him and said, oh my god, he did it. >> i just remember screaming. >> probably the scariest moment my entire life. >> it was physically painful. it was not justice. the murders took only minutes. all these years later, the shock has yet to fade. >> it was a stunning time. and american legal theater. >> you think you might know the story of the oj simpson case, but there's a lot you probably haven't heard and seen. did nicole brown simpson actually predicts her own death? >> what she said to us was that oj is going to kill me. and he's going to get away with it. >> what went on in the jury room? >> not guilty of the crime of murder. >> all the people wanted to do was go home. >> in a frank interview prosecutor marsha clark answers the most important question of all. how did you not convict this guy? june 12th, 1994. brentwood, california. two horrific murders that came to be defined by just three words. the oj case. >> everybody seen a dramatic scene in both victims had their throats/. >> i have og in the car. >> we have sufficient evidence to convict him. >> how about that. >> if it doesn't fit you must acquit. >> not guilty of the crime of murder. >> it was a story that wouldn't go away. if you lived it, and by here with me the united states, you had an opinion. a nation made new in its collective consciousness for this collision of pop-culture and legal drama. more than a quarter-century ago, it touched issues we still cannot agree on today. race, money, privilege, fame, interracial marriage, and domestic violence. this became televisions first reality show. the case consumed us. and then divided us. even now, we are so fascinated. because there are still questions about what really happened that night in brentwood. and why, despite a staggering amount of evidence, oj simpson was acquitted. we will provide some answers with interviews done over the years. rare footage and haunting memories. including a candid interview with prosecutor marsha clark who doesn't hold back when discussing her unique perspective on the case. on everything from the infamous bronco chase. >> i think we look like the biggest ever. >> to the trial of the century. >> every day we walked into court and something else was blowing up. a bank not guilty of the crime of murder. >>, of course, the verdict. >> i do. >> it was a cool late spring evening in brentwood. around midnight, a couple was walking a dog down a quiet section of south bundy drive when something strange caught their attention. then at the entrance to a condominium number 875 they saw it. anybody in a river of blood. police arrived and discovered a second victim. investigators would soon follow including veteran homicide detective tom lang. >> this isn't a robbery or for sex, this was a rage killing. nicole was nearly decapitated. >> nicole was 35-year-old nicole brown simpson. the ex-wife of o.j. simpson. near the bodies was a bloodied leather glove and an envelope with a pair of eyeglasses. an eighth blue cap. c.o.p.s later i.d. the male victim as 25-year-old ronald goldman. at this point they did not know much about him. >> there were numerous wounds on the neck. he put up a fight. >> asleep inside the house for the simpsons two children. who hadn't heard a thing. they were taken to a nearby police station. >> we need next of kin to take care of the kids. we need to find o.j. simpson. >> is don broke in brentwood, lange and three other detectives were sent to simpson's estate on nearby rocking him avenue. one of them was detective mark furman. a riving detective sheared the worst that simpson may have suffered the same fate as his ex-wife. >> we just left a bloodied crime scene. is something in there as one of the victims? >> so, without a search warrant, the detective jumped the wall and let in the other cops and in one of the bungalows they found simpson's 25-year-old daughter arnel. they learned her father was out of town on a business trip in chicago. in the other bungalow, detectives woke up a shaggy haired young man named brian "kato" kaelin. he was about to start on the role of his life answering questions where he had last seen simpson. >> iser earlier in the day and was talking about him and problems. he needed someone to talk to and i was probably the only guy available. >> later that evening, he said simpson came by his door to get change for a one-hundred-dollar bill mention getting something to eat. so just after 9:00 p.m., they hopped and simpson's bentley went to mcdonald's. did simpson ask kaelin to with them to establish an alibi? >> i invited myself. he did not ask me. i was starving. >> kaelin told detectives they got back around 9:40 pm and he returned to his bungalow and did not see simpson again for approximately an hour and a half. then around 10:45 p.m., kaelin says he heard three strange sounds. >> it was a banging noise. someone bumped into a wall. >> he came outside to check on the noise and saw a limo driver at the gate. waiting to take simpson to the airport. a few minutes later, simpson came out of the house, his luggage was loaded in the limo sped off. kaelin stories seem to add up. so now it was simpson that the cops wanted to talk to. he was in his hotel in chicago when the detectives told him what happened in l.a. >> there were no details given except that nicole was dead. he said, i will be on the next plane back there. >> came another phone call, one tom lang dreaded. notifying nicole's family. >> you hear the phone rang and i hear a scream from my mom's room that i'd never heard before and it was just awful. awful. awful. >> denise brown, nicole's older sister, remembers rushing to her mother's room. >> she says, your sisters did. and i said, oh my god, he did it. he killed her. >> hate being o.j. simpson. then he says former brother-in- law. detective lange was stunned at this sudden new lead. >> that was my first inkling that perhaps simpson was involved in this. >> nichols' family devastated in an instant. continued the grim task and called her best friend kris jenner. >> i was like, what? what do you mean nicole die? and he was like it was devastating. i think -- it was the worst feeling you could possibly imagine. >> she had no nicole since 1978. they met through her former husband robert kardashian who was simpson's best friend and attorney. she adored him, too like a big brother. >> he was very charming a lot of fun to be around and you could tell he was the type of person who really enjoyed life. >> they have become fast friends. and the two couples were like family. now, all of that was suddenly gone. >> everyone's life change. nicole died. and nothing would ever be the same. >> the world had changed forever for kris jenner and the radical move families and for o.j. simpson. who would soon be back home in l.a. where a trail of evidence led right to his front door. >> coming up, someone else's world but also about to change. a deputy d.a. named marsha clark. >> do you know who it is? o.j. simpson. who's that? oh wait. yeah, naked gun, hurts commercial. >> you are a big football fan? >> i was not a big football fan. but i did know now. >> when "dateline" continues. and with once-daily trelegy, it can still be beautiful. because with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps my airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. trelegy also improves lung function, so i can breathe more freely all day and night. trelegy won't replace ue inhaler for sudden breathing problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking it. do not take trelegy more than prescribed. trelegy may increase your risk of thrush, pneumonia, and osteoporosis. call your doctor if worsened breathing, chest pain, mouth or tongue swelling, problems urinating, vision changes, or eye pain occur. ♪ what a wonderful world ♪ [laughing] ask your doctor about once-daily trelegy for copd because breathing should be beautiful, all day and night. a slow network is no network for business. because breathing that's why more choose comcast business. and now we're introducing ultimate speed for business, our fastest plans yet. we're up to 12 times faster than verizon, at&t, and t-mobile. and existing customers could even get up to triple the speeds at no additional cost. from the company with 99.9% network reliability and advanced cyber security, it's ultimate speed for ultimate business. and it's all from comcast business. - [narrator] life with ear ringing sounded like a constant train whistle i couldn't escape. then i started taking lipo flavonoid. with 60 years of clinical experience, it's the number one doctor recommended brand for ear ringing. and now i'm finally free. take back control with lipo flavonoid. in 1994, the city of angels was about to get an education. in 1994, the city of angels was about to get an education. back then, most of us had never heard the name kardashian. today's powerful bond between dna evidence and criminal guilt didn't yet exist. and the name o.j. simpson belong to a friendly recognizable sports star, after and corporate ambassador. someone the nation new, trusted, and liked from his naked gun movies to his nfl