Latest news with #AmericanManhunt:O.J.Simpson
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
OJ Simpson's ex-pal recalls chilling conversation after murders: ‘I knew he did it'
If he did it. OJ Simpson, who was on trial for the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1995, was controversially acquitted in one of the 20th century's most famous trials. In the new Netflix docuseries 'American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson' (out Wed., Jan. 29 on Netflix), Simpson's former agent, Mike Gilbert, recalls a chilling conversation they had shortly after Simpson was acquitted. Gilbert, who had worked with Simpson for 18 years, asked the former NFL star and actor, 'What happened that night?'' referring to the night of the murders. 'I said, 'You know, OJ, I always thought you did it,'' Gilbert said. He alleged that in response, Simpson 'glanced up.' 'He just kind of shook his head and he said, 'If Nicole wouldn't have opened the door with a knife, she would still be alive,'' he claimed Simpson replied. Gilbert said that was the end of their relationship. 'I didn't sleep very well that night….So, I quit,' he said. Nicole — who was married to OJ from 1985 to 1992 — and Goldman were stabbed to death in 1994 outside the former's home in the Brentwood neighborhood of LA. She was 35 and Goldman was 25. Although OJ was acquitted in the murder trial, two years later, a civil jury found him liable for wrongful death and he was ordered to pay millions to the families. Simpson ultimately lived to age 76, before he died of cancer in 2024. Goldman's sister, Kim, recalled onscreen in the doc that at Ron's funeral, 'My brother had his neck severed. So they had to hide certain parts so that they wouldn't see it … it was all very super f–ked up.' Tom Lange, the cop who made the phone call to inform Simpson that his ex-wife had been murdered, noted onscreen that the former football star got upset on the phone. 'But he doesn't ask what happened, or anything else. Not a lot of questions from Simpson … Didn't ask, 'How did she die, who would kill her?' We don't get any of that, which doesn't make any damn sense.' Lange also recalled that when he made the same phone call to inform Nicole's family that she had been killed, 'I hear screaming, 'that motherf—er, that son of a bitch, he killed her' on the phone.' He clarified that the woman screaming was Denise, Nicole's older sister, who repeatedly said: 'It's OJ! It's OJ! I know he did it!'' Ron Shipp, a former cop who was friends with Simpson and testified during the trial, recalled visiting Simpson at the latter's home shortly after the murders. When he noticed a cut on Simpson's finger and asked about it, Simpson told him he cut it in his car seat after he dropped his phone. However, when another visitor came over and asked about Simpson's finger, Shipp observed Simpson telling a different story. 'He goes, 'I cut my finger on a glass in Chicago,'' Shipp recalled. Simpson allegedly told him 'I've had dreams of killing her' about Nicole. Nicole also confided in Shipp before her death, 'Your friend OJ hit me. And this is not the first time.' After seeing Simpson allegedly lie easily about the cut on his finger, Shipp recalled, 'I left his house and got in my car and I called my wife first and I was crying.' He explained, 'I was crying, because I knew he did it.'
Express Tribune
30-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Unheard O.J. Simpson trial witnesses speak out in new Netflix docuseries
The Netflix docuseries American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson , which premiered on January 29, features new testimonies from witnesses who claim they saw O.J. Simpson on the night of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. These witnesses were never called to testify during the 1995 trial. Speaking to PEOPLE, Jill Shively, a Santa Monica resident, recalls nearly colliding with Simpson's white Ford Bronco near Bundy Drive on June 12, 1994. 'I could see who it was and I knew it was a football player, but I wasn't sure who,' she says. 'He was yelling at another driver, 'Move, move.' I recognized his voice because I had just seen a Naked Gun movie. It was O.J. Simpson.' Photo: Jill Shivley (Netflix) Shively's testimony, which could have placed Simpson near the crime scene, was dismissed after she sold her story to Hard Copy . Prosecutor Marcia Clark reportedly believed this would weaken her credibility. Skip Junis, an advertising executive, says he saw Simpson at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) just after 11:30 p.m. that night. 'O.J. went to a trash can and plopped the bag on top,' he says. 'He unzipped it, pulled out a long item covered with a white cloth, and put it in the trash.' Photo: Skip Junis (Netflix) Despite contacting both the prosecution and defense, Junis was never called to testify. He later met with detectives and described the bag but was ultimately left out of the trial. Director Floyd Russ hopes the series will allow audiences to reconsider the case. 'The audience gets to listen to witnesses who were not called and consider evidence,' he says. American Manhunt: O.J Simpson is now available to watch on Netflix.
