OJ Simpson, protagonist of notorious double murder case, dies at 76

OJ Simpson, the former American football star whose acquittal in 1995 in the so-called “trial of the century” for the brutal murders of his ex-wife and her friend shocked the world, died at the age of 76, his family announced this Thursday.

“On April 10, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer“, wrote his family on the social network X.

“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect his wishes for privacy and grace.”, noted the message.

Simpson, who was a beloved public figure in the United States, became a villain over suspicions of committing the savage murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in 1994 in a Los Angeles suburb.

Millions of people followed on television the police chase to arrest Simpson and the extraordinary trial that followed, with high-profile lawyers and allegations of racism.

His acquittal in October 1995, after nine months of trial, was met with disbelief by many Americans who had followed every turn of the arguments over details as intricate as whether a pair of gloves actually fit the former athlete’s hands.

elite athlete

Simpson was born on July 9, 1947 in San Francisco (California). His father abandoned the family when he was five years old, leaving him in the care of his mother in a very poor home. His legs became deformed due to rickets due to a lack of vitamins and calcium.

Without money to pay for an operation, his mother made him wear crude orthopedic devices and put shoes on the opposite feet to strengthen his legs.

The method worked so well that he could run 100 yards (91.4 m) in 9.9 seconds. He managed to reach the American Football League (NFL), where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 and, in 1973, the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award. In 1985, he entered the NFL Hall of Fame.

Simpson was considered a sports icon in the United States and his fame grew even more as he entered the world of cinema and advertising, where his appearances promoting everything from orange juice to car rentals made him one of the most recognizable faces in the country.

His work with Hertz, in which he appeared running through airports in a three-piece suit, became part of the country’s pop culture.

All this success came to an abrupt end on June 12, 1994 when Brown Simpson, 35, and Goldman, 25, were found stabbed to death outside their home.

The jury of the so-called “trial of the century” declared him innocent, although later in a civil court he was found guilty and forced to pay US$33.5 million in damages, a bill that was never settled.

In telephone statements to NBC News, Ron Goldman’s father said that Simpson’s death “It’s not a great loss to the world.”.

“All I have to say is that it’s one more reminder that Ron hasn’t been around all these years.”said Fred Goldman.

Simpson couldn’t avoid bars when he was arrested in Las Vegas in 2007 for kidnapping and robbing two sports memorabilia collectors at gunpoint. He spent nine years in prison and was released in 2017.

Public fascination

The fascination with the figure of Simpson has not waned since then among a part of the public.

“OJ: Made in America”, a nearly eight-hour work about his murder trial, won the Oscar for best documentary in 2017.

AND “The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story”, a television miniseries starring Cuba Gooding Jr as the former star, won multiple Emmy Awards in 2016.

On February 9 of this year, Simpson published a video on X denying information in which he claimed that he was receiving palliative care.

Broadcasting from the driver’s seat of a car, he said: ““Are you talking about a hospice?!” “No, I am not in any center”he said laughing.

“I don’t know who put that there (…) I guess it’s like Donald (Trump) says: ‘You can’t trust the media’”. “Anyway, I’m hosting a bunch of friends for the Super Bowl here in Las Vegas. Everything is going well. So hey guys, take care, have a good Super Bowl.”.