broadcast, as his colleague bob costas remembers. >> he was always the quintessential fellow well met and was outwardly as likable a person as you could ever want to encounter. >> on day two of this story, much of that history was in the process of being rewritten. the brentwood crime scene was now crawling with cops looking for clues and collecting evidence. blood was everywhere. leading from it, a trail of blood he shoe prints. near the bodies was a left-handed glove and a blue knit cap. and inside the walls of his rocking him estate, detective mark furman but behind kato kaelin's bungalow and discovered a moist body glove. similar to the one at the crime scene. >> we look at the glove and it looks like the same type and it was a right-handed club. same everything. >> detectives also found a trail of blood drops on simpson's driveway leading from the white ford bronco parked on the street. lange braced himself for what was to come. >> this is very sensitive now. it is a celebrity case. >> at midnight last night, a passerby observed the body. a female white body and a male white body. >> the district attorney marcia clark was with the special trials unit and was consulted about getting a search warrant or rocking him by tom lang's partner detective then matter who considered simpson assessment. >> do you notice? o.j. simpson. who's that? oh, wait. oh, yeah, naked gun. hertz commercial. i wasn't a big football fan but i know who he is now. >> sound 13 hours after the murders, simpson returned to l.a. from chicago. a journey that took him from household name to potential suspect. you never thought of him as a killer? >> no. to me, he was bigger than life and had a great personality. he loved, you know, being o.j. simpson. >> bad enough that simpson might be involved in the murder of her best friend, but now kris was further conflicted because her former husband robert kardashian was simpson's longtime personal attorney. kardashian was also at rocking him and was caught on camera carrying what appeared to be since his garment bag. much has been speculated about what might've been in that bag. could you conceive of him loving his friend so much that he would help him dispose of evidence? >> absolutely not. i guarantee you 150% that he had this character and integrity and christian values and believed in the truth. >> detectives now wanted to bring in simpson for questioning. his attorney said his client would fully cooperate. >> is shot and had nothing to do with this tragedy. >> after arriving at police headquarters, simpson's lawyers met privately with him and then went to lunch. leaving the client alone which is get veteran homicide detectives. >> i was flabbergasted. unless he thinks he is glib enough he will say anything he wants and get around this, -- >> detectives that o.j. simpson settled into a small interrogation room for a critical interview that could make or break the case. it would be the first and last time simpson would tell his story to police. >> coming up. >> i am the one, the number target and i know you're telling me i've got to is that your blood? >> if it dripped champ to >> o.j. simpson notes about things look and he's not the only one. when "dateline" continues. i &. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. caplyta can cause serious side effects. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts right away. anti-depressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. caplyta is not approved for dementia-related psychosis. report fever, confusion, or stiff muscles, which may be life threatening, or uncontrolled muscle movements which may be permanent. common side effects include sleepiness, dizziness, nausea, and dry mouth. these aren't all the side effects. in the darkness of bipolar i & ii depression, caplyta can help you let in the lyte. ask your doctor about caplyta. find savings and support at caplyta.com. the virus that causes shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. it's lying dormant, waiting... and could reactivate. shingles strikes as a painful, blistering rash that can last for weeks. and it could wake at any time. think you're not at risk for shingles? it's time to wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. hi, i'm jason. i've lost 228 pounds on golo. ♪ if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist changing your habits is the only way that gets you to lose the weight. and golo is the plan that's going to help you do that. just take the first step, go to golo.com. parker center in 1994, police headquarters in downtown la. in 1994, police headquarters in downtown l.a. it has seen a lot of high- profile murder investigations and thousands of interrogations, and on that june afternoon, perhaps no more pivotal than the top detectives were about to happen with o.j. simpson. simpson did not have to be there. he wasn't under arrest. and his attorneys work with them in the interview. so they thought and the tape rolled and we have a copy of it. >> simpson was surprisingly calm for a man whose ex-wife had just been murdered. >> very narcissistic and self- assured. has to be in charge at all times. >> cops were drawn to a cut on simpson's left middle finger and this is where simpson's answers started becoming more vague. >> how do you get the injury on your head? >> i don't know. i expect when i was in chicago. >> how did you do it? >> i broke a glass. one of you guys called me and i was in the bathroom. >> is that how you cut it? >> it was cut before but i think i just opened it. >> police found a blood trail from the bronco to his house. now, simpson offered a few new details to help explain it. >> we don't know direction this is taking us but there's enough , i want your blood, i want to document that they are and i want your fingerprints. >> by now, simpson appeared to be sensing trouble and attempted to straighten out his story. >> i know i'm the number one target and now you're telling me i've got blood all over the place. >> is that your blood? >> if it stripped, it's what i dripped running around. >> after 32 minutes, detectives wrapped up their interview and whisks simpson to a lab where he was printed and his finger photographed and most importantly his blood drawn. >> if this guy is our suspect, his blood will convict him. at the core of this case is blood. blood everywhere. and he's got the evidence we want in his body. >> for now, simpson was allowed to leave. that may have been a measure of his celebrity. or that police had suspicions they could not get back up. but back at simpson's estate, or evidence was turning up including a pair of blood he socks on his bedroom floor. and at the crime scene itself, or blood drops were swapped from the walkway leading to the alley suggesting the killer was bleeding as he fled. >> we have now videotape showing the bodies of simpson's ex-wife and unidentified man as they were removed from a walk in front of her condominium. >> monitoring all of this from her office at the courts building was deputy d.a. marcia clark who had not yet been officially assigned the case. did you campaign to be put on this case? >> at that time it was just another big case and that is what our unit did. we handled high-profile murder cases. that was it. it was a good case, so of course i wanted it. did i want to for fame and fortune, , no. -- hell , no. >> he had no idea how many ways his life was about to change. because when fred got home he and his wife received a phone call from the coroner's office. >> this individual said to me, did you hear on the news today that nicole brown was killed and your son with the other person? that's how we found out. over the phone. the two of us stood there crying our eyes out. >> through his shock, fred knew he had to tell his daughter kim who sensed something was wrong the minute she heard his voice on the phone. >> when he said, did you hear the news at all today? and i said, no, what's going on my deck? and he said that ron had died and rob was killed. i remember not too much after that. i just robert screaming and he told me to get home. >> ron goldman was just 25, handsome, athletic and popular. this rare footage was taken the year before his murder. the goldmans did not know it, but this would be their last big celebration as a family. in june 1994, ron was working at a restaurant where nicole and her family had dined the night of the murder. when nicole's mother left her eyeglasses there, it was ron who later brought them to nicole's condo. the lies of two families were suddenly tied together forever. in greece. >> i believe he walked into a crime and process. and he had a chance to walk away. run. and he did not. so he died trying to do the right thing. and that is painful. >> as night descended on brentwood, o.j. simpson was back at his estate and kato kaelin says simpson wanted to have a little chat. to discuss the timing of their mcdonald's meal. it was a conversation he tell dateline that had simpson suggesting a cover-up. >> he tried to tell me, you know where i was, kato? he was trying to convince me about what i believe now was an alibi for him. >> he