O.J. Simpson’s Trial: A Timeline of What Happened In and Outside of the Courtroom
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On the night of June 12, 1994, O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were stabbed to death outside of her house in Los Angeles. Their murders and the subsequent arrest of the retired NFL star ignited a series of events that America’s legal system and media had rarely seen before.
Here’s a timeline of the murders of Brown Simpson and Goldman as well as the pursuit, arrest, trial, and eventual acquittal of Simpson.
[table-of-contents] stripped
The Murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman
June 12, 1994: Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are killed
6:30 p.m.: After attending her daughter’s dance recital, alongside her ex-husband, Brown has dinner with friends and family at the Brentwood restaurant Mezzaluna, where Goldman works as a waiter. Brown’s mother accidentally leaves her eyeglasses at the restaurant, and Goldman volunteers to stop by Brown’s house to drop them off.
10:41 p.m.–10:45 p.m.: Brian “Kato” Kaelin, who is Simpson’s houseguest at his Rockingham mansion just a couple of miles down the road from Brown Simpson’s home, hears a thumping noise on the opposite side of his wall and goes outside to investigate.
10:50 p.m.–10:55 p.m.: A neighbor spots Brown Simpson’s white Akita by itself—barking with bloody paws.
11:01 p.m.: Waiting since 10:25 p.m., limousine driver Allan Park sees Simpson exit his house. A few minutes later, Park drives Simpson to the Los Angeles International Airport for his flight to Chicago.
11:45 p.m.: Simpson takes off to Chicago.
June 13, 1994: O.J. Simpson becomes a suspect
12:10 a.m.: Brown Simpson’s dog leads neighbors to the dead bodies of Goldman and Brown Simpson, which lie near the gate.
4:15 a.m.: Simpson checks into a hotel in Chicago.
4:30 a.m.: Police arrive at Simpson’s Rockingham mansion to inform him of Brown Simpson’s death but instead discover his blood-stained Bronco and a bloody glove that matches one found near Goldman’s body.
10:45 a.m.: With a search warrant in hand, the police search Simpson’s mansion and find even more blood traces on the property, including in his Bronco.
12 p.m.: Returning to Los Angeles after being informed of his ex-wife’s death, Simpson arrives at his mansion where he is handcuffed and then taken to the police station where he’s questioned for hours.
June 15, 1994: Robert Shapiro becomes O.J. Simpson’s attorney
Replacing Howard Weitzman, defense attorney Robert Shapiro takes over as lead counsel for Simpson.
June 16, 1994: Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman’s funerals are held
Simpson and two of his children attend Brown Simpson’s funeral. A funeral is also held for Goldman.
The Car Chase and Charges Against O.J. Simpson
June 17, 1994: The Bronco freeway chase
Simpson is formally charged with murdering his ex-wife and her friend. Although he originally promised to surrender to authorities, he flees and becomes a fugitive. He is later spotted off the freeway in a white Ford Bronco with his friend Al “A.C.” Cowlings in the driver’s seat.
Fans began to line the freeways to cheer him on. As helicopters follow Simpson’s Bronco, an estimated 95 million people watch the 60-mile pursuit on TV (famously interrupting the broadcast of the NBA finals). Simpson ultimately surrenders at his house a little before 9 p.m. He is arrested and jailed without bail.
July 22, 1994: O.J. Simpson pleads not guilty
Simpson pleads “absolutely, positively, 100 percent not guilty” to the murder charges. Judge Lance Ito is assigned to the case.
Pre-Trial Preparations
September 9, 1994: Prosecutors seek life without parole
The prosecution decides not to pursue the death penalty and instead, seeks life without parole for the defendant if he’s convicted.
November 3, 1994: The jury is selected
The initial jury is selected and is made up of four men and eight women. Eight of the jurors are Black, one is Hispanic, one person is white, and two are of mixed race.
January 11, 1995: The jury reports for duty
The jury—12 men and 12 women—are sequestered.
January 15-16, 1995: Simpson’s lawyers stop speaking to each other
Attorney Robert Shapiro tells the media that he and another one of Simpson’s defense attorneys F. Lee Bailey are no longer on speaking terms.
January 18, 1995: Johnnie Cochran takes the reigns of the defense
Johnnie Cochran becomes lead counsel for the defense.
Judge Ito rules that the jury is allowed to hear evidence of Simpson’s alleged domestic abuse toward Brown.
The Trial
January 24, 1995: The prosecution begins its opening statement
Prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden make passionate opening statements. “He killed her out of jealousy,” Darden told the jury. “He killed her because he couldn’t have her.”
January 25, 1995: The defense gives its opening statement
Cochran begins his opening statement on behalf of the defense. “This case is about a rush to judgment, an obsession to win at any costs,” he told the jury.
January 27, 1995: O.J. Simpson’s book comes out
Simpson’s book, I Want to Tell You: My Response to Your Letters, Your Messages, Your Questions, is released.
February 3, 1995: Nicole Brown Simpson’s sister-in-law takes the stand
Brown Simpson’s sister-in-law, Denise Brown, testifies in tears over how Simpson abused his ex-wife.
February 12, 1995: The jury visits key locations
The jurors take a field trip to Simpson’s Rockingham home and Brown Simpson’s house on South Bundy Drive, now labeled a crime scene.
March 13, 1995: A detective in the case says he’s not racist
Detective Mark Fuhrman is cross-examined and denies being racist. He also objects to the defense’s theory that he undermined the investigation by tampering with evidence.
March 21, 1995: Kato Kaelin takes the stand again
For a second time, the retired athlete’s houseguest takes the stand and describes how he spent his evening with Simpson just hours before the double homicide occurred.
April 4, 1995: A member of the investigation confesses to crime scene wrongdoings
Criminologist Dennis Fung admits that proper protocols weren’t entirely enforced at the scene of the crime.
May 10, 1995: The DNA evidence is presented
The DNA testimony begins, and jurors learn one day later that one in 170 million people, including Simpson, would have the genetic characteristics as a drop of blood that discovered at the crime scene.
June 15, 1995: O.J. Simpson tries on the leather gloves
Darden has Simpson try on the leather gloves in front of the jury. Simpson puts them on and declares them “too tight.”
August 29, 1995: Tapes are released of detective Mark Fuhrman saying racial slurs
The jury hears old taped recordings of Fuhrman stating multiple racial slurs and also bragging about his enforcement of police brutality. This contradicts the detective’s earlier testimony during cross-examination.
September 28, 1995: The defense presents its closing argument
Following the prosecution’s closing arguments the day before, Cochran delivers his closing argument to the jury with his famous phrase: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
The Verdict and Aftermath
October 3, 1995: O.J. Simpson is acquitted
Deliberating for less than four hours, the jury returns with a verdict of not guilty on two counts of murder. Simpson is a free man.
October 23, 1996: A civil trial against O.J. Simpson begins for Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman’s Deaths
The families of Brown Simpson and Goldman, including his father Fred Goldman, sued O.J. Simpson for damages in civil court for their loved ones’ wrongful deaths. The trial begins a little more than a year after Simpson’s criminal acquittal.
February 4, 1997: The jury finds O.J. Simpson responsible for the 1994 murders
After the civil trial extends into a fifth month, the 12-person jury unanimously found the football great liable for the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend. They awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages to Goldman’s parents.
One week later, they decided Simpson should pay $25 million in punitive damages to both victim’s families. “The jury decision of last Tuesday was the only decision important to us, to find the killer of my son and Nicole,” Fred Goldman said after the order was handed down. “The money is not an issue. It never has been. It’s holding the man who killed my son and Nicole responsible.”
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