This is our 4th and final episode on the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. We’ve covered up to the verdict. Now we’re covering the aftermath. If you haven’t listened to the first 3 episodes, we recommend you go back to catch up.
OJ Simpson was acquitted of murder and he was a free man on October 3, 1995. When he arrived back at the gates of his Brentwood mansion to restart his life, a party was getting underway. His mother, Eunice, arrived in a Rolls-Royce. People made champagne toasts as everyone hugged. Limousines pulled up to the house as the media took photos. Al Cowlings was there. Robert Kardashian was there. And it was all on television.
“After the verdict was handed down, the West L.A.P.D.—because Rockingham is in our jurisdiction—had to send police units over there to O.J.’s house for crowd control and to protect the estate while they were preparing for a party to celebrate the deaths of two people,” Detective Paul Bishop told author Dominik Dunne when he was interviewed. But, of course, not everyone felt that way.
OJ was found not guilty in a court of law. Many, especially those in the African-American community, celebrated the verdict. So, did OJ have the right to believe he would be welcomed back into his community? In this episode, we’re talking about the public response to OJ, the victim’s families, the civil trial, and the complete collapse of a former American Sports hero.