was trying to get you to agree that you spent more time with him that last evening that you actually hack? >> i think it was in the time frame he was the and i said, no, you weren't. inside i'm thinking, he's trying to make me say something that is not true. >> kato kaelin was seeing another o.j. simpson, far different from the celebrity image that simpson had so carefully cultivated and protected. but simpson also had a dark and violent side. one that had nicole fearing for her life. just weeks before her murder. >> coming up. >> can you get someone over here now? he's back. he's o.j. simpson. i think you know his record. >> did nicole simpson predict her future? >> she said things are really bad between o.j. and i and he's going to kill me and get away with it. >> when "dateline" continues. t. ♪ ingrezza ♪ ingrezza is clinically proven for reducing td. most people saw results in just two weeks. people taking ingrezza can stay on most mental health meds. only number-one prescribed ingrezza has simple dosing for td: always one pill, once daily. ingrezza can cause depression, suicidal thoughts, or actions in patients with huntington's disease. pay close attention to and call your doctor if you become depressed, have sudden changes in mood, behaviors, feelings, or have thoughts of suicide. don't take ingrezza if you're allergic to its ingredients. ingrezza may cause serious side effects, including angioedema, potential heart rhythm problems, and abnormal movements. report fevers, stiff muscles, or problems thinking as these may be life threatening. sleepiness is the most common side effect. take control by asking your doctor about ingrezza. ♪ ingrezza ♪ (angie) tobacco companies target people like me with their menthol cigarette marketing. realizing this made me angry enough to quit. my tip is, this should make everyone angry. 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(♪♪) and a 8-1 vote that supreme court upheld a law that people subject to restraining orders for domestic violence for owning firearms. the decision marks a step back from the recent trend of favoring gun rights. judge aileen cannon held a field hearing friday on donald trump's motion to diss this the indictment against him. his lawyers arguing that jack smith's appointment as special counsel was unconstitutional. as election day nears, there is no trial date in sight. >> now back to dateline. the funeral was just a mile from the crime scene. this was a gathering of nicole's family and friends. including the man police already suspected of her murder. her ex-husband. >> that was a really tough day. >> i -- how did simpson react at the funeral? >> he was crying over the coffin. kiss the coffin. he said i'm sorry, nicole, i'm sorry. >> kris jenner remembers when nicole met simpson. she was just 18. he was 29. >> they were just really happy together. he did not want to live without her. >> she was every bit as crazy about him in 1985, they married, the same year simpson was inducted into the pro football hall of fame. but there would be trouble. some parts of a star athlete's life remained a lord and simpson saw a letter to other women. they quarreled and when that would happen, it would sometimes turn violent. nicole kept all of it a secret writing about it in her diary. what kind of things were in the diaries? >> she was in the emergency room. she was beaten so badly that she told the doctor she fell off her bicycle. >> on new year's day 1989 after an incident, nicole stopped covering for her husband and called both police and her sister denise. >> she says, can you do me a favor and take pictures of me. i went over. >> how did she look? >> her face was all scratched up and she was black and blue. she said, he went crazy. >> they divorced in 1992 soon after they tried getting back together. >> i felt like they loved each other, but it was tough for them to be together and she always felt like he was cheating on her. >> why would she go back to him? >> she could not live with him and she could not live without him. >> nicole sister denise said things got worse. simpson stopped her. >> he's there. he's always around. he won't leave me alone. >> can you send someone to my house? >> months before her murder, nicole was on the phone to 911 sounding at first more exasperated and frightened. >> my ex-husband or my husband, he just broke into my house and is ranting and raving. he's crazy. >> nicole hung up the call back 10 minutes later as things apparently escalated. >> can you get someone over here now? he's back. please. >> what does he look like? >> he's o.j. simpson. i think you know his record. >> what is he doing there? >> just stay on the line. >> no charges were filed against simpson. his all-american public image remained intact. but privately, the last several months of nicole's life is simpson were a series of breakups and makeups says kris jenner. in april 1994, one less reconciliation. the two took a trip to mexico but things did not work out. nicole returned home with her mind made up. >> she said she was done and there was something different within nicole that time. >> but simpson apparently was not ready to let go. according to kris jenner he was devastated at being dumped and retaliated by threatening nicole. just weeks before her death, says kris, nicole revealed something shocking. >> things are really bad between o.j. and i and he's going to kill me and he's going to get away with it. >> soon after, kris jenner was attending her best friend's funeral. and as the funeral was winding down, things were busy at the lapd crime lab. where preliminary results comparing simpson's blood to the samples collected at the crime scene are now in. and they match. the bloodied trail at bundy, rocking him and inside the bronco all came back to simpson. which meant. >> we wanted to bring him in and book him like we would anybody else. >> and said, a deal was struck with his recently hired defense attorney robert shapiro. to avoid all the media, simpson would discreetly turn himself in at the jail in the back of parker center. the deadline was friday, june 17th, 1994. 11:00 a.m. sharp. what o.j. simpson never showed. as a nation was about to learn, he simply disappeared. >> coming up. >> o.j., wherever you are, for the sake of your family, for the sake of your children, please surrender immediately. >> o.j. simpson could run, but he could not hide. and marcia clark gets a preview of things to come. >> he has murdered two innocent people, slaughtered them, and your cheering his escape? >> when "dateline" continues. t. it really works. the virus that causes shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. and it could strike at any time. think you're not at risk? wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. why choose a sleep number smart bed? i need help with her snoring. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist sleep number does that. thank you. shop our lowest prices of the season with free home delivery when you add an adjustable base. sleep number smart beds starting at $999. learn more at sleepnumber.com friday, june 17, 1994, would become da friday, june 17, 1994, wi become an unforgettable day. in los angeles and around the world. that morning simpson was preparing to turn himself in to police headquarters, but then he suddenly vanished. >> o.j., wherever you are, for the sake of your family, for the sake of your children, please surrender immediately. >> simpson did leave behind what many felt was a suicide note. a note his friend robert kardashian read on live tv. >> everyone understand, i have nothing to do with nicole's murder. i loved her. don't feel sorry for me. i have had a great life. >> and no one seemed to know where simpson was. >> los angeles police department right now is actively searching for mr. simpson. >> o.j. simpson is not at this location. nothing going on here. >> a suspect wanted for a 187 west l.a. division. name is orangeville jameson. >> around 6:30 p.m., some seven hours after he was supposed to turn himself in, a white ford bronco was spotted with simpson in the back seat and his close friend a.c. cowlings driving. >> what followed was a surreal low-speed chase which, by the way, involved cowlings's bronco, not simpson's. >> you have to tell the police to back off. he still alive but he has a gun to his head. >> 95 million americans tuned in to watch what was suddenly the best show on tv. >> here is tom brokaw. >> we are looking at live pictures of interstate-five in los angeles. >> until that moment, many viewers had settled in to watch the nba finals between the knicks and the rockets. now they would watch a split screen of the game and the chase. bob costas was hosting the pregame and halftime shows for nbc. >> then all of a sudden, this tragedy becomes part of the mix. and it's going on concurrently. this is a drama without a script. >> a real gun that is loaded and he could've used it. you can't take a chance and someone who's been accused of murder. >> the detective had simpson cell phone number and amazingly was able to reach him. dateline obtained the actual recording