Do you remember where you were on October 3, 1995? The date has a special significance to some. It was the day that the Nicole Brown Simpson murder trial came to a close. For a year, curious people across the world watched as OJ Simpson was tried for the murder of his wife.
For those of you not familiar with the case, read on to find out all you need to know about the Nicole Brown Simpson murder.
Nicole Brown Simpson
Juditha and Louis Brown met in Frankfurt, West Germany. He was a news correspondent from America, she a German native. Within several years, the couple was married with two young daughters, Denise and Nicole.
Wishing to return to his native country, Louis Brown packed the family’s belongings and led them to Southern California when the girls were just toddlers. In California, Juditha and Louis had two more daughters, Dominique and Tanya. Nicole, having left for the United States at such a young age, had no difficulty adjusting. In fact, by all accounts, she thrived in America. She loved the beach, was surrounded by friends, and was crowned homecoming princess in high school.
Denise Brown, sister to Nicole, describes the Brown’s family life as normal and pleasant. The family ate dinners together, and Louis Brown even bought his daughters horses “to keep them out of trouble.” Nicole Brown’s trouble had, in fact, not yet begun.
At the age of 18, Nicole Brown began to work at an upscale club in Beverly Hills. A members-only club, Brown met the most famous of the famous. The club had been known as the hottest place in Beverly Hills for quite some time. Sonny and Cher frequented the club, as did Natalie Wood. Some of the Jackson 5’s first sets were performed there.
It was no surprise when Nicole Brown met OJ Simpson at the Daisy. He was married at the time, and was nearing the end of a successful football career. Despite the athlete’s marriage, the couple began to date.
Orenthal James Simpson
Orenthal James Simpson was born on July 9, 1947. Born and raised in San Francisco, he was the son of Eunice, a hospital administrator, and Jimmy Lee, a bank worker, chef, and drag queen. Simpson has a brother and two sisters, one of whom is now deceased.
Nicknamed OJ, Orenthal did not have a particularly lively upbringing. In fact, he, his siblings and his mother lived largely in the housing projects of Potrero Hill. Simpson’s parents had separated in 1952, and Jimmy Lee later announced that he was gay. He died of AIDS.
OJ Simpson was incarcerated several times during his teenage years. He joined a gang, the Persian Warriors, and as a result was arrested three times. People around him described him as an unpleasant person, even an “awful person.” His grades at school were mediocre at best, although he excelled in high school football.
Simpson opted to abstain from joining the military, as many of his peers at the time were doing. Instead, he attended the City College of San Francisco, and joined the football team at the junior college. The College won the Prune Bowl, and as a result Simpson became a popular choice for college recruiters despite his poor grades and criminal history.
In 1969, Simpson joined the world of professional athletics. He was drafted to the AFL’s Buffalo Bills, and it was then that Simpson’s arrogance became apparent. He demanded the highest pay in professional sports history: $650,000 over 5 years. When Bills owner Ralph Wilson balked at the idea, Simpson threatened to quite football and become an actor.
Simpson won the contract, but was later fired by the Bills. He did go on to have a successful career in professional football, and his career in the sport didn’t end until he retired in 1979.
The Nicole Brown Simpson Murder
Nicole Brown and OJ Simpson were married in 1985. Together they had a daughter and a son, Sydney and Justin. Nicole Brown Simpson devoted her life to being a loving mother, and withstood allegations of abuse by Simpson. In 1989 at a New Years’ party, her husband publicly threatened to kill her.
Brown’s friends and family witnessed Nicole covered in bruises, and she’d confided in several friends that her husband was unfaithful and abusive. In 1992, Nicole Brown Simpson finally filed for divorce to remove herself and her children from the toxic relationship.
Now single, Nicole Brown Simpson seemed to relish life without her ex-husband. Receiving almost $10,000 each month in child support, the woman bought a Ferrari and could often be seen with friends at clubs and out dancing. Despite her newly found freedom, however, she remained afraid. OJ had been seen following her more than once. For reasons known only to Nicole and Simpson, the couple tried on several occasions to reconcile.
In spring of 1994, Nicole told her friends and family that she’d had enough of the roller coaster that was their relationship. She relayed to them that she would be ending communication with him, and she followed through.
On June 13, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, were found dead outside of her Los Angeles home. Nicole was found in the fetal position in a pool of blood. She had been stabbed seven times in the neck and head, and her throat had been slit almost to the point of decapitation. She was 35 years old.
The OJ Simpson Trial
The Nicole Brown Simpson murder remains unsolved. Naturally, police arrested OJ Simpson, but not without first engaging in an hours long and televised Bronco chase. When the slow speed car chase eventually came to a halt, OJ Simpson was arrested for the murder of his ex-wife and of Ronald Goldman. The arrest was aired live nationally.
The months that followed were months of frustration for not only the Brown and Goldman families, but for America. Legal loopholes and a seemingly unfair treatment of the celebrity were in close proximity to a feeling of racial divide in America. For a year, the nation watched as the black man was tried for the death of a white woman.
OJ Simpson was ultimately acquitted in the case of the Nicole Brown Simpson murder. He was later required to pay $25 million in damages to the Brown and Goldman families after having lost a wrongful death civil suit.
Nicole Brown Simpson is buried at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest, California. The Nicole Brown Simpson murder remains an unsolved case, and it has never been reopened.