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.
Follow our O.J. Simpson death updates blog for the latest…
More on the infamous gloves
OJ Simpson, who died on Wednesday after a battle with prostate cancer, was asked to try the gloves on for size during his trial in 1995.
One of the gloves had been recovered from the crime scene, while the other was allegedly found behind Simpson's guest house.
The glove purportedly found behind Simpson's house was alleged to have had blood containing genetic markers of the ex-running back, Nicole, and Goldman on it.
Simpson's lawyers argued the glove was planted by Los Angeles Police Detective Mark Fuhrman, who they said was a racist and determined to frame Simpson.
The NFL star tried the gloves on during the trial, at the request of the prosecution, and appeared to struggle to make them fit.
Infamous gloves kept in police custody
The infamous gloves were presented as "evidence" in the double-murder trial of Simpson for the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman - and proved to be crucial to his acquittal.
Many would be surprised to know that the garments are still being held by police in evidence lock-up, according to a 2018 report.
The Los Angeles channel was reportedly granted "special permission" from the LA District Attorney's office to look at the gloves up close.
Another person might one day be tried for Nicole and Goldman's murders, so the gloves and other evidence are being stored in case they will again be useful.
More on Kim Kardashian's SNL joke about OJ
Simpson is also connected to the Kardashian family as their late father, Robert Kardashian, was OJ's lawyer during the 1995 murder trial.
Kim Kardashian made a joke on SNL about OJ in October 2021 during her monologue.
She quipped to the audience: "It’s because of [my father] that I met my first Black person.
"Want to take a stab in the dark at who it was?"
OJ Simpson’s fame and fortunes, part two
In 1992, it was widely reported that half of his wealth was a result of his estate in Brentwood, California.
In 1977, OJ bought the property for $650,000; which is equivalent to nearly $3 million now.
On April 10, 2024, 76-year-old OJ died from his battle with prostate cancer after announcing his diagnosis in February.
OJ Simpson's fame and fortunes
According to , OJ Simpson's fortune was an estimated $3 million.
His wealth was attributed to his NFL career, brand endorsements, and past salary as a sports commentator.
At the time OJ and Nicole Brown Simpson were divorcing, it was revealed his net worth was an estimated $10.8 million.
The abovementioned amount is equivalent to $18 million in modern conversions.
'Guilty without question'
Though he found it difficult to reconcile the humble OJ of old with the arrogant OJ accused of murder that he was seeing on his screen, Jensen said there was no doubt in his mind that Simpson was guilty.
"He was guilty without question," said Jensen.
"And you could see he had changed. He was aggressive [...] to the judge, and he wasn't humble, and he wasn't taking responsibility.
";I never knew that side of him at USC but I knew he had changed, and something had changed in him during his time in Hollywood.
"He went over the edge and killed those people. He went off the chart and was just a completely different guy.
"It's such a shame."
Jensen claims OJ 'changed'
Jensen said somewhere in the late 80s, just as his acting career was taking off after landing a role in The Naked Gun, he believes something within his old teammate changed – with Simpson getting sucked into the Hollywood bubble and the hot air being blown his way by sycophants dangerously inflating his ego.
"After this Hollywood thing, his personality just changed," said Jensen.
"Some way, somehow, something changed in him and he snapped.
"I don't know, maybe got into himself, being this Heisman Trophy winner-actor and then suddenly thought he was above the law?
"I don't understand how someone can go from that to this. I'm just shocked.
"I'm still shocked to this day; I can still remember being in a hotel room and seeing his Ford Bronco being chased by police on the news."
Simpson's teammate became his dentist
The two teammates, who shared a close bond, took separate paths at the end of college with Simpson being drafted to the Buffalo Bills in 1969 as the first pick.
Jensen almost followed Simpson into the league with an offer from the Dallas Cowboys but opted to enroll in dental school instead and later became Simpson's dentist after opening a practice in South Orange County.
Simpson remained his friendly, personable self despite his flourishing NFL career, according to Jensen.
USC teammate describes a young OJ Simpson
Bob Jensen was a linebacker for the USC Trojans from 1967-69 and spent two of those years playing alongside the late OJ Simpson during the team's legendary run under coach John McKay.
Jensen described what Simpson was like at the age of 19 when the two played alongside each other.
"He was very humble, very, very sharp and you could just tell there was something different about him," said Jensen, 76.
"You can see why he made it into the movies and all things like that because he had a handle on everything. He was such a nice guy and you could tell he was destined for something big."
More on OJ Simpsons run with USC
During Simpson's two seasons with the Trojans, they went 19-2-1 and made two Rose Bowl appearances, with Simpson carrying the ball a staggering 674 times in just 22 games for 3,423 yards and 36 touchdowns.
Simpson won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 and solidified himself as one of the most dominant running backs in college football history.
He later became infamous after he was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
His eight-month, nationally televised trial was one of the highest-profile criminal cases in modern American history.
What to know about OJ Simpson’s kids
OJ Simpson had five children: Arnelle, Jason, Aaren, Sydney, and Justin.
Simpson shared Arnelle, Jason, and Aaren with his first wife, Marguerite Whitley.
Aaren died in 1979, a little before her second birthday, due to respiratory failure after she accidentally fell into the family swimming pool.
Meanwhile, Justin, like Sydney, also works in real estate in Florida.
Apart from managing his properties like her sister, he’s also a realtor.
Sydney’s life after the trial
Sydney Simpson tried to keep herself under the radar after the trial and lived a normal life.
She reportedly graduated from Boston University with a degree in sociology and proceeded to start her own business.
Apart from co-owning a restaurant with Justin, she manages multiple properties in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she now resides.
