Simpson Testifies About His Marriage: 'We Were Very Much In Love'
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (Jan. 10, 3 P.M.) -- O.J. Simpson, testifying in his civil trial Friday afternoon, reiterated that he did not hit Nicole Brown Simpson during their 1989 domestic violence incident. Simpson also told the jury that the New Year's Eve altercation that year was the last time he ever became physical with Nicole.
Defense attorney Robert Baker began Simpson's examination with the story of his rise from the San Francisco's housing projects to national sports hero. Simpson took the jury through his national championship football season at USC, his Heisman trophy award, and professional football Most Valuable Player awards.
"All my life I tried to be the most conscientious of athletes," Simpson said. "I worked harder than anybody."
After discussing his athletic career, Simpson moved into the early years of his relationship with Nicole.
In a hearing earlier in the day, Judge Hiroshi Fujisaki ruled that Simpson can testify about Nicole Brown Simpson's alleged drug use and 1992 abortion.
But Judge Fujisaki's ruling came with a restriction: The defense cannot use this testimony to argue that another killer committed the murders. Fujisaki allowed Simpson's testimony on Nicole Brown Simpson's lifestyle to show O.J. Simpson's state of mind leading up to the murders and whether or not he had a motive to kill his ex-wife.
"I believe we were very much in love. We traveled all over the world," Simpson said. "Our house was always loaded with people."
Simpson also addressed specific domestic violence incidents. Contradicting the testimony of plaintiffs' witness India Allen, Simpson said he never hit Nicole in the parking lot when she went to pick up the family dogs from a veterinarian. The former football star also explained that the 1984 incident where he smashed the windshield of Nicole Brown Simpson's Mercedes, was a fight about setting a date for their marriage. Simpson said he had been hitting the car's tire with a baseball bat when Nicole told him not to hit the hub cap or she'd make him pay for it.
"I kind of took the bat and hit the windshield and I said, 'I'll pay for that, too'" Simpson said.
But Simpson spent the most time explaining the 1990 New Year's day fight. Baker noted that Nicole Brown Simpson looked bruised in police photographs, and asked Simpson again if he was sure his did not hit her. Simpson said he was 100 percent responsible for all her injuries, but insisted that he did not close his fist and strike her.
Said Simpson: "She would have looked a little different than she looked if I had hit her, if I hit anybody for that matter."
-Robert Schmidt
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