USA Today
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
New O.J. Simpson docuseries explores evidence never seen in the 'trial of the century'
New O.J. Simpson docuseries explores evidence never seen in the 'trial of the century' Show Caption Hide Caption O.J. Simpson dies at 76 after battle with cancer The family of O.J. Simpson announced he has succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was 76. Thirty years after 'the trial of the century' began, Netflix presents a four-part docuseries (now streaming) that revisits the barbarous fatal stabbings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. O.J. Simpson, who died last April, was acquitted of the June 12, 1994, killings at Brown Simpson's Los Angeles home in a verdict that shocked the world. 'American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson' director Floyd Russ ('Untold,' 'American Manhunt: The Boston Marathon Bombing'), who was just 11 at the time of the trial, doesn't remember much of the televised proceedings, which drew an estimated 150 million viewers for the announcement of the verdict on October 3, 1995. But Brentwood, where Simpson and Brown Simpson lived, became a backdrop for Russ' life when his mom moved to the ritzy neighborhood. The trial has spurred several documentaries and scripted re-enactments, including Lifetime's 'The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson' docuseries (released in June), ESPN's "O.J.: Made in America" docuseries and the Emmy-winning FX series "The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story" (both released in 2016). Russ says what sets his project apart is the perspective that comes with being three decades removed from the case and his presentation of "key evidence to the viewer so that they feel like the jury itself," he says, including evidence that was never presented at the trial. Russ also aims to introduce the case to a new audience. When he polled a few people in their early- to mid-20s to see what they knew of Simpson, they mentioned the Heisman trophy winner's pro football career and acting credits. 'There's a lot of people that don't know who O.J. really is,' says Russ, 'and who he became and what he should be remembered for.' Did O.J. escape justice? What the Simpson trial said about race in America, then and now. 'American Manhunt' covers the events in chronological order, from the murders to the Ford Bronco police chase that drew around 95 million viewers and the trial. Russ shed tears during a sitdown with Goldman's sister, Kim, who heartbreakingly reveals that when her then-boyfriend's urged her to phone her dad, she thought her boyfriend was proposing. Instead, Kim's father informed her of her brother's death. Russ also interviews investigators the from case; Carl E. Douglas, an animated member of Simpson's defense; and prosecutor Christopher Darden, who famously asked Simpson to try on the pair of gloves recovered from their homes. 'Christopher Darden and the glove, married together for all eternity,' Darden declares in the docuseries. 'When I die, bury me with a pair of Isotoner gloves. It fit!' Here are the must-know moments from the docuseries. The evidence not collected or excluded from the trial Unlike other recent projects, 'American Manhunt' points out (explicitly, with text on screen) the evidence that builds an even stronger case against Simpson that the jury never heard. A bloody fingerprint recovered from a gate at Brown Simpson's house was never collected as evidence, according to the docuseries. Jill Shively, an eyewitness who claims to have seen an angry Simpson driving near Brown Simpson's house around the time of the murders, never testified because prosecutor Marcia Clark believed she had lost credibility after being paid for an earlier interview. Skip Junis tells filmmakers that while at the Los Angeles airport the night of the killings, he saw Simpson discard 'something long that maybe was wrapped in a cloth' ahead of Simpson's flight to Chicago that evening. Junis wasn't called to the witness stand, either, and police never found the murder weapon. Shocking revelations from 'Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson' Lifetime documentary Johnnie Cochran's shocking statement about domestic violence There's a moment during the trial that zings louder in 2025 than it likely did 30 years ago: when Johnnie Cochran (who coined 'if it doesn't fit, you must acquit') asks, 'Why did Mr. Darden spend all that time on domestic violence if this is a murder case?' Cochran told the jury, 'They're trying to dredge up some theory to give you a motive, because they don't have a motive.' Those familiar with the case know Brown Simpson called police several times to report Simpson's abuse, which she documented in photographs and in her diary. Detective John Edwards testified that when he responded to a call at the Simpsons on New Year's Day 1989, Brown Simpson 'collapsed and started yelling, 'He's going to kill me. He's going to kill me!'' The bloody evidence Detective Tom Lange, citing the amount of evidence against Simpsons, says in the docuseries they 'nicknamed this (case) the turkey on a platter,' as in, 'It's all there.' Lange says Simpson's blood was found at the crime