http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20104089,00.html
FOUR MONTHS AGO, O.J. SIMPSON was a fading, famous football
player who had appeared in car-rental commercials and the occasional movie,
played the public-relations game for Hertz and worked as a commentator on NFL
telecasts. Now potato farmers in Maine can tell you the name of a restaurant (Mezzaluna)
favored by his late ex-wife; deejays in Oklahoma know that their audience won't
be baffled by jokes comparing the relative intelligence of Kato the human to
that of Kato the dog; and almost everyone in America could, if need be, pick a
white Ford Bronco out of a lineup.
Orenthal James Simpson, 47, stands accused of brutally murdering his ex-wife
Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and her friend Ronald Goldman, 25, with a knifelike
weapon in front of her Brentwood, Calif., condominium sometime after 10 p.m. on
June 12. The crime fascinates not just as a whodunit—a tantalizing jigsaw of
tricky timing, telltale blood samples and mysterious thumps in the night—but as
a whydunit: What could propel a man who seemed to have so much—if, indeed,
Simpson is guilty as charged—to such an act of uncontrolled fury?
This case also offers a rare, detailed look at certain kinds of celebrity life,
set in cafes, dance clubs and on the finest golf courses money can seed, and
lived by men and women who like to be where the famous are. If that weren't
enough, the case radiates hot-button issues the way a pinwheel throws off
sparks—raising questions about interracial marriage and racial antagonisms,
spousal abuse and the privileges of celebrity, whether justice for the rich is
anything like justice for the poor and, finally, the perils of trial-by-media.
After months of motions, counter-motions and preliminary hearings, the trial is
beginning at last in a 19-story courthouse on West Temple Street in L.A. Like a
heavyweight prizefight, it could end at any moment should the prosecution or
defense choose to deal. Or, of course, it could go to a dramatic resolution that
might not be arrived at for months.
As one of the most remarkable cases in decades begins, here is a guide to the
players, witnesses, lawyers, police and matters of evidence that will all play a
role in the upcoming weeks.
Sunday, June 12, was the sort of glorious day that makes people glad they live
in Los Angeles. The temperature was mild—in the mid-7Os—there was a gentle
breeze off the Pacific and, after the morning haze burned away, the sky turned a
sparkling blue. It was shirtsleeve weather: 22,381 fans watched the Angels beat
the Tigers 8-6 in Anaheim. It was a good day to shop: The A.N. Abell auctioneers
sold off some 100 items once owned by Barbra Streisand (her green mink vest went
for $495). It was also a splendid day for a stroll: Along Santa Monica
Boulevard, 250,000 onlookers took in the city's 24th annual Gay Pride parade,
which featured gay and lesbian officers of the Los Angeles Police Department
marching in uniform for the first time.
Before its end, though, the pristine day-would be shattered by two murders on
South Bundy Drive. At the end of a Week that saw 15 killings in the City of
Angels, these two have mesmerized the nation ever since. What follows is a
chronology of the final hours of the two victims—Ronald Goldman and Nicole Brown
Simpson—and those of the man accused of their murders, O.J. Simpson.
6 a.m. O.J. Simpson tees off 19 minutes after sunrise at the Riviera Country
Club, a tony, old-money retreat studded with eucalyptus trees not far from his
Brentwood home. One member of his foursome, movie producer Craig Baumgarten, 45,
botches a shot and irritably blames Simpson, who becomes angry. But the tension
quickly subsides. "There was never a moment when we thought they'd come to
blows," says one member of the foursome. "We laughed about it later." Afterward,
the golfers have lunch, then settle into the card room of the Spanish-style
clubhouse to play gin rummy.
10 a.m. Nicole Simpson shops for her children, Sydney, 8, and Justin, 6, at Star
Toys on Barrington Place near Sunset Boulevard in Brentwood.
Ron Goldman, 25, works out this morning for an hour and a half at the Gym, on
San Vicente Boulevard a few doors down from Mezzaluna, the upscale Italian
restaurant in Brentwood where he has been a waiter for four months. Afterward,
he joins friends at a nearby Starbucks coffee shop.
