he had assaulted Nicole Simpson in the past. But he did. Simpson's first act of violence toward Nicole was not stabbing her to death on June 12, 1994.
O.J. Simpson has a lot of fans because of his exploits as an athlete. But, in the end, he is a person just like anyone else. He is capable of the same shortcomings as anyone who has a violent streak. He should be judged no differently than anyone else. In determining O.J. Simpson's responsibility for the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, we must examine the facts and forget about Simpson's past athletic exploits.
In examining the evidence which points solely and unerringly at O.J. Simpson, it is important to remember that it is rare that people commit crimes such as murder in broad daylight. Such crimes are usually committed under cover of darkness, with planning and stealth, as O.J. Simpson did. It is also important to consider what the evidence doesn't prove. Specifically, the evidence does not indicate that there is any suspect other than Simpson to consider for the murders of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. All of the evidence recovered from the scene of the murder, Simpson's Ford Bronco, and in and surrounding his estate, as well as Simpson's actions after the murder, point directly to O.J. Simpson and to no one else.
Let's examine those facts.
Simpson and Nicole Brown met in 1977 and were living together within a year.
In 1979 Simpson divorced his first wife.
Simpson married Nicole in 1985.
Before they were married one year, the violence O.J. Simpson brought to Nicole's life began when he shattered the windshield of her car with a baseball bat.
In 1989, Simpson fought with Nicole and she called the police. Nicole was so badly injured by Simpson that she had to be hospitalized.
Although Simpson initially managed to avoid the police on the night Nicole reported the beating in 1989, he was eventually arrested and pled ``no contest'' to the battery charge. He was ordered by the court to obtain psychiatric counseling. Apparently, it did not help.
In 1992 Nicole filed for divorce from O.J. Simpson. Simpson did not accept it very well. He stalked Nicole when she began dating other men.
In 1993, Nicole had to call police because Simpson, enraged at Nicole, tried to break into her condominium.
O.J. Simpson's violent tendencies toward Nicole were well documented long before he murdered her and Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994.
Thus, although O.J. Simpson may have been an admired sports personality for years, the facts are that he also had a violent streak which was directed toward Nicole Simpson. He was jealous of her relationships with new men and he assaulted her in the past.
A review of the details of what happened on June 12, 1994, and the events which transpired in the days following the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman, prove that O.J. Simpson murdered them.
On June 12, 1994, the following events happened:
At approximately 6:00 p.m. Simpson and Nicole each attended the dance recital of their daughter. Nicole left the recital to go to dinner with her family. Simpson was not invited and there was some irritation shown by him toward Nicole.
At 7:00 p.m. Simpson was seen at his home by Brian Kaelin, a house guest, and he made a derogatory remark about Nicole, thus showing that he was brooding over Nicole after the negative encounter at the dance recital.
At 9:00 p.m. Nicole returned home with her children and put them to bed.
At 9:10 p.m. Simpson and Brian Kaelin went to a nearby McDonald's in Simpson's Rolls-Royce. Simpson was wearing an all-black sweat suit. They returned to Simpson's estate at approximately 9:30 p.m.
At 9:40 p.m. Nicole spoke on the phone to her mother. This was the last time she spoke to her mother.
At 9:45 p.m. Ron Goldman left the restaurant where he was a waiter to return to Nicole a pair of eyeglasses left at the restaurant by a friend of Nicole's.
At approximately 10:15 p.m. a neighbor of Nicole's heard a dog barking near Nicole's condominium.
At 10:25 p.m. Allan Park, a limousine driver, arrived at Simpson's estate to transport Simpson to the airport for a scheduled 11:45 p.m. flight from Los Angeles to Chicago. Park tried to contact Simpson several times by using the estate intercom, but received no answer.
At approximately 10:35 p.m. another neighbor of Nicole's saw Nicole's dog and noticed blood on the dog's paws.
At approximately 10:40 p.m. Park, the limo driver, drove around Simpson's estate and saw no car in the driveway. Remember that Simpson was due to leave town in one hour.
At approximately 10:50 p.m. a citizen saw O.J. Simpson in his white Bronco run a red light near Nicole's condominium.
At 10:52 p.m. Park saw an approximately six foot tall, African-American person wearing dark colored clothing enter Simpson's house. Simpson fits this description.
At 10:56 p.m. Park tried Simpson's intercom again and on this try, Simpson answered the intercom stating, ``Sorry, I overslept, and I just got out of the shower. I'll be down in a minute.'' Simpson was setting up an alibi. When Simpson got into the limo he was wearing a white shirt and jeans.
During the limo ride to the airport Simpson continuously complained about the heat, although the temperature was a cool sixty degrees on June 12th and the limo was air conditioned.
At 11:45 p.m. Simpson flew to Chicago.
At midnight, on June 13th, Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death outside of Nicole's condominium. Nicole's throat was slashed, her head nearly severed, and she was in a pool of blood. Goldman was stabbed several times and his throat was also slashed. There was evidence of a violent struggle.
At 12:09 a.m. police arrived and began searching for evidence of who murdered Nicole and Goldman.
Police found a bloody, leather, left-hand glove and a dark colored knit cap at the murder scene.
Samples of blood from the murder scene were recovered and later compared to samples of blood found on items recovered at Simpson's estate.
DNA tests prove that blood from the scene and blood on the glove found at the scene matches O.J. Simpson's blood.
Further, hair samples taken from the dark knit cap have characteristics similar to O.J. Simpson.