scene, and that his blood, along with that of Brown Simpson and Goldman, was found in Simpson's Bronco. Lange also says Simpson's blood dripped from his vehicle to his door. The defense refuted the evidence by accusing law enforcement of planting the blood and fumbling the DNA collection. Their argument was strong enough to convince juror Yolanda Crawford that the authorities mishandled the evidence. What we learned covering O.J. Simpson case: We hardly know the athletes we think we know O.J. Simpson's alleged confession to the killings Perhaps the most shocking interview in 'American Manhunt' comes courtesy of Simpson's former sports agent, Mike Gilbert. Gilbert says in the docuseries' finale that, one evening, he worked up the nerve to ask Simpson what happened and told his client that he'd always suspected he was guilty. According to Gilbert, Simpson responded: 'If Nicole wouldn't have opened the door with a knife, she would still be alive.' (Gilbert also made this claim in his 2008 book, 'How I Helped O.J. Get Away with Murder: The Shocking Inside Story of Violence, Loyalty, Regret, and Remorse.') Russ, acknowledging that he couldn't corroborate the conversation, says he was most surprised by Gilbert's 'realization many years later, looking back on it, it wasn't that Nicole came to the door with the knife. It was O.J. still making an excuse for why he would have murdered her. In a way, it's O.J. almost blaming Nicole for why it happened.'
The Independent
26-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
American Manhunt: New O.J Simpson Netflix documentary puts spotlight back on bombshell case
A double murder. The white Ford Bronco. Bloody gloves. And former NFL player O.J. Simpson at the front and center of the country's most high profile case. Thirty years ago this week, millions of people started tuning in what came to be known as the trial of the century, seeing evidence to determine if Simpson slaughtered his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Days after the two were found dead in a double murder in June 1994, viewers around the world tuned in to watch police pursue Simpson in car chase across the highways of Los Angeles. And yet when Simpson was acquitted after his eight-month long trial in 2005, the saga sparked debate and controversy that reverberated for years. Countless movies, TV shows, and documentaries have been made about the case, which has become a cultural phenomenon, even following Simpson's death in April 2024. The new four-part Netflix docuseries American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson, which begins streaming on January 29, reexamines it. The series features new interviews with major players and witnesses from the time of the murders, as it breaks down the case, considers implications of dismissed evidence, and the role of the public spectacle. Director Floyd Russ, who also directed American Manhunt: Boston Marathon Bombing and Untold: Malice at the Palace, said he sought to bring Simpson's story to a new generation, offering a new lens on the historic trial. 'Our interview subjects have a power to reflect in a new way with the passage of 30 years,' he told Netflix's Tudum. 'This is a story that has so many faces and so many elements that when you contextualize it historically it takes on a new form every few years.' The series features new interviews with many of the key figures from the investigation and trial, including former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman, as well as witness Kato Kaelin, who was the 'last person to see OJ before the murders,' Kaelin says in the doc. Ron Goldman's sister Kim Goldman also speaks in the doc, taking viewers through her grief as she recalls the night her brother was killed and the aftermath of the murders. 'My brother was returning Nicole's glasses,' she says on the doc, breaking down in tears before continuing, 'and was slaughtered to death.' Attorneys for the defense and prosecution, Carl Douglas and Christopher Darden, are also interviewed. 'Their emotions have evolved, and the way they're able to talk about it is different than they ever have before," Russ said of the interviews. A double murder and OJ's arrest On June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were found brutally murdered outside Nicole's home in Los Angeles. When police went to her ex husband's estate the next day, they discovered blood on his white Ford Bronco and a bloody glove that matched one found near Goldman's body. Meanwhile, Simpson had left town the night before. Once he was informed about the deaths he returned to Los Angeles where he was questioned for hours. With a search warrant in hand the police search Simpson's mansion to find even more traces of blood, and the football players was quickly identified as the prime suspect in the double homicide. The Simpsons had married in February 1985 and had two children, Sydney Simpson and Justin Simpson. They divorced in 1993, just a year before the murders. When Simpson was asked to take a lie detector test, he turned to his friend at the time, Ron Shipp, a retired LAPD officer. Shipp recalled the conversation in the new docuseries. Simpson said police wanted him to take a lie detector test. 