of the conversation. which was not released at the time. >> let me get to my house but >> okay. we will do that. >> i will give you my whole body. >> blank use every bit a police and psychology he knew to keep since his hand on the phone. and off the trigger. >> please, you're scaring everybody, though. >> tell them i'm sorry. you can tell them later that i'm sorry. i'm sorry i did this to the police. >> listen, i think you should tell them yourself and i don't have to tell your kids that. your kids need you. >> marcia clark who by now have been assigned to prosecute simpson for nicole and ron's murders was watching all of this furious that he was still free. >> we look like the biggest ever. and then i thought, this looks like flight to me and that is consciousness of guilt in the law. >> kim goldman was watching, to and worrying simpson might not survive. >> he needs to have his day at trial. >> if he is not guilty, what's he running for? >> i just love nicole. that's all i did, love her. >> i understand. >> it was surreal. it was devastating. it was, could this get any worse? >> maybe not worse, but certainly more weird. with crowds cheering on simpson as if he were making a dash for the end zone. but marcia clark who was glued to the screen wasn't sharing. she says she was seething. >> i saw the people by the side of the road cheering. i thought, oh my god. this is not good. >> that's a little sample of what is to come? >> exactly. he murdered two innocent people. slaughtered them. and your cheering his escape? it gave me a full on view of what we were up against. >> finally, after nearly 90 riveting minutes, simpson and cowlings pulled into rocking him. >> we don't know what the hell will happen. we don't know if it's getting out of the car and have a shootout with police. i couldn't have written up the possibility that he would kill himself. >> for nearly an hour, simpson sat in the bronco as police tried to coax him out. finally, he emerged and collapsed into the arms of several waiting officers. it was finally over. inside the bronco was a loaded 357 magnum and simpson travel bag containing his passport, a fake goatee, and mustache. simpson was taken away and would soon be charged with two counts of first-degree murder. >> o.j. simpson is in custody and has been transported here to parker center. >> convicting him seemed almost certain especially given all the blood evidence but the district attorney will garcetti which you make a crucial decision that would alter the course of this case. long before it ever went to trial. >> coming up. >> we are ready to proceed to trial and we went to see justice for o.j. simpson. we believe he will be acquitted. >> they were called the dream team. >> this is the kind of case for your tech the police on the credibility. >> but one of the team had another name for his fellow attorneys >> i called them the nightmare team. >> when "dateline" continues. in your limbs. tell your doctor about new or worsening joint aches and pain or a parasitic infection. don't change or stop asthma medicines including steroids, without talking to your doctor. ask your specialist about dupixent. okay, so here's my most requested hack for stubborn odors. you'll need vinegar, a large salad bowl and... oh, hi! have you tried tide fabric rinse? 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[ romantic music plays ] ♪♪ beautiful stair renovation, sir. and they're covered with your home and auto bundle with progressive, so you get round-the-clock protection. so, is gabby coming down? oh, she said she'll meet you at the prom. - [narrator] life with ear ringing sounded like a constant train whistle i couldn't escape. then i started taking lipo flavonoid. with 60 years of clinical experience, it's the number one doctor recommended brand for ear ringing. and now i'm finally free. take back control with lipo flavonoid. when we're young, we're told anything is possible... ...but only a few of us go out and prove it. witness the greatness of anna hall on a connection worthy of gold: xfinity mobile. only xfinity gives you the most powerful mobile wifi network, with speeds up to a gig in millions of locations. and right now, xfinity internet customers can buy one unlimited line and get one free for a year. get the fastest connection to paris with xfinity. josh mankiewicz: he once wore number 32. w, he wants war number 32. now o.j. simpson had a branded number. and for the next 15 months, a new home. a cell at the l.a. county jail where he was being held without bail. simpson had visits from his family, friends, attorneys. and even his former colleague costas. >> i went to visit him and he tried to convince me several times of his innocence. he knows -- when i leave the club behind? what i do something like this? this doesn't make sense. that doesn't make sense. >> but simpson was facing a mountain of evidence. as district attorney gil garcetti confidently told nbc news back in 1995. >> no case that i am aware of in the history of this country has had so much dna evidence. but for the fact that if it were o.j. simpson , it is what you call in the sports language, a slam dunk winner. >> thing d.a. garcetti made a decision and decided to move the case here to downtown los angeles from santa monica. downtown, the jury pool would be mostly minority and thought to be more sympathetic to a black defendant. at the time, garcetti claimed it was made for a number of reasons including that the courthouse which recently sustained earthquake damage could not handle a long trial. but former detective tom lange believes that trade-off may have also involved a different calculus. the hope that a conviction via predominantly black jury would head off what happened here in 1992. when rioting broke out after a mostly white jury acquitted lapd officers from the beating of rodney king. >> can we all get along? >> in hindsight, that decision to move the trial downtown may have been the first of many that taken together what influence how the case and the verdict played out. >> the thinking was if you have a minority jury convicting a minority defendant, everything is cool. you won't have any problems. >> the prosecutor marcia clark said there was no choice about where to try the case. >> it was always going to be downtown. there was no discussion about it. >> and people who say they gave up the mostly white jury pool and ended up with a mostly minority jury pool and it was all over at that point. most people don't know what they are talking about? >> they really don't. they might know scott -- i don't think there's any disputing that now but justice demands we try the case in front of a jury that we have and we do our best to convince them. >> then another critical decision. this one made by the judge who ruled the trial could be televised. >> do you have enough evidence to convict o.j. simpson? >> yes we do. >> publicly she seemed confident in her case. but privately as clark told us, she sensed trouble early on. >> right off the bat, we got big pushback from the african american community. there was a sense of loyalty of investment in protecting an african american icon who made it. he was successful and made it and did not want to see him taken down. >> even though he did nothing for the community he came from? >> it was surprising. this is not your civil rights firebrand. he was quoted famously saying, i am not black, i am o.j. >> but she was convinced a strong case to be built on the blood and dna evidence. >> there was a trail of evidence that led to his bedroom including the blood, the hairs and fibers. it was a huge amount of evidence but the question was, would it be enough to overcome the issue of race? >> race would soon become front and center in the case. thanks to an attorney simpson added to his team just before he was arraigned. his name, johnny cochran jr. >> we went to see justice for o.j. simpson and we believe he will be acquitted. >> he was running a lucrative practice trying please misconduct cases. from the outset, the strategy was simple. >> this was the kind of case where you attack the police and their credibility. >> especially in 1995. >> at that time, the only way to describe the situation between the black community and lapd was a state of open warfare. >> she is a civil rights attorney who lives in los angeles. >> the black community experience lapd as a hostile occupation force that viewed the black community with racist contempt. >> it was a perfect time for that defense? >> the perfect time. this was a black man being persecuted. and he ought to be let go. >> but o.j. simpson? for years he lived on l.a.'s mostly white westside. he spent much of his time playing golf and dating women. and seem to have little to do with the black community. i'm not sure he knew how to get to south los angeles >> that's right. he did not have to identify with the black community that they understood your being targeted and that you are back with us. >> cochran knew that and helping him are several other legal superstars like f lee bailey. the unit expert barry scheck and harvard law professor alan dershowitz. they were known as the dream team. but dershowitz had his own name for them. >> i called them the nightmare team. it was a terrible, terrible group. we did not get along and there was dissension behind the scenes. >> coming up, >> a limousine pulled up and o.j. simpson got out of the limousine. >> was o.j. simpson getting rid of something at the airport the night of the murders and kato kaelin and the biggest role of his life. >> i think we are going for the same parts. >> when "dateline" continues. