Almost 30 years ago, more than 100 million people watched the O. J. Simpson murder trial verdict live. The former football star had been charged with the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. After a nine-month jury trial, Mr. Simpson was acquitted, but questions about his verdict and crime persisted.
Here's what happened to the key figures in the trial.
F. Lee Bailey
Mr. Bailey was a member of Mr. Simpson's defense team and previously gained fame representing Patricia Hearst and the Boston Strangler suspect. His cross-examination by Detective Mark Fuhrman was considered key to Mr. Simpson's acquittal. After his trial in 1996, Mr. Bailey was charged with contempt in Florida for refusing to turn over fees he had received for representing drug traffickers and inventory left behind by his jailed clients.
After 43 days in prison, he was released after handing over millions of dollars worth of stock. In 2001, the Florida Supreme Court disbarred him for misappropriating his stock, and Massachusetts followed suit two years later.
Mr. Bailey filed for bankruptcy in Maine in 2016. Near the end of his life, he ran a business consulting firm out of an apartment above a hair salon owned by his girlfriend. He passed away in 2021 at the age of 87.
Dennis Brown
As the lead prosecutor, she resigned from the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office after the trial and co-authored a book about the case, Without a Doubt, published in 1997. She has also written several crime novels. She lives in California.
Mr. Cochran, a prominent lawyer on the defense team, continued to represent high-profile clients. He also founded a national law firm specializing primarily in personal injury cases and wrote two autobiographies. He died in 2005 at the age of 67 from a brain tumor.
Christopher Darden
Darden unsuccessfully ran for judgeship in Los Angeles County last month. Among those who supported him was Simpson criminal trial judge Lance Ito, now retired.
alan dershowitz
Mr. Fuhrman, a detective with the Los Angeles Police Department, was the chief witness against Mr. Simpson. He admitted that he entered Simpson's home and found bloody gloves and other key evidence that he believed matched those found at the murder scene. All of this was done without a search warrant. The defense argued that Fuhrman inserted a second glove, but they could not prove that.
But more damaging was the defense's attack on his history of racist comments. He swore that Mr. Fuhrman had not used racist language in 10 years. However, recordings of radio interviews played to four witnesses and jurors contradicted his version of events and undermined his credibility. (Following the trial, Fuhrman pleaded no contest to the perjury charges, making him the only person convicted in the case.)
Fuhrman retired from the Los Angeles Police Department in 1995 and wrote a book about the Simpson case, “The Brentwood Murders,'' which was published in 1997.
He currently works as a forensic and criminal expert for FOX News and has written several books on other cases. He also contributed to his ABC News, CBS, and Court TV, according to his Fox News biography.
Gil Garcetti
Mr. Goldman, the father of murder victim Ronald Goldman, became an even more prominent figure in Mr. Simpson's civil trial. After Mr. Simpson was cleared of criminal charges, Mr. Goldman, joined by the family of Nicole Brown Simpson, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Mr. Simpson in 1997. A civil lawsuit found Simpson responsible for the death and ordered him to pay more than $30 million in damages to his family.
After news of Simpson's death broke on Thursday, Goldman told NBC News it was just “another reminder that Ron has been gone for years.”
Ms. Goldman, Ronald Goldman's sister, testified in the criminal trial and later wrote several books about her brother's death and her own experiences. According to her Instagram page, she hosts the podcast Media Circus, where she “takes you behind the headlines of attention-grabbing stories.”
Lance Ito
The judge presiding over the Simpson trial decided to allow television cameras to be installed in the courtroom during the trial so that the public could watch the case unfold. He continued to serve as a judge until his retirement in 2015. Mr. Ito lives in Los Angeles. Contacted on Thursday, he declined to comment for this story, citing the fact that the Goldman family remains in a “very active” case for damages. “California's Code of Ethics, which guides the conduct of judges, prohibits judges from commenting on matters pending before the court,” he said in an email.
Kato Kerin
Brian Kaelin, known as Cato, who stayed at Mr Simpson's guest house on the night of the murder and was called as a witness during the trial, has since appeared in a series of TV shows and movies, appearing in 2019's Celebrity Big Brother. ”
Kaelin currently hosts a podcast about “The World's Most Dirty Scandals.” He also offers personalized videos for his $60 each through video sharing website Cameo.
robert kardashian
Mr. Simpson's friend, Mr. Kardashian, was also a lawyer on the defense team. Simpson was staying at Kardashian's house days after Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were stabbed to death in 1994. The infamous police chase in a white Ford Bronco began after Simpson fled Kardashian's home.
In a 1996 ABC interview, Kardashian said she had doubts about Simpson's innocence. “Blood evidence is the biggest problem for me,” he said.
He died in 2003 at the age of 59 due to esophageal cancer. Kardashian's then-wife, now Kris Jenner, and daughters Kim, Kourtney and Khloe rose to fame on the reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Barry Scheck
Mr. Shapiro was also a member of Mr. Simpson's legal team and remains an attorney. Since Simpson's trial, he has represented other celebrities and is a co-founder of companies such as LegalZoom.com and RightCounsel.com, as well as a partner in the Los Angeles firm Glaser Weil, according to his website. .
Mr. Shapiro is also the author of two books, “The Quest for Justice'' and “Misunderstanding.'' The father of a son who died from his drug addiction, he has also written children's books about the negative effects of drug use. Mr. Shapiro established the Brent Shapiro Foundation for Alcohol and Drug Awareness in honor of his son.
Corinna Knoll Contributed to the report.