'He told me he didn't want to take it. And I asked, 'Why?' and he said because he had dreams of killing her.' A wild Bronco chase On June 17, 1994, an estimated 95 million Americans watched as Simpson sat in the back of a White Ford Bronco that led police on a slow-moving chase throughout Los Angeles as authorities were set to charge the football star for murder. Simpson was not actually driving the vehicle – his friend Al 'AC' Cowlings was behind the wheel – but he sat in the back seat holding a gun to his temple, seemingly close to ending his life. 'I've had a great life, great friends,' he said in what many believed was a suicide note written just before he set out in the Bronco. 'Please think of the real O.J. and not this lost person.' The chase ended roughly an hour after it started and Simpson turned himself in to the authorities. The 'Trial of the Century' Simpson's monthslong televised trial ended up eclipsing his fame as one of the most gifted running backs in football history, the Associated Press reported. The trial, which touched on fame and wealth, domestic violence and racism, was one of the first ever in the states to run on television. And America couldn't get enough. Prosecutors painted a picture of Simpson as a jealous ex-husband and a cold-blooded killer. They pleaded with jurors not to be intimidated by his 'dream team' of highly paid defense attorneys, his charisma as an actor, or his status as a football star. Evidence found at the murder scene seemed overwhelmingly against Simpson: Bloody footprints in his size were there, as were blood drops seeming to match his DNA and a glove identical in style to one bought by his slain ex-wife and worn by him at televised football games. Another glove, smeared with his blood and blood of the two victims, was found at his home. But the science of DNA analysis was in its infancy, and there were mistakes by police and forensic technicians in handling evidence. When Simpson tried on the gloves in court, he couldn't get them onto his large hands, leading to the famous line his attorney Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. later delivered to jurors: 'If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.' Defense attorneys say he was framed, they said, pointing to former Los Angeles police Detective Mark Fuhrman, who denied making anti-Black racial slurs but recanted after a recording was played in court. He later pleaded guilty to perjury. It was Fuhrman who found the bloody glove at Simpson's home — or planted it, as some claimed — and it was Fuhrman who could not be trusted, defense attorneys said. Jurors apparently agreed, saying Fuhrman's past weighed heavily on their minds. On October 3, 1995, after just four hours of deliberation, Simpson was acquitted of the murder charges. The decision divided public opinion, with many questioning the fairness of the trial and the role of race in the verdict. After the verdict Simpson attempted to live a normal life, but Goldman's family believed Simpson was guilty and pursued their wrongful death lawsuit against him. In a civil trial, a jury found Simpson liable for the murders and ordered him to pay $33.5 million in damages to the Goldmans and Nicole Brown Simpson's family. Hundreds of valuable possessions were seized by the court, and Simpson was forced to auction his Heisman Trophy, fetching $230,000. In 2007 Simpson made national headlines again after he was arrested in Las Vegas after he and several other men entered a hotel room and took memorabilia items that Simpson claimed had been stolen from him. A jury convicted Simpson of armed robbery and other felonies. At 61 years old, Simpson was sent to prison in Nevada, where he spent the next nine years. When he was released on parole in October 2017, he said he was only trying to retrieve memorabilia and heirlooms stolen from him after his criminal trial. He lived his final years tweeting videos of himself talking about football, golf and politics. In January 2021, during the global pandemic he shared a photo of himself receiving the Covid-19 vaccine, and encouraging others to get it when their time came. In a February post, just weeks before his death, he sat poolside in Las Vegas, and tweeted about his health and golf. 'My health is good,' he said. 'Obviously I'm dealing with some issues, but hey I think I'm just about over it and I'll be back on that golf course hopefully in a couple of weeks.' Simpson, who had been battling metastatic prostate cancer, died on April 10, 2024, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, according to a family statement. He was 76 years old. Two months later, the FBI released 475 pages of documents largely focused on the investigation into the 1994 murders. The documents included details about blood found at the crime scene, fiber samples, hair samples from both victims and other forensic evidence. And just like that, the saga was back in the spotlight. 'A brutal murder, a media frenzy like no other, a chase watched by 90 million people, and a trial that uncovered things we never expected,' Russ told Rolling Stone about the new docuseries. 'Even 30 years since the murder, it's more relevant now than ever. There simply is no case like it in the entire history of America.'