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): day one of what was being called the trial of the century. it's no exaggeration to say, it felt as if the whole world was watching. day one what was being called the trial of the century, is no exaggeration to say, it felt as if the whole world was watching. >> did you prepare all we can for this? >> it was just six months after the murders of nicole brown and ron goldman. o.j. simpson was facing the life in prison if convicted. now, the two sides would finally square off. a team of tough, but largely unknown l.a. county prosecutors, armed with a seemingly airtight case, rich in dna evidence, pitted against some of the most famous defense lawyers in the country whose plan was simple, but the police and their investigation on trial. at least one member of the defense team had said that behind the scenes, they often butted heads. somehow, they managed to come together and pick a jury, as simpson attorney carl douglas revealed to "dateline." >> we had focus groups pretrial and it said clearly that african american women would be our best jurors. they would know and understand how black men are treated by police. >> in the end, the panel that was picked included eight black women. >> we were so pleased, because this was a jury that johnny could speak to, and had spoken to for his entire career. >> perhaps, the most thrilled of all was simpson himself. >> o.j. looked back on that jury and said, geewhiz, guys, if this jury convicts me, maybe i did do it. >> providing over the trial would be judge lance, a former prosecutor who had been on the bench for 6 years. >> this item you see here, marked with the item 112 matches the defendant. >> the hearts of the prosecution's case was all of that blood dna evidence, pointed squarely at o.j. simpson. first, prosecutors detailed simpson and nicole's troubled, sometimes violent, relationship, which they say culminated in her murder. >> in that final and terrible act, ronald goldman, an innocent bystander was viciously and simply murdered. >> later, denise brown gave the jury a chilling account of how simpson brutalized nicole right in front of her. >> picked her up, threw her against the wall. [ crying ] picks her up, threw her out of the house. >> was it tough to go in there and recount what you had seen? >> yeah, it was. i had just lost my sister. everything was right there, just so fresh. >> prosecutors also focused on the timeline of the murders that show that simpson was alone and unaccounted for for at least an hour, enough time to kill ron and nicole. kato kaelin took the stand to testify about that night he was with simpson. but first came one of those kato moments . >> did you think your friendship, your acquaintanceship, especially living on his property, would send acting roles your way? >> i did not think that. i do not think we were going for the same parts. >> i was just being me. it was not about the spotlight, it was just how i am. >> whose side was kato kaelin on? >> that is a great question. he certainly was not on ours. he was on kato's side. that would be my opinion. from the very start, he was very clearly withholding information. >> and you did not think he had anything to do with it? >> no, what he was doing was sticking his finger in the air saying, simpson will not be convicted and i will be the one standing by his side and he will take care of me. >> kaelin told us, he cooperated fully and answered everything clark asked . and at trial, he did detailed critical sequence of events before the murders, from the trip to mcdonald's, to those strange sounds he heard at 10:45 p.m. , sounds investigators believe simpson made when returning home after killing ron and nicole. >> can you demonstrate for us how loud it was? >> somewhat, yes. >> go ahead. yeah, go ahead. and where did that noise seem to be coming from? >> through the back of the wall. >> kato kaelin had come to hollywood looking for fame. what he found was something longer-lasting and ultimately upsetting. >> suddenly, you are a key witness in a very high-profile murder trial. what's that like? >> well, considering i had never been in court before, never had a parking ticket or speeding ticket, the first time i had been to court was for double homicide. it was probably the scariest moment in my entire life. also, everything you ever done in your entire life became out to the public. >> not what you wanted, for sure. >> i would never think in 1 billion years that this was going to be my life, how i would be involved at one time a kid watching football, knowing who o.j. simpson was, how my life would go. unbelievably at o.j. simpson's house, this is o.j. simpson up for a trial on murder, and kato kaelin is this guy in the guest house. i don't know how it happened. >> kato kaelin was not alone. another person's life collided with o.j. simpson's that night, but this man was eager to testify. skip judas was at the l.a. airport the night of the murders to pick up his wife, who worked for american airlines. it was 11:00 p.m., just an hour after ron and nicole had been killed. >> a limousine pulled up and o.j. simpson got out of the limousine. >> jonas says, he had a clear view of simpson, but simpson, he says, never saw him. >> he was carrying this cheap little gym bag. he only zipped it a few inches just to get his hand in and was pulling things out and dumping them in the trash can. >> back then, judas did not think too much of it as he watched simpson emptied that little black bag and hustle inside. by the time police learned what judas had seen, it was too late for them to go through the trash, but he did draw a picture of the bag for detectives. >> you think he was disposing of the evidence then? >> sure. that witness has evidence, no reason to discount him or anyone else, he had an entirely credible story. >> so credible that he was subpoenaed to testify, but like a lot of the prosecution's case, things would not go quite according to plan and the defense was just getting started. coming up-- >> it was a stunning time, one that would go down in the annals of history, i suggest. >> i did not want to go to trial. >> whose call was that?>> when "dateline" continues. eline" c ? wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. our daughter just bought her first house. all by herself. so we went to go see it. she knew exactly how she wanted everything. but then he pointed out the gutters. you think you've raised them right and then— she didn't know. you have to call leaffilter. leaffilter's patented filter technology keeps debris out of your gutters for good. parenthood is such a wild ride. it's a lot easier with leaffilter. join millions of satisfied homeowners. call 833 leaffilter today or visit leaffilter.com hi. i use febreze fade defy plug. and i use this. febreze has a microchip to control scent release so it smells first-day fresh for 50 days. 50 days!? and its refill reminder light means i'll never miss a day of freshness. ♪ - [narrator] life with ear ringing sounded like a constant trains whistle i couldn't escape.ss. then i started taking lipo flavonoid. with 60 years of clinical experience, it's the number one doctor recommended brand for ear ringing. and now i'm finally free. take back control with lipo flavonoid. ic playing] reporter: good morning. prosecutors had kato kaelin on the witness stand again. