Ronald Lyle Goldman (July 2, 1968 – June 12, 1994) was an American restaurant waiter and a friend of Nicole Brown Simpson, the ex-wife of O. He was murdered along with Brown at her home in Los Angeles, California, on June 12, 1994. Simpson was acquitted of their murders in 1995, but found liable for both deaths in a 1997 civil. Simpson trial, criminal trial of former college and professional gridiron football star O.J. Simpson, who was acquitted in 1995 of the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. It was one of the most notorious criminal trials in American history. Case Details: Former football star and actor O.J. Simpson was accused of murdering his wife, Nicole Simpson, and a friend, Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994. During his trial, prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden built much of their case on an incriminating trail of Simpson's blood.
Case Details: Former football star and actor O.J. Simpson was accused of murdering his wife, Nicole Simpson, and a friend, Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994. During his trial, prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden built much of their case on an incriminating trail of Simpson's blood.
It was one of the most gruesome and notorious crimes of the century. In June 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were left slaughtered in pools of their own blood, reportedly by the hands of Brown Simpson’s former husband, O.J. Simpson. Although he was never convicted for their murders, it’s widely believed that Simpson killed Brown Simpson and Goldman.
WARNING: The following images are extremely graphic and may be upsetting to viewers
Nicole Brown Simpson Autopsy Report:
“I. Incised wound of neck:
A. Transection of left and right common carotid arteries.
B. Incisions, left and right internal jugular veins
C. Transection of thyrohyoid membrane, epiglottis, and hypopharynx.
D. Incision into cervical spine, C3.
II. Multiple stab wound of neck and scalp (total of seven).
III. Multiple injuries of hands, including incised wound, ring finger of right hand (defense wound).
IV. Scalp bruise, right parietal”
Nicole Brown Simpson
Ron Goldman Autopsy Report:
” Sharp force wound of neck, left side, with transection of left internal jugular vein.
2. Multiple stab wounds of chest, abdomen, and left thigh: Penetrating stab wounds of chest and abdomen with right hemothorax and hemoperitoneum.
3. Multiple incised wounds of scalp, face, neck, chest and left hand (defense wound).
4. Multiple abrasions upper extremities and hands (defense wounds).”
Ron Goldman
After the Murders
Simpson was acquitted on murder charges, but in February 1997, a Santa Monica Superior Court jury found Simpson liable for the deaths of both Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson in a civil trial. The jury awarded Simpson’s mother and Goldman’s parents $33.5 million, which included $8.5 million in compensatory damages and $12.5 million in punitive damages.
LA Timesreported that the civil trial was quite different from Simpson’s criminal trial. The jury heard about detectives reportedly signing book deals, Simpson failing a lie detector test, and Brown Simpson calling a shelter for help days before the murder.
During the civil trial deposition, Simpson spoke out about the murders for the first time under oath. He declined to take the stand during his criminal trial. For 13 days, Attorney Daniel Petrocelli questioned Simpson during the deposition and at one point, Simpson claimed he didn’t remember where he was on the night of the murders.
“I don’t know if they [the police] asked me that question. I was home.”
“They did ask you. What did you say?” Petrocelli shot back.
“I don’t recall if they asked me so I don’t know what I said. What don’t you ask me?” Simpson replied.
“I just did, where were—“ Petrocelli asked
“Why don’t you ask me?” Simpson replied while cutting the attorney off mid-sentence.
Petrocelli also presented photos of a battered and bruised Brown Simpson, yet Simpson insisted he that he never hit her and the wounds were from make-up while doing the movie.
P: “Do you see those bruises on her face?”
S: “No.”
P: “You don’t see anything?”
S: “No, I mean, I see this eye thing.”
P: “You don’t think this picture reflects any bruising or injuries or marks on Nicole’s face?”
S: “No, I don’t.”
P: “What do you think this reflects?”
S: “It reflects doing a movie that we’re doing and we’re doing make-up.”
Simpson Writes a Book
In 2006, Simpson decided to write a book about the case, entitled, If I Did It. The book focuses on how Simpson felt he was portrayed poorly by the press; he denied being a “sociopath,” although he admitted he went after Brown Simpson’s car with a baseball bat. Yet, he wrote (with the help of ghostwriter, Pablo Fenjves) that he only lifted his hand to his wife, and that if she were alive today, she would be the first to agree.
He also threw Brown Simpson “under the bus” throughout the book with claims of drug abuse and erratic behavior. He wrote she was angry, vindictive, and had an affair after pushing him into marriage. Simpson also deflected the violence onto Brown Simpson and wrote that his wife was the violent one.
“Nice people don’t go around getting themselves knifed to death,” Simpson wrote.
In 2007, a Florida bankruptcy court awarded the Goldman family all rights to the book. The quickly changed the book’s name to, If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.
“After 13 years of trying to get some justice, today is probably the first time we had any sense of seeing light at the end of the tunnel,” Ron Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman said, after winning rights to the book. “It’s gratifying to see.”
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[Feature Photo: AP]