Nearly 29 years before he died at 76 following a cancer battle, former pro football player O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown.
Nearly 29 years before he died at 76 following a cancer battle, former pro football player O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown.
as district attorney gil garcetti 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 this were o.j. simpson, this is what you would call in sports language, slam dunk winner. just trying to get to the office. garcetti had good reason to be so cocky, he was convinced there was plenty of evidence both at bubdy and rockingham, pointing at simpson s guilt. there was also a key witness. someone who had seen simpson near the crime scene just minutes after the murders. all of a sudden a white car comes flying north on bundy with his lights out. and i i barely missed him. did you see who the driver was? it was o.j. simpson. her name is jill shively and she tells dateline she
servants into household names. do you have enough evidence to convict o.j. simpson? of course we do. the lead prosecutor would be marcia clark, a seasoned deputy d.a. the fact the case is filed we have sufficient evidence to convict him. we asked marcia clark for an interview. she said no, as did her colleagues on the case, bill hodgeman and christopher darden. the prosecution s case would be built primarily on blood and dna evidence. the time line was also crucial, to show that simpson was alone for 1 hour and 20 minutes, enough time to commit the murders before going to the airport. but this was also where the prosecution s case hit the first of many snags. just before testifying in front of the grand jury, jill shively the woman who claimed she saw simpson speeding away from the crime scene moments after the murders, sold her story to the tv show hard copy.
she is the woman who may blow the o.j. simpson case wide open. my point of view, i caught him in a lie. but prosecutors were worried it would be shiveely who would be called a liar. marcia clark was just so angry with me. and said to me, you blew my case. she said, no, i don t need you. so the jury would never hear jill shively s story of seeing o.j. simpson just after the murders. so she sold her story. doesn t mean it is not true? doesn t mean it is not true. lang says it was part of a pattern, the prosecution passing up opportunities because it relied so heavily on the scientific evidence. they felt they could win it on blood alone. in a murder case, you do not have too much evidence. if you ve got it, you put it on. they didn t. meanwhile, the defense team was going through its own changes. how do you plead to counts 1 and 2? 100% not guilty.