During the early morning hours of June 13th, Los Angeles police worked quickly in an effort to piece together what happened. Their efforts led them to O.J. Simpson's estate, only two miles from Nicole's condominium.
Meanwhile, Simpson arrived in Chicago at 4:15 a.m. on June 13, 1994.
While the police were trying to contact someone at Simpson's estate by intercom and telephone they noticed a white Ford Bronco (Simpson's Ford Bronco) and they saw blood on the driver's side door. A later examination of the Bronco revealed the presence of blood throughout the Bronco.
At that time police were concerned that someone on the Simpson estate might be connected to the murder of Nicole and Goldman. They entered the grounds of the estate to try to locate Simpson. While there, the police found the match to the bloody glove found earlier at the murder scene. The glove found on Simpson's property was also bloody.
When police finally stirred someone in Simpson's house they learned that Simpson had just flown to Chicago. Simpson was contacted and he flew back to Los Angeles at 7:41 a.m., within three hours of his arrival in Chicago.
At 9:30 a.m. police searched Simpson's Chicago hotel room and found a broken glass, a bloody washcloth, and blood on the sink.
Simpson's behavior after he returned to Los Angeles was nothing short of bizarre.
He wrote a purported suicide note explaining that he couldn't live with himself. If he did nothing wrong, what was it that he couldn't live with?
Assisted by his lifelong friend, Al Cowlings, Simpson prepared to flee the country. He led police on a low speed chase down the interstate. We all watched it on television. A search of the escape vehicle led to the discovery of $10,000 in cash and a fake beard and mustache. What was he doing with a disguise and enough money to get him out of the country? More importantly, if Simpson did nothing wrong, why was he leaving his children all alone to deal with the brutal death of their mother at such a time?
The defense may attempt to discredit the evidence which points solely to O.J. Simpson as the murderer of Nicole and Goldman by attacking the police, questioning the motivations of witnesses, harping on the lack of an eyewitness to the murder, and challenging the scientific evidence.
However, that approach has some critical flaws. First, Judge Lance Ito has already ruled that police acted legally in gathering evidence. Second, as I have already pointed out, rarely do people commit cold-blooded murders in broad daylight so that there are eyewitnesses.
As for witness motivations, we would have to believe that O.J. Simpson is the unfair victim of too much bad luck and ill will to have so many people come forward with facts which indicate his guilt, and have all of those witnesses be motivated simply by how they could capitalize on the bad fortune of one of America's most revered and loved athletes of all time. It strains our credibility to believe that.
As for the DNA evidence which links Simpson to the murder scene, I submit that if Simpson's attorneys thought such scientific evidence would prove his innocence, they would claim that it is as unassailable as DNA experts say it is. The DNA evidence proves that Simpson's blood characteristics are one in 10 million. Thus, the DNA evidence, considered along with the tight web of other physical evidence which points solely to Simpson as the murderer, removes any doubt that O.J. Simpson murdered Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman.
O.J. Simpson's defense also has another even more fatal flaw. No case in the history of the United States has ever been subjected to more investigation, second guessing and scrutiny than this case. Yet despite the intense investigation and effort to gather all possible evidence, all of the evidence points solely and exclusively at O.J. Simpson as the murderer. There is not a single other suspect!
Simpson had the motivation to kill Nicole. He was intensely jealous of her and could not accept that she no longer wanted to be married to him.
There is an established history of violence and stalking by O.J. Simpson toward Nicole, thus eliminating the argument that he is such a kind and gentle man that he is incapable of such an act of violence.
He purchased a knife a few weeks before he murdered Nicole and Goldman which, although never found by police, was of such a type that experts say it could have been the murder weapon.
His physical size and strength is such that he was capable of the murderous assaults he is charged with committing.
Evidence directly connected to the murder scene was found on and in Simpson's Bronco, outside of and within his house, and all within hours of the murder. It strains our common sense to believe that someone planted all of this evidence in order to frame Simpson.
Also, we know that Simpson changed his clothes from dark to light on the night of the murder and acted strangely on the trip from his estate to the airport.
The broken glass and blood found in Simpson's hotel room in Chicago suggest that Simpson intentionally cut himself, so that he could explain the cuts he sustained while murdering Nicole and Goldman and which he knew were going to be discovered upon his return to Los Angeles.
The evidence of Simpson's attempt to flee the country is clear evidence of his guilt and his fear that he was going to be prosecuted.
No one wants to think the worst of anyone - especially when that someone is a person who has held such a lofty perch in America as O.J. Simpson has. But, unfortunately, we know that people are capable of such violence as that which caused the deaths of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. It happens all too often.
O.J. Simpson, when he is stripped of all of his football rushing records and other accolades, is still just a person like the rest of us, and he must be held accountable for his actions. He murdered his ex-wife, Nicole, and Ron Goldman in cold blood on June 12, 1994. All of the evidence, direct and circumstantial, points directly to O.J. Simpson, and Simpson alone. His actions after the murders are indicative of and verify his guilt.
There is do doubt about it. He must be found guilty or we will have to accept that there are two types of justice in the United States - justice for the common man and justice for the rich and powerful. If justice is going to have any meaning in this country, O.J. Simpson must be held accountable for his criminal acts. He is guilty. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Christopher Reddick
Charles Griffith<
Color illustration by Rob Kemp, U.S. News & World Report
[The murder scene, appeared on p. E1]
B/W illustration by Rob Kemp, U.S. News & World Report
The Murder Scene: A bloody tableau at the scene of the crime.
For copy of text, see microfilm.
KEYWORDS: O.J. SIMPSON TRIAL by CNB