1 p.m. Goldman plays in his weekly soft-ball game at Barrington Recreation
Center. "Ron seemed happy," says Jeff Keller, a friend at the game. "He was
playing well; he was loose and relaxed."
7:35 p.m. O.J. calls Gretchen Stockdale, a former Los Angeles Raiderette, and
leaves a message: "It's Orenthal Jones, [sic] who is finally at a place in his
life where he is, like, totally, totally unattached."
9:45 p.m. Goldman, having clocked out at the end of his shift at 9:33, leaves
Mezzaluna carrying the envelope with Juditha Brown's glasses.
Kaelin and Simpson return home from McDonald's.
10:15 p.m. Screenwriter Pablo Fenjves, who lives near Nicole's condo, hears a
dog's "plaintive wail."
10:25 p.m. Allan Park, driving a white stretch limousine for the Town & Country
limo service, arrives 20 minutes early to pick up Simpson for his trip to the
airport and parks across from the house's Ashford Street gate and waits. [See
'A' on map of Simpson's estate on pages 48-49.]
10:35 p.m. Screenwriter Steven Schwab, who lives just off South Bundy, takes his
dog for a walk between the ending of The Dick Van Dyke Show at 10:30 and the
beginning of The Mary Tyler Moore Show at 11. On the street, Schwab encounters
Nicole's Akita (named Kato by her children, for Kaelin) and notices that the dog
is not wearing any tags and that its paws are bloody.
10:40 p.m. Park drives around to the North Rockingham Avenue gate of the Simpson
house, does not see a car in the driveway, then returns to the Ashford gate and
repeatedly rings the buzzer but gets no response.
Kaelin, on the phone with a friend, aspiring actress Rachel Ferrara, hears three
loud thumps on the outside wall of his room ['B' on map]. He goes out to
investigate with a flashlight.
10:50 p.m. Getting no response at Simpson's house, Park beeps his boss, Dale St.
John.
10:52 p.m. St. John returns Park's page. The driver starts to explain that no
one seems to be at home in the darkened house. Then he sees Kaelin coming from
the backyard with a flashlight. Kaelin waves at him but does not open the gate.
Moments later, Park spies a 6'-tall black person wearing dark clothes entering
the house through the front door ['C' on map]. Lights on the first floor are
turned on.
10:56 p.m. Park buzzes the intercom again; this time Simpson answers. According
to Park, Simpson says, "Sorry, I overslept, and I just got out of the shower.
I'll be down in a minute."
Kaelin lets Park in. As the two men talk, Simpson emerges from the house wearing
a white short-sleeved shirt and stone washed jeans and carrying a garment bag.
11:15 p.m. Simpson leaves in the limousine, keeping a window open and
complaining to Park about the heat, though the car is air-conditioned and
temperatures that night are in the 60s. Says Park: "He kept saying, 'Whew, I'm
hot. Whew, man, I'm hot.' "
11:40 p.m. Schwab's neighbor Sukru Boztepe arrives home and sees him with the
Akita. Boztepe agrees to keep the dog for the night and take it to an animal
shelter in the morning. But once inside, the Akita is so restless that the
Boztepes decide to search with it for its owner.
9:45 p.m. Goldman, having clocked out at the end of his shift at 9:33, leaves
Mezzaluna carrying the envelope with Juditha Brown's glasses.
Kaelin and Simpson return home from McDonald's.
10:15 p.m. Screenwriter Pablo Fenjves, who lives near Nicole's condo, hears a
dog's "plaintive wail."
10:25 p.m. Allan Park, driving a white stretch limousine for the Town & Country
limo service, arrives 20 minutes early to pick up Simpson for his trip to the
airport and parks across from the house's Ashford Street gate and waits. [See
'A' on map of Simpson's estate on pages 48-49.]
