LA cops analysing knife believed to be linked to OJ Simpson case
The Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed the existence of a knife found years ago on the Brentwood property that once belonged to former NFL star O.J. Simpson, who in 1995 was acquitted in the stabbing death of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
The announcement sparked a fresh wave of interest in the case, but the discovery is likely to have little legal ramification.
Captain Andrew Neiman, an LAPD media relations officer, said during a news conference that investigators became aware of the knife in February after a retired officer brought it to their attention.
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Neiman would not describe the knife or where it was found on the property, citing an investigation by the department’s open-case team.
“We need to determine if it’s evidence,” he said. “If it’s not, how do we prove one way or another that it’s not?”
Early on the morning of June 13, 1994, Nicole Simpson and Goldman were found dead from multiple stab wounds outside O.J. Simpson’s condo in Brentwood. Nicole Simpson was nearly decapitated and had defensive wounds on her hands. Quickly identified as a suspect, O.J. Simpson surrendered to police four days later at his Brentwood mansion after a slow-speed highway chase that was televised to millions on television.
Even if the newly discovered knife ends up being relevant, legal experts said there are practically no criminal consequences for Simpson. The LAPD will investigate it, however, because it considers the Simpson-Goldman slayings an open case.
After he was acquitted, Simpson was found liable for Goldman’s death in a 1997 civil suit and was ordered to pay Goldman’s family US$33.5 million in damages.
Simpson never testified during his murder trial, so a perjury charge wouldn’t be an option, nor does he face any tort liability, since a civil jury has already found him financially responsible, Arnella said.
Assuming prosecutors could prove that the knife was the murder weapon and then establish “a chain of custody” to trace the knife’s history from beginning to end, it couldn’t be used against Simpson in court, said Roger Cossack, professor at Pepperdine University School of Law.
“There will be no new prosecution for O.J.,” Cossack said. “Double jeopardy applies for the crime of murder and will always apply, even if they were able to determine the knife was the murder weapon.”
Frank Zimring, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, said the only criminal option left for prosecutors would be federal charges, which can be brought against someone who was acquitted in a state trial.
But legal experts struggled to identify what – if any – federal statutes could be applied to Simpson.
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Arenella said, “This is really a matter of state law, not federal law.”
Neiman revealed few details about the knife or the investigation during his news conference. He would not reveal the name of the former officer who turned over the knife, nor would he say whether that person would face charges for withholding evidence, although he did express surprise that a former LAPD officer would do such a thing.
Neiman also asked the person who discovered the knife at the Brentwood property to come forward in order to aid the investigation.