In 1994, OJ Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. The two were killed in a brutal slashing at Nicole's Los Angeles home. Simpson was ultimately acquitted in a criminal trial in 1995 that was dubbed “the trial of the century.” The outrage and media frenzy surrounding their deaths forever changed the public's view of the former NFL star.
The Brown and Goldman families sued Simpson in a civil trial in 1997, and he was found responsible for the deaths of Ron and Nicole by a preponderance of the evidence. Ron's sister, Kim Goldman, previously told People magazine that Simpson was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the family, but only paid a fraction of that.
Simpson, who died on April 11 at the age of 76, made numerous public statements about the murders and his trial, always saying he didn't kill them and that he was looking for the culprit. Here are all the things Simpson said publicly about the deaths of Ron and Nicole:
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty
OJ Simpson denies murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman and vows to find the real culprit
“I did not commit this crime, could not commit it, and never would commit it,” Simpson told Judge Lance Ito during his 1995 trial, explaining his decision not to testify in his own defense.
Just weeks after Nicole's death in July 1994, Simpson's lawyers announced a $500,000 reward for information leading to the “real killer.” Los Angeles TimesAt a press conference following Simpson's acquittal, his son Jason read a statement from his father, saying that Simpson's top priority going forward was finding the “murderer or murderers” who committed the crimes. Vanity Fair at that time.
In January 1996, Simpson was interviewed by journalist Ed Gordon on BET. “I think the media is a big part of why America feels this way,” he said. “They were lied to.” He also said he was “very angry” at the Goldman and Brown families. When asked about the crimes, he replied, “No, I didn't commit those murders. I couldn't kill anybody and I don't know who was involved.” That same month, Simpson began mail-ordering a videotape in which he talked about the incident, but still maintained his innocence.
He called the trial “one-sided.”
Simpson gave his first television interview since the civil trial to Katie Couric. He said that the arguments in the trial were “one-sided” and that he had started a website to protest his innocence and to give “millions of Americans who do not believe in my guilt in any way” a platform to ask questions. He also said that the damages awarded in the civil trial were “completely illegal” and that he “won't pay a penny” of the judgment.
He also told Couric that he receives new information “from time to time” about the real killer, but that the investigation is hampered because he is a civilian. He said he still believes the killer is someone Nicole met through her friend, Faye Resnick.
He said, “Whoever did it, I want to catch them.”
In 1998, Simpson Esquire“I'm hurting right now, not because I did anything wrong, but because I miss her,” he continued. “If I could just sit down with her, [Ron’s father] If you talked to Fred Goldman, I would say, “Look, I'd love to catch the guy who did this. I'd love to.”
He also told the outlet, “Let's say I committed this crime. Even if I did this, it must be because I loved her very much, right?”
Simpson interviewed Couric again in 2004, 10 years after the murders, when he said he “never really talked about” the deaths of his young children, Sydney, Justin and Nicole.
He said he's not worried about his kids asking if he killed their mother. “That's a waste of time,” he said. “I never thought it would happen. My kids know me. If they find out, they'll just deal with it then. I definitely don't want to waste my time on that.”
Some of Simpson's assets, including his Heisman Trophy, have been seized and sold to pay damages in the civil lawsuit, but Simpson told Couric he didn't go out of his way to come up with the money. “I've been very clear: I won. I committed no crime,” he said.
OJ Simpson's “Hypothetical Confession”
In 2006, Simpson was set to publish a book. If I Did It: Confessions of a MurdererIn “The Murder Mystery,” he discusses what it would have been like if he had committed the murders. He also spoke about the book and his experiences in a 2006 interview. The book's publisher, HarperCollin, ultimately withdrew the book after widespread criticism, and the interview was dropped. The interview aired as part of the Fox special “The Murder Mystery” in 2018. OJ Simpson: The Lost Confession?
“Forget everything you think you know about that night, because I know the facts better than anybody,” Simpson said in the interview. “This is one of those stories that the whole world has gotten wrong.”
“Ron and Nicole were physically dead and it seemed as if they had killed me,” he said. “In that short period of time, I myself had been attacked and murdered.” During the interview, Simpson made a “hypothetical confession” to the murders.
“This has been very difficult for me,” he said. “This is hypothetical, so it's been very difficult for me. I know how people will feel and I accept that fact.”
Simpson hypothesized that a friend named “Charlie” told him something was going on at Nicole's house. “The assumption was, I put on a hat and gloves,” Simpson said, adding, “I can't travel with a gun, so I always keep a knife in my car in case weirdos show up.”
He then recounted in the first person that he went to the house, met Goldman and “got into an argument with him,” and that Nicole joined in the melee. “As things got heated, I remember Nicole falling and hurting herself and the guy starting doing some karate-type stuff, and I said, 'So you think you can kick my ass?'” he said. He was knocked unconscious during the stabbing, he said.
OJ Simpson's post-prison murder comments
In 2008, Simpson went to prison for felony armed robbery and kidnapping after forcing men to return memorabilia he claimed they had stolen from him. He served nine years and was released on parole in 2017.
He maintained a low profile after his release, avoiding the subject of the murders in the few interviews he gave. In 2019, 25 years after the murders, he told The Associated Press, “Life is good. I don't need to go back and relive the worst day of my life. What's being talked about now is something I'll never bring up again.”
In a 2021 interview with The Athletic, he said he doesn't like being in Los Angeles because he feels he could meet the real culprit (who he claims not to know). “Los Angeles is a problem,” he said. “Some people might think this is selfish, but I could be sitting next to the culprit. I don't really know who did it.”
In 2022, Simpson was asked about the murders during an appearance on the show. Full Send Podcast“Are you upset that Ron and Nicole's killer was never found?” asked host Kyle Forgeard.
“I'm not going to talk about that right now, OK?” he said. “Yeah, I think that's a pretty obvious question, but I'm not going to get into it. I'm not going to go there.”
