Nicole Brown Simpson

Nicole Brown Simpson (May 19, 1959 - June 12, 1994) was the ex-wife of American football player O. J. Simpson. She was murdered at her home in Los Angeles, California, along with her friend Ronald Goldman. O. J. Simpson was arrested and tried for her murder in one of the most controversial and widely-discussed criminal trials in U.S. history. He was found not guilty.

Biography

Early life

The daughter of Juditha and Louis Brown, Nicole was born in Frankfurt, Germany, but the family moved to Garden Grove, California, where she grew up. She attended Gilbert Elementary School, Skylark Elementary School (GATE program), Hare Intermediate School and Rancho Alamitos High School before moving to Monarch Bay, west of Dana Point, California, in her junior year along with younger sisters Dominique and Tanya and older sister Denise. Nicole was elected one of the homecoming princesses at Dana Hills High School. Also, she maintained a 3.7 grade point average during her high school years.

Relationship with O. J. Simpson

Nicole brown met O.J. while she worked as a waitress the he patroned. Nicole Brown was several months pregnant when O.J. Simpson left his wife ,Margeurite, and family. Margeurite did not know about the affair. O.J.'s first wife , Marguerite, stated that she seen Nicole brown driving by their family home several times before she knew who it was. Brown and O. J. Simpson were married on February 2, 1985, after his retirement from professional football. They had two children together, Sydney Brooke Simpson (born October 17, 1985) and Justin Ryan Simpson (born August 6, 1988). The marriage lasted seven years, ending when Nicole divorced him in 1992, citing an "abusive relationship".

Murder

On the morning of June 13 1994, neighbors, alerted by a barking dog, found the mutilated bodies of Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in the enclosed front courtyard of her condo on South Bundy Drive in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. Goldman was a waiter at the restaurant Mezzaluna, where Nicole and her family had dined that evening. He was at her condominium to return glasses that Nicole's mother, Juditha, had left there by accident. Both Goldman and Nicole had been stabbed multiple times; Nicole Simpson's head was nearly severed from her body. Both had defensive wounds on their hands. At the time of the murders, Sydney and Justin, her children with O. J., were asleep inside the condominium.

O. J. Simpson was arrested and charged with both murders; he was acquitted of these crimes in a criminal trial by jury. However, in a subsequent civil trial, he was found liable for the deaths of his ex-wife and Goldman and ordered to pay $33,500,000 (USD) to the families of Brown and Goldman.

In 1994, Nicole Simpson's sister Denise Brown established The Nicole Brown Charitable Foundation in Nicole's memory, to assist victims of domestic violence.

During the murder trial, Nicole's parents looked after Sydney and Justin. In 1996, a judge granted Simpson's petition to give him full custody of the children. Nicole's parents continued unsuccessfully to fight for custody of Sydney and Justin.

Relationship with Goldman

Whether Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman were just friends or something more is not known conclusively, but Goldman is always referred to as "her friend". The LA Times reported on June 15 1994:

"Goldman, 25, also had an increasingly close relationship with 35-year-old Nicole Brown Simpson, whom he had exercised with, accompanied to dance clubs and often met for coffee and dinner during the past month and a half. He told others that he was just friends with Simpson. But he boasted of her stunning good looks and talked about the special kick it gave him to see heads turn when the two of them pulled up in her white Ferrari in front of The Gate, a fashionable West Hollywood dance club, with him behind the wheel....Six weeks ago Goldman was driving the Ferrari, with its highly recognizable L84AD8 license plate, when he joined [another waiter Craig] Clark for lunch at style="font-style : italic;">Cafe Montana in Santa Monica. Clark said that Goldman told him it was Nicole Simpson's car, but that he did not say she was his girlfriend. 'He said they were friends', Clark recalled."

On the night of the murder, Nicole's mother called the Mezzaluna at 9:30 pm to inquire if her sunglasses were left at the restaurant. Nicole called at 9:35 pm and asked specifically for Ron Goldman, presumably to ask him to deliver the sunglasses to her that night. Between leaving the restaurant and arriving at Nicole's around 10:30 pm, Ron stopped at his apartment to change clothes and possibly shower. Nicole was found wearing a short black dress. Inside her home there were lit candles and music playing. There was speculation that their relationship was romantic, but there was no conclusive evidence.

Relationship with Brett Shaves

Brett Shaves dated Nicole Simpson in 1993, the year after she had divorced O. J. Simpson. Nicole and Brett met at the law firm where they both worked and, at one point, took a trip to Mexico together.

After the murders, pictures were published by the National Enquirer of Brett Shaves and Nicole Simpson in a hot tub together naked. Other photos came out of the two of them in Mexico together.

External links

• Court TV's complete coverage of the O. J. Simpson murder case