By Aaron Miller-
Oj Simpson accused has been accused of admitting to murder in interview aired by Fox on Sunday night.
OJ Simpson appeared to “hypothetically” confess to the 1994 murder in Los Angeles of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.
In an exchange with Judith Regan, the former NFL and Hollywood star admitted being at the scene of the deaths with a knife in his hand. Simpson claimed he had never seen so much blood in his life. He said: “It was horrible. It was absolutely horrible.”
Simpson was dramatically acquitted of the murders of Brown and Goldman in the globally watched 1995, high-profile murder trial. He beat the murder charge against him after technical information came to light that cast a doubt on the prosecution. A recording of a police officer in which he was racist scuppered the case against him.
He was subsequently convicted on civil charges In 2008 and was sentenced to 33 years in prison over an armed robbery in Las Vegas. He was released on parole last October, having served nine years.
The released interview with Regan was recorded in 2006 to coincide with the release of Simpson’s book on the murders, If I Did It, which was eventually released after a number of legal delays.
The interview was mothballed over public outcry and potential legal issues. More than 10 years later, Fox turned to it again thanks to renewed public interest in the Simpson case.
Simpson recounts details of the fateful evening , almost implicating himself through his own words. He is conscious of informing his audience that his words are all hypothetical , whatever one wants to deduce from them.
OJ claimed that on the night in question, an unsubstantiated friend, called “Charlie”picked him up in order to go and find out what was happening at Brown’s home. When he arrived, Simpson said, he exchanged words with Goldman and Brown fell down, hurting herself.
According to Simpson’, Goldman then went into a “karate thing”, or stance, and Simpson replied: “You think you can kick my ass?” Then, Simpson said, he blacked out.
The next thing Simpson said he remembered was “standing there and there’s all kinds of stuff around” – meaning blood.
Appearing on a Fox panel convened to discuss the interview, original prosecutor Christopher Darden said: “I think he’s confessed to murder.”
Simpson also shed light on the infamous low-speed police chase that preceded his arrest. “I was being depicted as a fugitive but from the side of the roads there was more people cheering,” he said
In the aired interview with book publisher Judith Reagan, Simpson regularly reminds the audience that he is retelling of the incident in a “hypothetical” manner,
He freely discusses driving over to his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson’s home with Charlie – “a guy I recently became friends with” – with a knife, cap and gloves before getting into a verbal confrontation with her and Mr Goldman.
“I remember I grabbed the knife, I do remember that portion, taking the knife from Charlie and to be honest, after that I don’t remember, except I’m standing there and there’s all kinda stuff around,” he said.
Asked what kind of “stuff” he meant, Simpson replies: “Blood and stuff.”
He then begins to laugh: “I hate to say it, but this is hypothetical. I’m sorry; I know we have to back off again. It’s hard – this is hard to make people think I’m a murderer.”
The publisher asks him about a line in the book that says Simpson had “never seen so much blood in his life.
“I don’t think two people could have been murdered the way they were without everybody covered in blood,” he said. “And of course, I think we’ve all seen the grisly pictures. I think everything was covered, would have been covered in blood.”
He discusses a leather glove found at the property, which became a crucial piece of evidence during the trial.
But during the 2006 interview with Ms Reagan, Simpson says he “might” have removed the glove before taking the knife from Charlie.
“I have no conscious memory of doing that, but I obviously must have because they found the glove there,” Simpson said.
He then begins to laugh: “I hate to say it, but this is hypothetical. I’m sorry; I know we have to back off again. It’s hard – this is hard to make people think I’m a murderer.”
The publisher asks him about a line in the book that says Simpson had “never seen so much blood i
“I don’t think two people could have been murdered the way they were without everybody covered in blood,” he said. “And of course, I think we’ve all seen the grisly pictures. I think everything was covered, would have been covered in blood.”
He discusses a leather glove found at the property, which became a crucial piece of evidence during the trial.
But during the 2006 interview with Ms Reagan, Simpson says he “might” have removed the glove before taking the knife from Charlie.
“I have no conscious memory of doing that, but I obviously must have because they found the glove there,” Simpson said.
He then begins to laugh: “I hate to say it, but this is hypothetical. I’m sorry; I know we have to back off again. It’s hard – this is hard to make people think I’m a murderer.”
The publisher asks him about a line in the book that says Simpson had “never seen so much blood in his life”
“I don’t think two people could have been murdered the way they were without everybody covered in blood,” he said. “And of course, I think we’ve all seen the grisly pictures. I think everything was covered, would have been covered in blood.”
Discussing a leather glove found at the property, Simpson says he “might” have removed the glove before taking the knife from Charlie.
“I have no conscious memory of doing that, but I obviously must have because they found the glove there,” Simpson said.
Simpson was released on parole in 2016 from prison in Nevada after serving nine years for his role in a bungled attempted armed robbery in Las Vegas
US television network Fox said the interview was presumed t lost after its shelving, but was recently rediscovered. OJ seems to indirectly admit murder, but covers himself by a hypothetical claim which is highly suspicious at best.