Simpson Denies He's A Killer
SANTA MONICA, Nov. 22 (Evening) -- O.J. Simpson looked over to the jury and told them it is "absolutely not true" that he killed Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, in a dramatic finish to his first day of testimony in his civil trial.
Plaintiffs' attorney Daniel Petrocelli did his best to take advantage of the dramatic moment, timing his questioning to coincide with the end of the day.
"Now, between 9:35 p.m. and 10:35 p.m. on June 12, there is not a single living human being you can identify that saw or spoke to you, is that true?" Petrocelli asked.
"That is absolutely true," Simpson replied.
Next, the plaintiffs' attorney made his accusations.
"You had gloves, you had a hat, you were wearing a dark sweat outfit, and you had a knife," Petrocelli said to Simpson. "You went to Nicole's condo."
Simpson, looking over at the jurors, replied: "That is absolutely not true."
"And you confronted Nicole Brown Simpson and you killed her, didn't you?" Petrocelli asked.
"That is absolutely not true," Simpson said.
"And you killed Ron Goldman did you not?" Petrocelli continued.
Once again, Simpson replied, "That is absolutely not true."
Petrocelli led up to his conclusion by trying to suggest that Simpson's life in the days leading up to the murders was in turmoil, and his relationships were spinning out of control. Several times, Petrocelli pointed out that Simpson and his ex-wife were not on good terms at that time.
"Is it fair to say in the weeks leading up to the murder, there was zero conversation between you and Nicole?" Petrocelli asked.
"Well, other than the dogs and the kids," Simpson agreed.
On the morning of the murders, Simpson testified that he had a heated fight with one of his golfing buddies. Simpson's girlfriend Paula Barbieri broke up with him by leaving a message on his voicemail, Petrocelli said. The night before, Simpson and Barbieri had a fight, Petrocelli claimed, because Simpson did not want to take her to his daughter's dance recital because Nicole would be there.
"She left you that message because you and she had fought over Nicole once again, true or untrue?" Petrocelli asked.
"Absolutely untrue," Simpson said.
In fact, Simpson said he did not even listen to Barbieri's phone message that day. But Petrocelli produced subpoenaed phone records that showed Simpson called his answering service for five minutes at 6:56 that evening and later left Barbieri a message asking why she was so upset. Simpson also admitted making a phone call that evening to a Playboy model Kato Kaelin was introducing him to, and another model. Petrocelli asked if He left a message that said: " Hi, it's O.J., I'm unattached for the first time in my life." Simpson agreed.
The last call Simpson made before the murders was to Nicole's Bundy condominium, the phone records showed. Simpson said it was to congratulate his daughter -- a fact Petrocelli found hard to believe, pointing out that he had just seen her two and a half hours earlier.
Petrocelli also introduced a picture taken at the dance recital, which showed Simpson's left hand.
"Now see your left hand there?" Petrocelli asked. "No cuts at all on that left hand, it's about 6:15, 6:30 p.m.?" Simpson agreed.
Following the recital, Petrocelli took Simpson through a detailed account of his trip to McDonald's with houseguest Brian "Kato" Kaelin -- trying to show that Simpson really did not want him along.
"Why didn't you tell Kato where you were going?" Petrocelli asked.
"I didn't have a date with Kato, I was going to get a burger," Simpson said with a chuckle.
The laughter was too much for the plaintiffs' lawyer, who jumped on Simpson for making light of such a serious issue.
Said Simpson: "I don't think any of this is funny, I wish I was anywhere but here."
Simpson testimony continues Monday.
-Robert Schmidt
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