10:35 p.m. Screenwriter Steven Schwab, who lives just off South Bundy, takes his
dog for a walk between the ending of The Dick Van Dyke Show at 10:30 and the
beginning of The Mary Tyler Moore Show at 11. On the street, Schwab encounters
Nicole's Akita (named Kato by her children, for Kaelin) and notices that the dog
is not wearing any tags and that its paws are bloody.
10:40 p.m. Park drives around to the North Rockingham Avenue gate of the Simpson
house, does not see a car in the driveway, then returns to the Ashford gate and
repeatedly rings the buzzer but gets no response.
Kaelin, on the phone with a friend, aspiring actress Rachel Ferrara, hears three
loud thumps on the outside wall of his room ['B' on map]. He goes out to
investigate with a flashlight.
10:50 p.m. Getting no response at Simpson's house, Park beeps his boss, Dale St.
John.
10:52 p.m. St. John returns Park's page. The driver starts to explain that no
one seems to be at home in the darkened house. Then he sees Kaelin coming from
the backyard with a flashlight. Kaelin waves at him but does not open the gate.
Moments later, Park spies a 6'-tall black person wearing dark clothes entering
the house through the front door ['C' on map]. Lights on the first floor are
turned on.
10:56 p.m. Park buzzes the intercom again; this time Simpson answers. According
to Park, Simpson says, "Sorry, I overslept, and I just got out of the shower.
I'll be down in a minute."
Kaelin lets Park in. As the two men talk, Simpson emerges from the house wearing
a white short-sleeved shirt and stone washed jeans and carrying a garment bag.
11:15 p.m. Simpson leaves in the limousine, keeping a window open and
complaining to Park about the heat, though the car is air-conditioned and
temperatures that night are in the 60s. Says Park: "He kept saying, 'Whew, I'm
hot. Whew, man, I'm hot.' "
11:40 p.m. Schwab's neighbor Sukru Boztepe arrives home and sees him with the
Akita. Boztepe agrees to keep the dog for the night and take it to an animal
shelter in the morning. But once inside, the Akita is so restless that the
Boztepes decide to search with it for its owner.
11:45 p.m. Simpson catches American Airlines flight 688 for Chicago.
12:00 a.m. The Akita leads Boztepe and his wife, Bettina Rasmussen, to 875 South
Bundy. Near the dimly lit, gated entrance to the condo, Boztepe sees a body
sprawled on the Spanish-tile walkway. "There was a lot of blood, and I just
turned around,'' Boztepe says later. They rouse a neighbor, who phones for help.
12:09 a.m. Officer Robert Riske responds to the emergency call. Boztepe and
Rasmussen direct him to the body. Riske finds two victims:
Nicole Brown Simpson, 5'5", 129 lbs., has had her throat slashed through to the
spinal column. The 5½-inch by 2½-inch gash runs from the left side of her neck
to her right ear. There are numerous additional wounds, including four in the
left side of the neck and three punctures in the back of the head. Her black
cocktail dress is ripped, and her bloodied hands are in a defensive position, as
if attempting to ward off an attack.
Ron Goldman, 5'9", 171 lbs., lies in bushes 10 feet from Nicole's body. His neck
has been slashed several times on both sides, and he has been stabbed three
times in the chest, once in the abdomen and once in the thigh. His hands, too,
have been cut numerous times. At his feet, police find a brown leather left-hand
glove and a knit cap; at his knees is the envelope containing Juditha Brown's
glasses; at his back, Goldman's beeper.
The door to the condo is ajar. Upstairs, Justin and Sydney are asleep. Lights
are on throughout the house, except in the bathroom, where the marble gleams
from the light of candles.
1:05 a.m. L.A. police Det. Mark Fuhrman's supervisor calls him at home to tell
him about the murders on South Bundy.
Simpson's daughter from his first marriage, Arnelle, 25, who lives in one of the
rooms ['D' on map] in the guest wing of Simpson's house, comes home after having
been out all day. She goes to bed.
2:10 a.m. Detective Fuhrman arrives at 875 South Bundy, which has been cordoned
off with police crime-scene tape. Sydney and Justin have been taken to the West
Los Angeles police station.