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): from morning shows prosecutors had kato kaelin on the witness stand again. >> from morning shows to late- night television, the judge lance ito's courtroom was now part of our popular culture. it was o.j. every day . projects, pundits, and a whole new class of tv shows talking about everything that happened that day in court . but if the audience loved it, 12 jurors didn't see it, because they were sequestered, confined to this high-rise hotel , a few blocks from the courthouse. ron cryer was one of the jurors who actually decided the case here for 265 days, more than eight months, their lives were limited to a courtroom and a hotel room. >> with no tv, no phone, no radios, no nothing. >> isolated. board. often lonely. there was nothing glamorous about being a juror on the trial of the century. >> i think you will be very happy with the entertainment we will provide for you this weekend. >> there were occasional off day outings around town, and there was one business trip, when the jury was taken on a tour of the crime scene and simpson's rockingham estate. but what the jurors did not know was before that visit, defense attorney carl douglas had gone into simpson's house for a little redecorating. >> we wanted to make the rockingham location look lived in, and staying with all of its brittleness, so that the jurors would say, o.j. simpson would not have wrist bricks all of this for this woman. >> changes included simpson of him with white women swapped out for pictures of him with my people and a bedside photo with simpson's mother now placed in prominent view. >> this was not tampering with evidence? >> this was not tampering with evidence, no. this was simply making his house presentable, like washing the floors. >> like that in the bible out for people to see. >> like putting flowers out. if there was no objection, so be it. >> you wanted to win. >> if it's not called, i'm trying to get the optimum vantage to win. they play hardball in the big leagues. this was the big leagues. >> and there was a lot more hardball to be played, starting with that evidence cops had collected at the crime scene and at simpson's estate. the defense knew how to dismiss it, quickly and cleverly me with just four little words. >> garbage in, garbage out. garbage in, garbage out became the strategy. if there was evidence that was contaminated or corrupted, then the result and the conclusions could not be trusted. >> for example, a key blood sample that wasn't collected from the crime scene until three weeks after the murder. then, defense dna expert, barry ship, pounced on the lapd's find, accusing him and a colleague of mishandling evidence. >> how about that? >> the defense came in and just wheeled in piece by piece, little by little. >> many people that watched the trial said that the jury was bored by the lengthy dna evidence. >> put yourself in, you are sitting there, listening to this stuff over, and over. i'm not going to lie to you, it was somewhat boring. >> boring and apparently not resonating with the jury whose silent expressions since allowed message to marsha clark . >> that trial was a nightmare for me every single day. i had 70 days of going back to my office, feeling like, we are told, it is over, there's no way. remember, i am watching the jury all day, every day. >> what was the bigger problem, the defense suggesting that because of race the dna evidence had been tampered with, or was dna back then just too hard or boring for the jury to understand? >> it was the former. it was definitely the race issue. the dna was not the problem. the problem was, the jury did not want to believe. so, at the end of the day, you can't make someone believe something they don't want to believe. >> but there was plenty of other evidence besides the dna that the prosecution never showed the jury, like the police interview with simpson, or his emotional farewell note, and the assuming rocco chase. those were critical, lost opportunities, says detective tom lang. >> i had a problem from day one because of evidence that they did not want to put on. >> and you say to prosecutors, what are you doing? and they would say, don't worry, we have dna evidence? >> they did not say that, they obviously implied that. kept getting evidence, more and more evidence, and they weren't having anything to do with it. >> but clark says, she was concerned that the rocco chase, simpson's interview, and the so- called suicide note might play empathetically to the jury. >> i have to look for the most objective evidence i can. i can't go to them and say, this is what i think. any of these kinds of dicey moves, and that is a dicey move, the statement he gave the cops, the quote, unquote suicide note he wrote, i had a solid evidence without taking risks with evidence like that. >> enough evidence that even eyewitness skipped judas, the man who says he spotted simpson emptying his gym back at the airport some after the murders, was never called to testify, and neither was kris jenner, who wanted to tell nicole-- the jury how nicole feared for her life. >> do you believe she know? >> she knew. she told me. he's going to kill me, and he's going to get away with it. >> you could not put her on the stand because what, that is hearsay? >> yeah, that would be hearsay. under the circumstances that nicole was speaking to kris jenner, we could not get it in. i went would have been happy to put her in, i think she would have been a great witness, but- - >> we talked about the evidence the prosecution could have brought into the case, but there was something they probably should have left out. it would prove to be especially devastating to the case. a self-inflicted wound, from which prosecutors probably never recovered. >> the people would ask that mr. simpson step forward and try on the glove recovered at bundy, as well as the glove recovered at rockingham. >> that was not my call. i did not want him to try on the evidence gloves, i never did. >> whose call was that? >> it was kris's call. >> chris was crock pot co- prosecutor, christopher . >> i never expected anything good to come of it. >> the only thing good i could assume at that time, it is not the right gloves. because they did not fit. >> it was a stunning time, one that will go down in the annals of history, i suggest. >> is one of the dumbest moves ever bite a prosecutor? >> ever. you never try a demonstration if you are not sure of what will happen. >> the gloves at rockingham and bundy don't fit, you understand that? don't fit. they could never make them fit. bye! >> and the prosecution knew it too, just a little too late, as chris darden told nbc news in 1996. >> they should have fit him. my glove analyst expert said, they would fit. they had his blood on them, the victim's blood on them, something that red cross did not come on perfectly. yeah, i wish i had not. >> did you say to darden that night, i told you so? >> no. darden said to me, i'm sorry. i said, i'm sorry, if that lost the case for us, we were never going to win it anyway. coming up, detective mark furman is caught on tape putting the prosecution on defense. >> it was mind boggling! >> are you guys like wasting champagne glasses when you listened to those tapes? >> it was from heaven! >> and those dramatic closing arguments. >> if it doesn't fit, you must acquit. >> kaelin when "dateline" continues. eline" continues. to take care of me. 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>> it was from heaven! >> but for the prosecution, the fuhrman takes were prayer pure hell. >> it was horrifying, horrifying. listening to that tape was like having a sore unload on your head. >> fuhrman insisted the conversations were no more than a basis for a movie. >> is this really what the reality of a democracy is, that it is a fictional screenplay to prosecute one man for doing too good of a job on a murder case, and acquitting another? i just think it is absolutely absurd. >> absurd to detective fuhrman, but it was live ammunition for simpson's attorneys. the defense maintained that fuhrman was a racist cop, who in an effort to frame simpson, planted the bloodied glove at his estate. undermine fuhrman , they were thinking, and the entire lapd investigation would be in doubt. now, judge ito made a controversial ruling that would greatly benefit simpson's defense. he allowed two excerpts from the fuhrman tapes to be resented to the jury. fuhrman, who had testified previously and denied using the n-word, was then called back to court to answer for what he said on those tapes. >> detective fuhrman, would you resume the witness stand, please? >> this time, fuhrman, accompanied by his lawyer, did not have much to say, except-- >> i wish to assert my amendment religious. >> three times, fuhrman invoked his constitutional right against federal incrimination, as the defense rolled in, saving their best question for last. >> detective fuhrman, that you plant or manufacture any evidence in this case? >> i assert my fifth amendment privilege. >> it was terrible. it was terrible. the blood demonstration, to me, paled into insignificance after that. >> it is not good when you are handicapping a murder trial afterwards and you're comparing which part of your case was the biggest disaster. >> throughout the trial, it felt like one minefield after another and every day we would walk in a court and something else was blowing up. >> i was when someone asks you that under their circumstance, no, hell, no, i did not is little minimum in the little the evidence. he sunk the case. >> it was a gift to defense. >> it is over. it is not the fuhrman trial. if you want to accuse this man of planting evidence, you show me how he did it. >> this part of fuhrman's testimony was heard outside the presence of the jury. but juror lon cryer had already heard enough from detective fuhrman to for form and opinion about him and his role in the investigation. >> in my mind i said, he planted the gloves and the hat. he had plenty of opportunity to do it. >> and because this investigation was not 100% by the book, something that various went on? >> it means that i can't convict someone of murder. >> prosecutors had one last chance, closing arguments. for four hours, marcia clark revealed a trail of evidence from bundy to rockingham, clear proof, she says, that simpson