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  • This was a real emotional heart wrenching story. 2

  • Here we had O.J. Simpson. 3

  • Accused of a capital crime and it was tragic. 4

  • It began last Monday 5

  • with an image no one ever expected to see. 6

  • O.J. Simpson in handcuffs. 7

  • His ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson 8

  • and her friend Ronald Goldman, 9

  • the victims of a brutal double murder. 10

  • (sirens wailing) 11

  • It would end with an unbelievable drama 12

  • played out on live TV. 13

  • O.J. Simpson, murder suspect and fugitive, 14

  • being pursued by police as the nation held its breath, 15

  • and Simpson's friends pleaded with the former football hero. 16

  • Give yourself up, man, just stop. 17

  • Please, stop. 18

  • In the time between those two events, 19

  • a media circus rivaling anything in print 20

  • and broadcast history. 21

  • Throughout it all, one question on everyone's mind. 22

  • A question no one imagined would ever be asked 23

  • about one of the nation's most beloved personalities. 24

  • Did he do it? 25

  • Everyone is speculating. 26

  • Last Thursday, 27

  • both victims were laid to rest separately. 28

  • 25-year-old Ronald Goldman, 29

  • a man everyone said was full of dreams, 30

  • dreams that will never be realized. 31

  • And 35-year-old Nicole Simpson, O.J.'s ex-wife. 32

  • At her funeral, a grim looking O.J. Simpson, 33

  • the couple's young children by his side. 34

  • After the funerals, the media began to report 35

  • that the arrest of O.J. Simpson for murder was imminent. 36

  • It looked like this bizarre week-long drama 37

  • was about to come to an end. 38

  • But even here in Los Angeles, 39

  • a town full of screenwriters and storytellers, 40

  • no one could have predicted what was going to happen next. 41

  • O.J. Simpson, the former star running back, 42

  • was about to make his last desperate run. 43

  • He is a wanted murder suspect and we will go find him. 44

  • On Friday, O.J. Simpson 45

  • was to have surrendered to authorities. 46

  • He didn't. 47

  • Simpson was declared a fugitive. 48

  • As authorities mounted their manhunt, 49

  • the rumor mill churned. 50

  • At Nicole Simpson's condo, 51

  • the scene of the murders, 52

  • a huge crowd gathered amid speculation 53

  • that O.J. had killed himself there. 54

  • O.J. Simpson is not at this location. 55

  • There's nothing going on here. 56

  • The near hysteria over Simpson's whereabouts 57

  • continued to mount. 58

  • Don't feel sorry for me. 59

  • I've had a great life, great friends. 60

  • Please think of the real O.J. 61

  • and not this lost person. 62

  • At a televised press conference, 63

  • one of O.J.'s friends read a letter written by Simpson. 64

  • It appeared to us that it was a suicide note, 65

  • and at that point, we decided to get in the helicopter 66

  • and take a look at canyons, and see if we can find O.J. 67

  • Veteran pilot and reporter, Bob Tur, 68

  • has covered virtually every major 69

  • L.A. news story from the air. 70

  • His aircraft was one of a squadron of news choppers 71

  • that would document O.J.'s run. 72

  • Highway patrol. 73

  • Yeah, I think I just saw O.J. Simpson 74

  • on the 5 freeway and he's heading north 75

  • and I got the license plate of the white Bronco, 3DHY503, 76

  • and we like looked at him, you know, 77

  • Aha. 78

  • and he liked stared us down like he was possessed. 79

  • That 911 call helped police zero in 80

  • on the vehicle Simpson was riding in. 81

  • And within a matter of minutes we were overhead, 82

  • we found him, 83

  • the police found him, 84

  • and at first there was one patrol unit 85

  • and within a minute there were literally 86

  • 20 patrol units behind him. 87

  • Simpson was in the back of the vehicle. 88