Meet OJ Simpson’s daughter, Sydney
Sydney Brooke Simpson is OJ Simpson and Nicole Brown’s eldest daughter.
She was born on October 17, 1985, in Los Angeles, California.
Sydney used to be in the limelight because of her parents, but she has notably laid low since Brown’s death in 1994.
Sydney was only nine years old when her mother died, and she was reportedly sleeping in their family home when Brown, along with her friend, Ron Goldman, was fatally slashed outside the residence.
She and her brother, Justin, were taken into the care of their grandparents, Louis H. Brown and Juditha Brown.
Kim Kardashian’s joke on SNL about OJ Simpson
Simpson was connected to the Kardashians because OJ’s attorney in the 1995 murder trial was Robert Kardashian, the late father of the Kardashian family.
In October 2021, Kim Kardashian joked about OJ during her monologue on Saturday Night Live.
She quipped to the audience: “It’s because of [my father] that I met my first Black person.
“Want to take a stab in the dark at who it was?”
What OJ Simpson was worth
OJ Simpson’s estimated net worth was $3 million, according to .
His NFL career, brand endorsements, and previous compensation as a sports commentator were the main sources of his fortune.
OJ’s estimated net worth was made public during the time of his divorce from Nicole Brown Simpson.
In today’s currency, the aforementioned sum is equal to $18 million.
It was widely reported in 1992 that his estate in Brentwood, California, accounted for half of his wealth.
At the time of purchase, OJ paid $650,000 in 1977, which is currently close to $3 million.
OJ Simpson reportedly made money off of Confessions of the Killer
According to reports, Simpson accepted $600,000 to claim authorship of the book and to participate in an interview.
O.J. Simpson claimed to the Associated Press that any earnings from biographies he was the subject of were "blood money."
He stated that he only consented to Did I Do It: Confessions of the Killer in order to support his children financially and pay his debts.
OJ Simpson did not write If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
The book was written by screenwriter Pablo Fernandes, who claimed that it was based on in-depth conversations with Simpson.
Norman Pardo, Simpson's former manager, asserted, however, that Simpson was not engaged in the book's composition.
In 2007, the Goldmans released an updated version of the book that featured essays penned by O.J.'s ghostwriter, a member of the Goldman family's legal team, and other family members.
About If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer follows the supposedly hypothetical description of Nicole Brown Simpson's and Ron Goldman's murders.
On June 12, 1994, Nicole and Ron were discovered dead from stabbings. The two were stabbed in the head, neck, and torso.
Police discovered their bodies just after midnight.
OJ Simpson was then tried for murder but was acquitted after nine months.
Simpson's double murder trial began on January 24, 1995, and was dominated by media coverage.
Dozens of news outlets and reporters covered the trial which was eventually dubbed the "trial of the century."
Kris Jenner's connection to Nicole Brown Simpson explained
Simpson was good friends with Robert Kardashian, who passed away on April 10, 2024, after a fight with cancer.
Robert was a member of Simpson's defense team when he was accused of killing Ronald and Nicole twice.
Whereas her mother Kris Jenner was Nicole's best friend and believed Simpson committed the murder.
Kim Kardashian: 'I just respect his children'
Kim said that tension in the family resulted from her father's ongoing support of Simpson in a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone.
Kim said that for many years following the trial, she made an effort to keep her opinions on Simpson's guilt or innocence under wraps.
"I’ve never expressed how I’ve felt about that because I just respect his children," she told Letterman in 2020.
Kim Kardashian on OJ Simpson: 'We didn’t really know what to believe'
In a 2020 episode of David Letterman's Netflix show, My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Kim Kardashian revealed that 'the trial of the century' "tore my family apart."
When Simpson was on trial for the killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman, Kim and her elder sister Kourtney were teens and divided about which divorced parent to support.
“My mom was extremely vocal on her feelings, she believed that her friend was murdered by him and that was really traumatizing for her.
“And then we’d go to my dad’s house and it was a whole other situation there. We didn’t really know what to believe or whose side to take as kids, because we didn’t want to hurt one of our parents' feelings," she said.
"It tore my family apart, I’d say, for the whole time of the trial."
About Nicole Brown Simpson's burial site
Nicole Brown Simpson is laid to rest in Lake Forest, California's Ascension Cemetery.
On June 16, 1994, she was laid to rest, having been fatally stabbed four days earlier June 12, 1994, along with her friend Ron Goldman.
OJ Simpson was tried for the killings but he was acquitted after nine months.
Ronald Goldman's father speaks out
Following OJ Simpson's death at the age of 76, the father of Ron Goldman, whom Simpson was controversially found not guilty of killing in his historic 1995 trial, has spoken out.
The 83-year-old Fred Goldman did not hide his emotions, stating that the news brought back painful memories of his son's murder.
"The only thing I have to say is it’s just further reminder of Ron being gone all these years," Goldman told .
"It’s no great loss to the world. It’s a further reminder of Ron’s being gone.";
Tawny's last interview before her death
In her last interview before her death, Tawny told David Yontef all about her memoir.
"I'm in the middle of writing a book right now, because if I don't write my life story, somebody else is going to, and they're going to do it off of sound clips, that aren't true and aren't real about me," she revealed.
"So it's really, really important that I get my book out."
More on Tawny Kitaen's death
Later on, it was determined that the common heart condition known as dilated cardiomyopathy was the cause of Tawny's death.
As per Tawny's ghostwriter Colin D. Heaton, she was prepared to write a memoir at the time of her passing.
"She called me in March [2021] and said, 'A lot of people would rather see me dead than have this book come out,'" Heaton exclusively told The Sun.