O.J. Simpson pictured (left) in his LA mug shot and (right) in a Vegas mug shot.
O.J. Simpson, the legendary college football and NFL running back who enjoyed a lucrative Hollywood career in his post-playing days before facing the “trial of the century” for the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, only to be acquitted and become a national pariah, died of cancer at 76 on Wednesday, according to his family.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” the X post attributed to Simpson’s family said Thursday. “He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.”
“During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace,” the post continued.
Thinking of the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown today. pic.twitter.com/ntXvCarpFP
— Lisa Guerrero (@4lisaguerrero) April 11, 2024
Simpson will always be remembered for the surreal Ford Bronco chase he led police on in June 1994 five days after the stabbing deaths of Brown Simpson and Goldman outside of his ex-wife’s Los Angeles-area home.
“The Juice” was loose, but once he was arrested he assembled a legal “Dream Team” that numbered Johnnie Cochran (of “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit” fame), Robert Kardashian, Alan Dershowitz, F. Lee Bailey, and Robert Shapiro among his defense attorneys.
O.J. Simpson (R) talks with two of his attorneys, F. Lee Bailey and Alan Dershowitz (back to camera) in court 16 June during his double murder trial in Los Angeles. Earlier Dershowitz said that prosecutors have selectively targeted pro-Simpson jurors and he has asked the judge to halt any further dismissals without an evidentiary hearing. AFP PHOTO (Photo by Reed SAXON / POOL / AFP) (Photo by REED SAXON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The ensuing trial and 1995 acquittal remains one of the most controversial cases in American history. But rather than shrinking away from the limelight, Simpson embraced it. Remember “If I Did It”?
More Law&Crime coverage: 10 most shocking details from O.J. Simpson’s ‘hypothetical’ confession
Nor did Simpson avoid breaking the law. He served nine years in prison for a sports memorabilia-related armed robbery in Las Vegas after being convicted in 2008. He was paroled in 2017.
After he was out, Simpson claimed to “believe in the legal system.”
In more recent years, Simpson joined what was then known as Twitter, where he saw fit to comment on high-profile murder cases and to lodge murder allegations against others. He also weighed in on political cases.
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