3 a.m. Detectives Philip Vannatter and Thomas Lange are called at their homes;
Vannatter arrives at the scene an hour later, Lange 30 minutes after that.
4:15 a.m. (6:15 Central time) A Hertz driver in Chicago drops off Simpson at the
O'Hare Plaza Hotel.
5 a.m. Four officers, including detectives Vannatter and Fuhrman, drive to
Simpson's house. They get no response after buzzing the intercom at the Ashford
gate. They try phoning, but no one answers. Checking a white Bronco parked askew
to the curb ['E' on map], the police see what appears to be blood on the
driver's side door. After the officers discuss what to do, Fuhrman scales the
wall ['F' on map] by the Ashford Street gate and lets the others in. They wake
Kaelin and Arnelle. Kaelin tells Fuhrman about the noises he heard outside his
room, and the detective investigates. Between a fence and the outer wall of the
guest wing, Fuhrman finds a brown leather right-hand glove smeared with blood.
More blood is discovered: a trail of drops leading up the driveway from the
Bronco to the front door.
Detective Vannatter leaves to obtain a search warrant from L.A. municipal court.
5:45 a.m. Inside the main house, Arnelle helps police locate her father by
putting them in touch with his assistant, Cathy Randa. They call Simpson to
inform him of Nicole's death and ask him to return to Los Angeles. He checks out
of the O'Hare Plaza, visibly agitated.
6:55 a.m. Almost seven hours after discovery of the bodies, police officially
notify the coroner's office of the deaths on South Bundy.
Around this time, Arnelle picks up Sydney and Justin at the police station and
returns home. She calls Juditha Brown to tell her that Nicole is dead but breaks
down and hands the phone to a detective.
7:41 a.m. (9:41 Central) Simpson's flight to Los Angeles leaves O'Hare. Visibly
upset, he takes an aisle seat in the coach section next to Chicago attorney Mark
Partridge, 39. Simpson orders mineral water and begins placing calls on the
airplane phone. "It seemed to me he was calling friends and advisers," Partridge
later tells PEOPLE. "It was evident from the phone calls he was making and the
comments he made during the flight that a great tragedy was affecting his life
and the lives of his children.... I remember feeling very sorry for him."
9:30 a.m. (11:30 Central) Chicago police search Simpson's hotel room. They find
drops of blood on the bathroom sink, a broken glass and a bloody washcloth.
12 p.m. Detective Vannatter sees Simpson in front of the mansion, carrying a
leather travel bag. Vannatter notices a bandage on the knuckle area of the
middle finger on his left hand. Simpson speaks with his attorney Howard
Weitzman, who had arrived earlier. Simpson is briefly handcuffed; he voluntarily
goes to police headquarters, where he is questioned for 3½ hours.
12:20 p.m. The bodies of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman arrive at the
coroner's downtown office for autopsy. Four days later, Orenthal James Simpson
is charged with two counts of murder by the L.A. district attorney.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/index/nns14.htm
Bloody Sunday in L.A., June 12, 1994
June 12, 1994 - a Sunday - is cool in Los Angeles. A mist moving off the Pacific
thins the sunshine, holding the high near 60 degrees.
It's a relatively quiet Sunday: Gay Pride on parade in West Hollywood, third
game of the NBA finals on TV, the movie Speed in theaters.
As it turns out, the most memorable event is unknown until the day ends: the
killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
Five days later, former football star, actor and ad pitchman O.J. Simpson -
Nicole's ex-husband - is charged with the killings.
A year later with Simpson on trial, a nation still wonders about that day.
At 7 a.m., O.J. goes to the Riviera Country Club for golf with TV producer Craig
Baumgarten. He later plays cards in the clubhouse.
Nicole spends the morning shopping for toys. Later, she call friends and family,
preparing for daughter Sydney's dance recital that evening.
Goldman spends the morning playing softball at Barrington Field just off Sunset
Boulevard. Then he goes home to dress for work.
