This article mentions domestic violence and contains graphic descriptions of murder. Please read with caution.
O.J. Simpson died from cancer on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at age 76, according to a statement from Simpson’s family on X. From his career in the NFL to Hollywood, later in life, Simpson was most infamous for the murder trial of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Controversially, Simpson was acquitted of Brown Simpson and Goldman’s brutal murders. But Simpson’s implication in the crime marked one of the most precipitous falls from grace for a once-beloved athlete and entertainer in recent memory. Meanwhile, the double murder and Simpson’s trial also ushered in an era of 24-hour true-crime news coverage. In 1997, Simpson was found liable for both murder and fined in a separate civil suit and for the rest of his life, he lived in celebrity exile.
In the end, Brown Simpson and Goldman’s murders and Simpson’s acquittal were where-were-you-when moments for an entire generation, and Simpson’s guilt in the minds of many has never been settled. On the occasion of Simpson’s death, here’s a look back on what happened to Nicole Brown Simpson and other details from the case.
How did O.J. Simpson meet Nicole Brown?
O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown met in what might seem like a Hollywood fairytale, the questionable age gap between them notwithstanding. Brown was 18 years old at the time, and Simpson was 30. When Brown and Simpson met in 1977, the football star was a famous athlete and married, building his name in Hollywood, and Brown was a server at a Beverly Hills nightclub called The Daisy. Brown moved in with Simpson when she was 19, and Simpson divorced his first wife in 1979. Brown and Simpson got married in 1985. five years after Simpson retired from football.
In their time together, Brown and Simpson had two children, Sydney Brooke and Justin Ryan Simpson. Their marriage, however, was marked by reports of spousal abuse, leading at one point to Simpson pleading no contest, paying a fine, and pledging to do community service. In 1992, Brown filed for divorce amid Simpson’s infidelity, but Brown continued to live with verbal and physical abuse from her ex-husband even after their marriage ended.
How did Nicole Brown Simpson die?
By all accounts, the evening of June 12, 1994, began with at least an attempt at normalcy for O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson. They both attended their daughter, Syndey Simpson’s dance recital. Later that night, Brown Simpson and her family went to dinner at an L.A. restaurant called Mezzaluna, where Ronald Goldman worked. Brown Simpson’s mother left her glasses at Goldman’s restaurant and went to Brown Simpson’s house to return them.
The prevailing theory is that Simpson, known to be possessive and jealous, went to Brown Simpson’s home and murdered his wife and Goldman in a rage. Brown Simpson was stabbed seven times in her neck and head and nearly decapitated. Goldman’s family, meanwhile, believed he attempted to help Brown Simpson, as evidence suggests he arrived at Brown Simpson’s home while she fought for her life. Goldman also died from several stab wounds, and their bodies were later discovered outside Brown Simpson’s house.
Who killed Nicole Brown Simpson?
Despite a preponderance of evidence including blood, hair, and fiber that linked O.J. Simpson to Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman’s double murder, his headline-stealing trial ended in an acquittal. No one has been convicted of Brown Simpson and Goldman’s murders, despite O.J.’s pledge to find the “real killer” after the 1995 criminal trial ended. “I will pursue as my primary goal in life the killer or killers who slayed Nicole and Mr. Goldman… They are out there somewhere… I would not, could not, and did not kill anyone,” Simpson said.
In 1997, Brown Simpson and Goldman’s family filed a wrongful death suit against Simpson, and Simpson was found liable for their deaths and ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages. “We finally have justice for Ron and Nicole,” Fred Goldman, Ronald’s father, commented. Brown Simpson, who was just 35 when she died, is buried at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest, California. At Simpson’s civil trial, Brown Simposn’s mother said Simpson saw his ex-wife’s body at a private viewing, kissed her on the lips, and said, “I’m so sorry Nic. I’m so sorry.”
If you are experiencing domestic abuse, or if you believe someone you know is being abused, contact The National Domestic Violence Hotline. The hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-SAFE or spoken with online via the hotline’s website. Mobile phone owners can also text “START” to the number 88788.