  • Driving was his long time pal, Al Cowlings, 89

  • who also called 911. 90

  • This is A.C. I have O.J. in the car. 91

  • Okay. Where are you? 92

  • Please. I'm coming up the 5 freeway. 93

  • Okay. 94

  • Right now we're okay, but you gotta tell the police 95

  • just to back off. 96

  • He's still alive, but he's got a gun to his head. 97

  • He just want to see his mother. 98

  • Let me get him to the house. 99

  • During the low-speed pursuit, 100

  • the motorcade would travel some 60 miles. 101

  • Going through two counties on three freeways. 102

  • It was an incredible sight. 103

  • Thousands of people lined up along the side of the road, 104

  • waving and trying to give O.J. Simpson support. 105

  • And what we were watching on live television was almost 106

  • like a funeral for a fallen friend. 107

  • This was one time when were able to help. 108

  • Because there had been enough blood shed, 109

  • enough hurt and enough pain 110

  • and we didn't want to see anymore. 111

  • Local Sportscaster, Jim Hill, 112

  • is a former pro football player 113

  • and longtime friend of O.J. Simpson's. 114

  • He was among the first to appeal to Simpson 115

  • over the radio. 116

  • Hoping the men in the White Bronco were listening. 117

  • O.J. if you can hear me, 118

  • Al if you can hear me, 119

  • whoever is in that truck, if you can hear us, 120

  • please, gentleman, please just pull over and stop. 121

  • It was just one of those things 122

  • that comes from the heart 123

  • and when it comes from the heart, 124

  • you hope you're able to reach out and to touch someone 125

  • and to help someone. 126

  • And we had some people speaking from the heart 127

  • on that Friday. 128

  • Just stop. 129

  • Please stop it. 130

  • In Jesus name, just stop man. 131

  • O.J. it's probably the fourth quarter 132

  • and this is the last play of the game 133

  • and no time on the clock. 134

  • (crowd yelling) 135

  • In one the most disturbing twists, 136

  • some spectators acted like they were at a sporting event, 137

  • a sharp contrast to the reality of a potentially 138

  • suicidal suspect in a brutal double murder. 139

  • I don't know what they were doing 140

  • or what they were even thinking. 141

  • (sirens wailing) 142

  • After some two hours on the road, 143

  • the caravan finally pulled up to the Simpson estate. 144

  • With dozens of police officers waiting 145

  • the tension continued to mount. 146

  • The SWAT team members were in a position 147

  • to make a move. 148

  • If it was necessary. 149

  • And, fortunately, it wasn't. 150

  • Al Cowlings went back and forth from the car 151

  • to the house on behalf of his friend, O.J. Simpson. 152

  • It was just an individual that was just lost. 153

  • He was just absolutely lost. 154

  • And he had his best friend in the world with him. 155

  • Who I think was trying to prevent him 156

  • from taking his life. 157

  • Finally, O.J. Simpson got out of the vehicle 158

  • and went into the house. 159

  • He had a couple of picture frames with him 160

  • and he walked inside the house 161

  • and that was the last we saw of him. 162

  • Inside, Simpson used the restroom, 163

  • had a glass of orange juice, 164

  • and did the one thing he needed to do the most. 165

  • He called his mother. 166

  • When you're at that end of the line. 167

  • When you're at the end of the rope. 168

  • You're trying to tie a knot in that end of the rope 169

  • and hang on. 170

  • You start calling for momma. 171

  • And so ended the manhunt. 172

  • O.J. Simpson was taken into custody. 173

  • And here in the city of the angels, 174

  • one of the most celebrated angels had fallen. 175

  • What route the assailant may have used that night 176

  • is still a mystery. 177

  • And the weapon used in the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson 178