Accounts of events later in the day are more precise, based on trial testimony
and other reports:
2 p.m. - House guest Brian "Kato" Kaelin sees O.J. in the kitchen of Simpson's
Rockingham estate. O.J. makes a series of calls to women, beginning with
girlfriend Paula Barbieri. They fight over her request to attend Sydney's
recital. Paula winds up flying to Las Vegas to spend time with singer Michael
Bolton. During a call to Traci Adell, O.J. says he's unhappy. He also calls
actress Jasmine Guy.
4:00 - Before leaving for the recital, O.J. asks Kaelin to line up a date for
him the following Tuesday.
4:30 - Nicole and her family arrive at Paul Revere Middle School for Sydney's
recital. Goldman clocks in for work at Mezzaluna restaurant.
4:45 - O.J. arrives for the recital, sitting behind Nicole and the Brown family.
Later, he moves to a corner to talk with friend Ron Fischman.
6:15 - After the recital, O.J. talks, laughs with the Browns.
6:30-7:00 - Nicole and party arrive at Mezzaluna. At Rockingham estate, O.J.
tells Kaelin he's angry about Nicole wearing a tight dress and not allowing him
to go to the restaurant.
7:35 - O.J. calls Gretchen Stockdale, a former Los Angeles Raiderette, and
leaves a message: "It's Orenthal Jones, [sic] who is finally at a place in his
life where he is, like, totally, totally unattached."
8:30 - Nicole leaves restaurant.
9:00 - Faye Resnick calls Nicole from a drug rehabilitation center. She says
Nicole says she told Simpson: "Get away from us! Get out of my life. You're not
welcome with this family anymore."
9:03 - Kaelin calls his friend Tom O'Brien but is interrupted by O.J., who needs
$20 for dinner.
9:10 - O.J. and Kaelin go to McDonald's in O.J.'s Bentley.
9:25 - Kaelin pays for the meals. O.J. eats as they drive home.
9:33 - Goldman ends work shift.
9:35 - Kaelin leaves O.J. standing near the Bentley at estate.
9:37 - Nicole's mother, Juditha Brown, calls Mezzaluna to report leaving her
glasses behind.
9:40 - Juditha Brown calls Nicole about her glasses.
9:45 - Nicole calls Mezzaluna, talks to Karen Lee Crawford and Goldman. He takes
the glasses, goes home and changes before driving six blocks to Nicole's
condominium.
9:45 or 9:50 - Rosa Lopez, domestic worker in the house next to Simpson's, hears
O.J.'s dog barking.
10:10 - Kaelin, in guest house, calls friend Rachel Ferrara.
10:15 - Nicole's neighbors hear dog barking. Prosecutors say this is the time of
the killings.
10:30 - Nicole's neighbor Steven Schwab takes his dog for a walk.
10:22 - Limousine driver Allan Park arrives at Rockingham to take O.J. to
airport for a trip to Chicago. He waits at car on side street.
10:40 - Park pulls up to Rockingham, rings the buzzer three or four times, gets
no answer. Also, resident near Nicole's home reports hearing someone shout "Hey"
three times.
10:40-10:45 - Kaelin, still on the phone with Ferrara, hears thumps on his wall
near air conditioner.
10:43 - Park tries to page his boss, Dale St. John.
10:49 - Park calls St. John to say no one is answering at estate.
10:55 - Park sees Kaelin near the house, and a tall African-American figure
walks up to the front door.
10:56 - Kaelin admits Park to estate. Schwab finds Nicole's dog.
11:01-11:02 - O.J. comes out of the house to load limo. He joins Kaelin in brief
search for a possible intruder related to thumping noise.
11:05 - Schwab returns to his home with Nicole's dog.
11:10-11:15 - Park and O.J. leave for the airport.
11:40 - Sukru Boztepe, a neighbor of Schwab, takes Nicole's dog, and notices red
spots on the dog's paws and legs.
11:45 - O.J. leaves for Chicago on American Airlines Flight 668.
Midnight - Boztepe and wife Bettina Rasmussen take dog for a walk. He leads them
to Nicole's condo. They find the bodies at 12:10.
By USA TODAY