killed nicole and ron. >> and you know he did it. now, these murders did not occur in a vacuum. they occur in the context of a stormy relationship, a relationship that was scarred by violence and abuse. >> it was not my best. it wasn't. i was tired. i was demoralized. by the time i got to actually talk to the jury, are you hearing anything? i don't know if you're hearing anything, i don't know. it just did not feel like anybody cared. >> stopped this cover-up! >> then, it was johnny cochran's turn. it was classic cochran, as he delivered that iconic line, which would forever define the trial. >> it does not fit, you must acquit. >> so, with cochran's speech ringing in their ears, the exhausted jury would now decide the fate of ortho james simpson, but it turns out, most of them had already made up their minds. coming up-- >> you have reached a verdict in this case, is that correct, madame foreman? >> an eight month trial decided in less than four hours, leading millions to ask, was justice done? >> it was physically painful. that was not justice. >> do you blame yourself for this? >> when "dateline" continues. i ♪ i feel free ♪ (♪♪) ♪ to bare my skin, yeah that's all me. ♪ ♪ nothing is everything ♪ (♪♪) with skyrizi, 3 out of 4 people achieved 90% clearer skin at 4 months. and most people were clearer even at 5 years. skyrizi is just 4 doses a year, after 2 starter doses. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine, or plan to. (♪♪) ♪ nothing and me go hand-in-hand, ♪ ♪ nothing on my skin, that's my new plan ♪ ♪ nothing is everything ♪ now's the time, ask your doctor about skyrizi, the number one dermatologist- prescribed biologic in psoriasis. learn how abbvie could help you save. - [narrator] life with ear ringing prescribed biologic in psoriasis. sounded like a constant train whistle i couldn't escape. then i started taking lipo flavonoid. with 60 years of clinical experience, it's the number one doctor recommended brand for ear ringing. and now i'm finally free. take back control with lipo flavonoid. hi, i am richard louis with a news update. a nevada judge friday dismissed the case against fake collectors, who falsely declared that former president donald trump won the 2020 presidential election. that ruling that the state filed the case in the wrong jurisdiction. the state attorney has filed an appeal to the state supreme court. the vice presidential search is lower to three presidential candidates. according to sources interviewed by nbc news. for now, back to "dateline." "dateline." the spectacle on national television was over. now, the fate of o.j. simpson would be settled behind closed doors by 12 people who had all endured eight long months of a grueling trial and sequestration. but as deliberations began, lon cryer, a.k.a. juror number six, was antsy. >> you wanted out of there? >> all i could think of. in my mind, i had formed an opinion i would probably go not guilty. i am also worried, am i the only person that saw it that way? >> cryer and the 11 other jurors took their first straw vote . >> 10-2 for acquittal. i went in the rest room and i went, yes, one of those kind of things. it was not because of the 10-2 verdict, it was because i'm close to getting out of here. >> two boats votes now spell the difference between both simpson and the jury finally going home. >> i was open to someone showing a differing view that maybe could have changed my view. >> the two jurors who voted for guilty, they do not try to win anyone else over, they did not stick with it? >> not at all. >> and that mountain of dna evidence was apparently not a part of the deliberations. >> nothing about the dna actually came up in discussions. >> during jury deliberations, the dna evidence was never mentioned? >> as fast as this went, no, it never came up. >> a short time later, a second vote. an eight month trial decided in less than four hours. >> you have reached a verdict in this case, is that correct, madame foreman? >> it would be announced the next day. >> i was convinced, convinced it was going to be found guilty . >> all right, mrs. robertson, do you have the envelope with the field forms? >> then, the next day, the jury, the families, detectives, and attorneys arrived to judge ito's courtroom for the very last time. >> i saw johnny in the courtroom him and he looked pretty upset. i said, what are you worried about, you won? he said, well, he did not think he had. the funny thing was, all the pundits that night before the verdict came in were predicting a conviction, everyone. it's >> but not you? >> note. >> as we gather to watch, everyone seem to stop. an estimated 100 million of us children, costing the economy nearly half $1 billion in lost productivity. trading on the new york stock exchange plummeted 41%. and president clinton was briefed on security measures come in case riots occurred, not only in l.a., but nationwide. >> superior court of california -- >> finally, at 10:00 a.m. pacific time, on october 3rd, 1995, eight months of trial came to this. >> we the jury in the above entitled action by the defendant orenthal james simpson not guilty. >> when she read nicole's verdict first and she said not guilty, i remember thinking, they have not read ron's yet, thinking that for some reason my brother's would be different. >> not guilty in a felony upon ronald lyle goldman, a human being-- >> then i lost it. i don't know why i thought it would be a different verdict. >> i was you just go, wow, is this really our justice system? it was unbelievable. >> it seemed really obvious to me that it was going to be guilty, especially when you combine all the evidence, you know, all the things that strung out in that story for it to be that verdict was just kind of amazing. >> juror number 11, as to count- - >> felt horrible. it was physically painful. you know, it was not justice. and i thought of ron and nicole, and i thought, this is wrong, it is so wrong. >> you blame yourself for this? >> you know, i always do. i do. i was the one trying the case. at the end of the day, there was no way to reach that jury. there was no way to make them believe, there really wasn't. >> it was not so much i thought he was totally innocent, it was just that i don't feel there was enough evidence to convict him. >> one verdict, two reactions, divided by color across the country. civil rights attorney connie west. >> it was about race and class, and justice in l.a. for black people. this was a chance to strike back, and this jury did. >> for the first time in more than 15 months, o.j. simpson was a free man. fred goldman, as he had done so many times before, spoke for the families. >> last june 13th, '94 was the worst nightmare of my life. this is the second. honest to god, that is one of those moments of a little blur, crying, and shock, and anger all shoved together. and then, we left with nothing after nine months resolved, settled. >> america's newly insatiable appetite for trial binge watching had ended without simpson getting the just desserts many had hoped for, but this would not be the last we would see or hear of orenthal james simpson, because simpson would soon be back in court, and this time things would be quite different. coming up-- >> i wanted the court to say, he was guilty. >> o.j. simpson on the spot. >> we had it sent down to the lab for authentication. came back as a real picture. >> and under oath. >> the deposition turned out to be a gold mine for us because he made so many inconsistencies. >> when "dateline" continues. why do we even buy napkins? —use tide. —can cold water clean white socks? it can with tide. do i need to pretreat guacamole? not with tide. this is chocolate, right? —just use... —tide... yeah. no matter who's doing it, on what cycle, or in what temperature, tide works. so i can focus on all the other questions. —do crabs have eyebrows? —ahh... for all of life's laundry questions... it's got to be tide. ying] for all of life's laundry questions... josh mankiewicz (voiceover): from the county jail to the country club, it didn't take oj simpson long to get back to his old life. from the county jail to the country club, it did not take o.j. simpson long to get back to his old life. on the links and on camera, simpson was everywhere, saying, he was eager to clear his name. washing and seething where the families of nicole and ron. >> hears this arrogant murderer, flaunting his celebrity. >> kept saying, he was looking for the real killers. >> and every time he flipped in the mirror at home, he had found him. >> but fred goldman still wanted justice, even if it meant simpson remained free. >> i wanted a court to say, he was guilty. >> no court could do that now, but a civil court could find simpson liable for killing ron and nicole, and that meant filing a wrongful death lawsuit. if simpson lost, he would not go to prison, but he might have to pay damages to the families. of course, this was not about the money. >> for us, the pursuit of justice is incredibly important to the honor and integrity of what my brother went through when he was stabbed to death. >> the goldmans hired a relatively unknown