  • and Ron Goldman is still missing. 179

  • Was it, as the prosecution suggests, 180

  • contained in a bag that was disposed of 181

  • at the Los Angeles airport? 182

  • Or did it disappear in Chicago? 183

  • Well Inside Edition spoke to a retired 184

  • Los Angeles police officer whose beat was here 185

  • in the Simpson neighborhood 186

  • and he offers a unique theory. 187

  • I think there's clearly a possibility 188

  • of another route. 189

  • Jim King patrolled the west Los Angeles area 190

  • for 22 years. 191

  • He says he has personal knowledge of O.J.'s troubled past. 192

  • I dealt with O.J. the first time he was 193

  • in a spousal battery situation with Marguerite. 194

  • So very early on some 20 years ago I began to deal 195

  • with O.J. in that regard. 196

  • Marguerite has since denied 197

  • that O.J. ever hit her. 198

  • While he has no direct access to evidence 199

  • in the Simpson trial, 200

  • one thing he takes issue with is the route investigators 201

  • saying O.J. may have taken from Nicole's apartment 202

  • on Bundy Dr. back to his Rockingham estate. 203

  • If O.J. did commit the crimes, he would want to get back 204

  • to Rockingham as quietly and as surreptitiously as possible. 205

  • Kenter is a very easy road to do that. 206

  • Homewood is even better. 207

  • The LAPD refuses to comment on 208

  • what specific routes they searched, 209

  • but they did say they checked out all possibilities. 210

  • King believes he knows of areas where the police 211

  • didn't look and speculates that it would have been possible 212

  • for Simpson to have disposed of any incriminating evidence 213

  • before he reached his Rockingham estate 214

  • just a few miles from Nicole's. 215

  • Walking King's back route, 216

  • we found a sweatshirt deep in the vegetation growing 217

  • along one of the alternate routes to O.J.'s estate. 218

  • This is an area where you could drive along 219

  • and toss is out of the car, 220

  • out of the passenger side as your drive up Elkins Rd. 221

  • In the same area here. 222

  • It's coincidental that this is here, 223

  • but that's very typical of what we're talking about 224

  • that we're looking for. 225

  • King pointed out vegetation along the route 226

  • to O.J.'s that he believes hasn't been searched. 227

  • You can see how deep this ice plant is. 228

  • It's considerably deep and if you can move over 229

  • to this area, you know, you have a major root system 230

  • that you'd be hard pressed to find anything. 231

  • Because of the ability of it to penetrate and get down below 232

  • to the roots without a metal detector. 233

  • King says in addition to areas along this route 234

  • there are a number of trails and paths 235

  • which could've been overlooked. 236

  • He showed us a trail just down from O.J.'s home 237

  • on Rockingham that is hidden between the manicured lawns 238

  • and remote controlled security fences that only a street cop 239

  • who worked this area for two decades would know about. 240

  • And one of the trails just a mere two blocks north 241

  • on Rockingham from O.J.'s is here at this private residence. 242

  • You drive in and you never would see it. 243

  • And as you're looking forward this driveway turns 244

  • into a trail that accesses 245

  • the area alongside 246

  • this residence 247

  • down to Mandeville canyon. 248

  • How would O.J. know about this area here? 249

  • Well O.J. walked in the neighborhood. 250

  • He had his dogs and from time to time. 251

  • He would walk his dogs. 252

  • And a dog would find that trail in a second. 253

  • King pointed out that there could have been 254

  • a pre-dug hole where evidence could have been secluded. 255

  • Remember, there was a shovel found in the back 256

  • of O.J.'s Bronco. 257

  • Or the items could have been tossed into the dense brush. 258

  • I'm sure no one has looked back here. 259

  • Once you know about this particular trail, 260

  • with the proximity that it is to O.J.'s house, 261

  • it's a wonderful place for someone to plan 262

  • to dump a murder weapon or bloody clothes. 263

  • We, the jury and the above-entitled action, 264

  • find the defendant Orenthal James Simpson, 265

  • not guilty of the crime of murder 266

  • Across the nation and around the world 267

  • virtually everyone watched as judgment day came swiftly 268

  • for O.J. Simpson. 269

  • Ladies and gentleman of the jury, 270

  • is this your verdict? 271

  • So say you one, so say you all? 272

  • Yes. 273

  • In New York, Nicole's former lover, 274

  • Keith Zlomsowitch. 275

  • I can't believe it. 276

  • In Los Angeles, Ronald Goldman's close friends, 277

  • Mike Davis and Jeff Keller. 278

  • It's the worst possible thing that could happen. 279

  • In San Francisco, O.J.'s brother, 280

  • Truman Simpson. 281

  • On the second day of October 1995 282

  • Thank you lord. 283

  • God does answer prayers. 284

  • We'll hear more from friends and family members 285

  • only on Inside Edition in just a moment, 286

  • but first a look at the reaction outside the courtroom. 287

  • Orenthal James Simpson, not guilty of the 288

  • (crowd screaming) 289

  • After sitting through so many days 290

  • of heart-wrenching testimony, 291

  • Ronald Goldman's family was devastated 292

  • that their last day in court ended like this. 293

  • Last June 13, 294

  • 94 295

  • (sighs) 296

  • was the 297

  • worst nightmare of my life. 298

  • This is the second. 299

  • I will forever be proud of my son. 300

  • (crying) 301

  • And my family. 302

  • Thank you. 303

  • At a Simpson family press conference 304

  • in the court room. 305

  • O.J.'s son, Jason, read a statement from his father. 306

  • People will come to understand and believe 307

  • that I would not, could not, and did not kill anyone. 308

  • I knew that my son was innocent 309

  • and I had the support 310

  • of so many people all over the world. 311

  • For so many months you've been asking me, 312

  • "How do I feel?" 313

  • And I tell ya I just feel like standing on top 314

  • of this table and dancing a jig. 315

