Former US football star OJ Simpson has died of cancer, according to his family. Simpson was charged with double murder in the 1990s – and acquitted after a sensational trial.
Ex-US football star OJ Simpson, who was acquitted of murder charges in a globally sensational trial three decades ago, has died.
Simpson died yesterday at the age of 76 from cancer, his family announced on the online service X. “On April 10, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” the family said. Simpson’s lawyer also confirmed the news to the online portal “TMZ”.
More sensational Murder trial
Simpson was arrested in 1994 at the end of a live-television police chase after the bodies of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were found.
On the night of June 12, a walker discovered the stabbed victims lying in pools of blood in front of Brown’s home in Brentwood, Los Angeles. Suspicion fell on ex-husband Simpson and there was an arrest warrant. On June 17, 1994, Simpson was supposed to turn himself in to authorities, but he fled.
While his friend and fellow athlete Al Cowlings drove the car, Simpson sat in the back seat and at times held a gun to his temple. The hunt finally ended in front of Simpson’s villa, where the then 46-year-old surrendered.
In 1995, Simpson was acquitted of the charge of stabbing his ex-wife and Goldman to death in the circumstantial evidence trial that lasted around eight months and was accompanied by a huge media storm. The legal community was shocked because the evidence against Simpson was considered overwhelming.
Later convictions
In a later civil case, Simpson was held responsible for her death and was sentenced to pay compensation of $33.5 million (€31.3 million in today’s money).
Simpson ended up in prison – but for an armed robbery of sports souvenir dealers in Las Vegas. In 2017 he was released early after nine years in prison. Since then, Simpson has lived a life away from the public eye in Las Vegas.
Once acclaimed football star
Orenthal James – “OJ” – Simpson was born on July 9, 1947 in San Francisco. His athletic talent was evident as a child and he was soon setting records at the renowned University of Southern California. Simpson was nicknamed “The Juice” because of his agility.
As a professional, he made it to the NFL football league and was successful for the San Francisco 49ers and the Buffalo Bills. He set records for the longest runs and most touchdowns. Simpson’s on-field achievements will be preserved in the archives of the Ohio State Football Hall of Fame, into which he was inducted in 1985, Hall of Fame President Jim Porter said.
In his private life, Simpson had to cope with a stroke of fate when his third child, daughter Aaren, drowned in a pool in 1979. Two years later, Simpson and his wife Marguerite, whom he had married in 1967, divorced. In 1985 he married Nicole Brown and had two more children with her. The couple divorced in 1992.
After his career as an athlete ended, Simpson, who was considered charismatic, became a popular figure, appeared in films and television series and also commented on sporting events – until 1994, when the murder trial began.
Julia Kastein, ARD Washington, tagesschau, April 11, 2024 6:15 p.m