attorney to represent them. he had never handled a case that involved murder. >> mr. goldman is on the phone speaking with me, and he said, would you like to come talk to me? when i met with him, we ended up talking until the wee hours of the morning. i was convinced, to a moral certainty, that his only interest was vindicating the death of his son. he wanted to bring o.j. simpson as the man who killed his son. >> he would argue the case here in santa monica, where a jury would be selected from a largely white population. unlike in the criminal case, the burden of proof was lower. this jury would not have to agree unanimously on a verdict, and as a matter of law, o.j. simpson would have no choice but to testify in pretrial depositions and the trial itself. that meant, simpson would have to answer for all the dna evidence, his abuse of nicole, and something that surfaced in "the national enquirer." >> one of the pages is a picture of simpson walking and one of his feet were elevated, and they had circled the shoe he was wearing and said, that was a shoe. >> during the original investigation, the bloodied shoe prints were matched to this exact type of italian shoe. now, thanks to the photo, petrocelli could put the shoes on simpson. >> then, we had it sent to a lab for authentication to a topographic forensic guy and came back, this is a real picture. now, we were able to take the elevated shoe and magnify it to the point where we could see the sole underneath it and the soul matched perfectly to the initial shoe impressions. >> and suddenly, you had evidence that prosecutors did not have? >> correct. >> in january 1996, simpson arrived at petrocelli's office for a deposition that would be videotaped, putting the attorney face to face with his boyhood idol. >> by that point, i knew he was a stone cold killer. but he extended his hand out for me to shake it to me and i just couldn't resist. i shook his hand. i've always regretted that, that i literally shook the hand that probably wielded a knife that killed my client's son, and killed his ex-wife. >> but that was as friendly as it ever got. for 13 days, petrocelli grilled simpson about the night of the crime , the cut on his finger, and the shoes. >> the deposition turned out to be a gold mine for us, because he made so many inconsistent statements. >> then, in october 1996, o.j. simpson would tell his story to a jury, as the civil trial got underway. no tv cameras and no discussion of racist cops planting evidence. >> it was a different kind of trial. it was a trial based on evidence. it was all about facts. >> and the primary witness in this case was o.j. simpson, himself, who had no choice but to take the stand. >> he had no answers, no explanations why his dna, his hair, his fiber of his clothing were there at the crime scene, why the victims' blood was in his house. why the victims' blood was in his car. this was evidence that would put people away in three seconds in most cases. >> near the end of the trial, another devastating wave of evidence, more photos of simpson wearing the same bruno molly shoes, 30 more pictures. >> it really put the ultimate to simpson. >> now, a jury would decide after deliberating for 5 days, they had a verdict. it was unanimous. >> i just remember sheer relief . i turned around and hugged fred. he had tears streaming down his eyes, as did i. >> i saw you smile that day. >> yeah, finally had a court say, he did it. it was on the confirmation of what we knew, but he did it. >> the families were awarded $33.5 million in damages, of which they've only received a fraction, but simpson lost what was left of his reputation. that aside, he again walked out of court a free man. it turned out, just as was coming for o.j. simpson, in ways he'd never imagine. coming up-- o.j. simpson in criminal court again . this time, the verdict is different. now, decades later, what else has changed? when "dateline" continues. but this is my story. 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(announcer) you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now. want to save on some of the biggest names in streaming on for free help, the network made for streaming? x marks the spot. now you can add the new xfinity streamsaver™ that includes netflix, peacock, and apple tv+. that's xfinity streamsaver™ for just $15 a month. all your favorites. all in one place. only from xfinity. for more watching and less spending... x marks the spot. do it all on the network made for streaming, and bring on the good stuff. - [narrator] life with ear ringing sounded like a constant train whistle i couldn't escape. then i started taking lipo flavonoid. with 60 years of clinical experience, it's the number one doctor recommended brand for ear ringing. and now i'm finally free. take back control with lipo flavonoid. ying] don't go to far, sweet heart. josh mankiewicz (voiceover): 2007, oj simpson was still living the good life, having relocated to florida. 2007, o.j. simpson was still living the good life, having relocated to florida. that year, he took a trip to las vegas, after which his life would never be the same. in september, simpson was arrested and later charged with robbery, assault, and kidnapping for breaking into a hotel room with several armed men. he claimed to be taking back his personal memorabilia, which had been stolen, but he was heard saying, he wanted to keep it away from the goldman family. exactly 13 years to the day that he was acquitted of the murders in brentwood, simpson was convicted, and later sentenced to up to 33 years. o.j. simpson was released on parole in 2017, after serving nine years. as for the murders of nicole brown simpson and ron goldman, since neither mr. simpson or anyone else was convicted, police say, the case remains open. if new evidence is presented, they will look into it, but they are not actively investigating. quite a bit has changed in the decades since that horrible night in brentwood. >> if it does not fit, you must acquit. >> the man that helped her quit simpson johnny cochran, died in 2005. simpson's friend and attorney, robert kardashian, also passed away two years earlier. lapd detective , phil then and there, also died in 2012. >> we don't have any answers right now. >> his partner, tom lane, also retired. denise brown became very active , educating others about domestic violence and started a speakers bureau to get the word out. kim goldman wrote the book on the victims of high-profile crimes and she has a son, whose middle name is ronald. >> ron was a good human being. >> her father, fred, was awarded the rights to simpson's book, "if i did it me confessions of a killer," which goldman says, he considers a true account of what happened when simpson killed ron and nicole, something simpson has denied. kato kaelin is still in los angeles and among his many projects, started a clothing line. chris jenner, well, you know. >> i wish to assert my fifth amendment privilege. >> as for mark fuhrman, there was no evidence he planted anything, but did plead no contest to one count of perjury for lying at trial in connection with those audiotapes and was sentenced to three years probation. since then, fuhrman has appeared as a commentator on the fox news channel. nearly neither marcia clark or chris mark fuhrman fort tried another murder trial. she has authored 10 books, including a novel entitled, "blood defense," where the main character is an ambitious defense attorney. chris mark fuhrman four has also written several books and started his own law firm specializing in criminal defense. >> never answer questions from a reporter . >> carl douglas continued practicing law and has erected a small shrine to his mentor, johnny cochran, in his office. judge lane ito retired in 2015 after serving more than 25 years on the beach. he wants mostly white lapd is now much more racially representative of the city it polices, though far from perfect , race relations have dramatically improved between the cops and the city's black community. >> and we hope that that injustice will be prevented in the civil trial. >> and attorney dan petrocelli moved to brentwood, not far from where o.j. simpson once lived. simpson's rockingham state has been sold. the new owner demolished the house in 1998 to build a new one. and nicole's condo is still there with a remodeled exterior and a new address number me but the gawking busloads of tourists have dwindled. as for oj himself. >> we are coming on the air with breaking news, moments ago, nbc news confirmed that o.j. simpson has died at the age of 76. >> in april 2024, o.j. simpson, whose rise and fall riveted the nation, died of cancer. >> i can't think of anyone historical, or someone that we may have known where the first chapter and the second chapter of their lives are such a stark contrast. revered, and then reviled. >> o.j. simpson may be gone, but his case lives on. that mountain of evidence that was supposed to guarantee a slamdunk convention conviction, most of it is still around, very deep in the lapd's archives. a. i am andrea canning, and this is "dateline." what i am focused on