O.J Simpson has passed away at the age of 76.
The thing he is probably most known for is his murder trial for the death of his wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. O.J had most likely been abusive since the start of their marriage in 1985, but in 1989 the police responded to a call reporting that Nicole was laying outside beaten and hiding in the bushes.
O.J Simpson pleaded no contest to the spousal abuse charge and he was sentenced to community service, probation, and he had to pay a fine. The couple divorced in 1992 and there are abuse reports from the house even after the divorce.
Another call to the police happened in 1993 when Nicole said “ He’s back” and the police responded and intervened.
On June 12, 1994, Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman were both stabbed in Simpson’s home, and O.J was charged with murder, but he did not turn himself in. Instead, he led the police on a low-speed chase in a white Bronco driven by his retired teammate Al Cowlings. The incident was all over the news and channels even delayed the NBA Finals from being shown.
His trial lasted nearly 9 months, and news stations covered it every day. In the trial O.J was asked to try on the bloody gloves that were found at the crime scene. There, he claimed the gloves didn’t fit his hand and he was found not guilty on both counts of murder and there were many mixed emotions about it.
A large majority of the people believed that O.J Simpson was guilty and should face the consequences for his crime. Many black Americans took O.J’s side in the trial and believed that he was not guilty.
After the trial, the parents of Ms. Simpson and Mr. Goldman filed for a wrongful-death lawsuit against O.J Simpson and the jury found him liable and ordered him to pay more than 30 million dollars to them. He told the jury that he was broke because he didn’t have any endorsements or acting gigs. In turn, they made him pay a small fraction of the 30 million to the families.
Instead of staying out of trouble, OJ found it once again in 2007, when O.J and multiple other men entered a hotel room and claimed they were looking for sports memorabilia that had been stolen, and a gun was found at the scene. In 2008, he was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping. Following the charges he then served nine years of his 33 year sentence and was released on parole in 2017.
After he got released he lived a somewhat normal life. He was a fanatic golf player and would post videos on social media about his opinions on sports teams. He was actually the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy his freshman year of college. He also played for the Buffalo Bills and ran for 2,003 yards which remained a record for more than 10 years.
After he retired from football he turned to acting and was in multiple movies and commercials. Unfortunately, the murder trial changed his life completely, and instead of being known as a football player and actor, he was known as the murderer that got away with it.