  • (crowd laughing) 316

  • And I just want to thank you guys. 317

  • I believe that based upon, 318

  • and I'm participating in the arguments, 319

  • that this jury felt the prosecution didn't prove this case 320

  • and when ultimately you talk to them 321

  • that's gonna be where they came down. 322

  • I said from the beginning that race was not an issue 323

  • in this case and should not be an issue. 324

  • I still feel the same way. 325

  • Afterward, a somber prosecution 326

  • had this reaction. 327

  • And then I'd like to thank the members of our team. 328

  • You're wonderful. 329

  • You're wonderful. 330

  • You've given everything, you've given your all. 331

  • Throughout all of it we couldn't have done 332

  • any of it without you. 333

  • You've done a beautiful job. 334

  • Please don't let this make you lose faith 335

  • in our system. 336

  • Please don't let this deter you from doing a job 337

  • you're so well qualified to do. 338

  • I'm not bitter 339

  • and I'm not angry. 340

  • But I'd also like to the thank the lawyers 341

  • on our prosecution team. 342

  • I am honored to have... 343

  • But whether you agree 344

  • with the jury's decision or not there is no doubt 345

  • that this verdict will go down in history. 346

  • And there is also no doubt that no one is more affected 347

  • by the jury's decision than the family members 348

  • and close friends of the defendant and the victims. 349

  • There's a special place in hell for people like 350

  • Johnny Cochran and O.J. Simpson 351

  • and they'll be roommates there. 352

  • Nicole's former lover, Keith Zlomsowitch, 353

  • remains absolutely certain that O.J. Simpson 354

  • committed the double murders. 355

  • And blames the dream team for allowing a guilty man 356

  • to walk free. 357

  • Justice didn't prevail. 358

  • Scheming and lying prevailed. 359

  • That's what prevailed. 360

  • There's nothing remotely close to justice here. 361

  • There's two dead people and there's no one in jail for it. 362

  • And the reason there's no one in jail for it 363

  • is because he was just found not guilty. 364

  • Not because that person's running around Los Angeles 365

  • or anywhere else in the world and hasn't been identified. 366

  • This was played out before the whole country 367

  • and the whole world. 368

  • And we all saw it and we all saw the evidence. 369

  • And we all know the truth. 370

  • And the people who believe he's not guilty 371

  • can try to mask that and hide that 372

  • with excuses and reasons 373

  • and things that don't make any sense. 374

  • But deep down everybody knows the truth. 375

  • These people didn't just die. 376

  • These people were murdered. 377

  • And all those people on his side of the table, 378

  • Johnny Cochran included. 379

  • And every other defense lawyer over there. 380

  • Just shamed the legal profession 381

  • by allowing a man to free of murder. 382

  • What makes the verdict even more difficult 383

  • for Zlomsowitch to take is that he had been convinced 384

  • the jury would find O.J. guilty. 385

  • My heart is broken. 386

  • She died in vain. 387

  • She died for nothing. 388

  • And he's gonna be walking free in the streets 389

  • of Los Angeles in less than an hour. 390

  • It's not right. 391

  • There's nothing right about that. 392

  • And if he could speak to Nicole now 393

  • this is what he would tell her. 394

  • I'm sorry. 395

  • That's all I can say. 396

  • I miss you. 397

  • Think we did everything we could and it wasn't enough. 398

  • Don't think I'll ever be able to walk away from it. 399

  • Situation is out of my hands. 400

  • That gets to you inside. 401

  • Knowing there's nothing you can do. 402

  • I'm not gonna look at the system anymore, 403

  • (sighs) 404

  • objectively. 405

  • Mike Davis and Jeff Keller can't believe 406

  • that the man they believe is responsible 407

  • for their friend, Ron Goldman's, death 408

  • will walk away a free man. 409

  • It's a crime. 410

  • God will give him what's coming to him though. 411

  • Because that's the deal. 412

  • The guy upstairs knows what happened. 413

  • That's the deal and that's the bottom line. 414

  • Vindication will always come in the end. 415

  • Whether it's served in the court or out of the court. 416

  • Justice will be served. 417

  • As Ron and Nicole's friends 418

  • express their anger. 419

  • Simpson's brother, Truman, was overcome 420

  • with emotion after the decision. 421

  • And now we have time for ourselves, you know, 422

  • he could go back to not talking to his kids on the phone 423

  • and see his kids. 424

  • I mean that's the greatest joy of all, right there. 425

  • But this trial was about more 426

  • than just about O.J. Simpson's guilt or innocence. 427

  • It was about domestic violence, police integrity, 428

  • the power of celebrity, and it was about racism. 429

  • Word about the verdict quickly reached 430

  • into the streets and neighborhoods of Los Angeles. 431

  • [Woman on television] Orenthal James Simpson not guilty... 432

  • (crowd cheering) 433

  • Residents in South Central Los Angeles 434

  • flocked to their neighborhood clinic and community center 435

  • run by Dr. James Mays. 436

  • That is fantastic. 437

  • An innocent man walked because the people spoke 438

  • and we have to accept the word of the people. 439

  • It's a good feeling. 440

  • I believe in my heart he didn't do it. 441

  • I know he didn't commit the crimes. 442

  • I know it was somebody else probably had did it. 443

  • And as O.J. Simpson left jail 444

  • and headed for home a single vivid question remained 445

  • for all the parties in the case. 446

  • It was Jason Simpson who asked it for his father. 447

  • But when things have settled a bit, 448

  • I will pursue as my primary goal in life, 449

  • the killer or killers who slaughtered 450

  • Nicole and Mr. Goldman. 451

  • They are out there somewhere. 452

  • Whatever it takes to identify them and bring them in, 453

  • I will provide somehow.

This was a real emotional heart wrenching story. 2

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