Unsolved Questions on the OJ Simpson Case--

I am convinced of two things in the double homicide of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman on the evening of June 12, 1994: (1) that OJ Simpson did the crime, and (2) that the prosecution's case wasn't, in fact, presented well enough to convict him. I have read about conspiracy theories, Mob involvement, and possible drug deals gone bad, but the neatest hypothesis that fits almost all the evidence is that OJ did it. But there are several things still unsolved in my mind which continue to nag at me, and I will share them here. I focus primarily on the timeline, since all human beings must conform to the laws of time and nature.

The 78 Minute "Window"

OJ and Kato Kaelin, his live-in errand boy, returned from the Santa Monica McDonald's in OJ's Bentley (!) at 9:37 p.m. They went through the drive through window, with OJ eating his burger in the car on the way home and Kato waiting to make a meal of his once he returned to 360 N. Rockingham Ave. No one mentions where OJ's Bronco was at this time, but both a neighbor walking his dog between 9:30-9:45 and the limo driver who came by the Rockingham entrance to OJ's home at 10:22 (OJ was to catch an 11:45 p.m plane to Chicago) insist that it wasn't parked near the Rockingham gate entrance, where it would be found by police detectives at about 5:00 a.m. on June 13. The most likely hypothesis is that the Bronco was parked in the driveway, where most cars naturally would be. No one definitively saw OJ again until the limo driver saw him at 10:55 p.m. going into the house (he called him a large man in dark clothing). There was a motorist or two who claimed to see the Bronco near Nicole's condo at 875 S Bundy (less than two miles away) or near San Vicente about 10:45 p.m. that night. Yet, the 9:37 p.m. and 10:55 p.m. times are our "markers."

Mystery # 1--How/When did the Killings Take Place?

The prosecution and defense seemed to differ on this one; the former argued for about 10:15 p.m., when Nicole's Akita began barking; the defense at about 10:40 p.m., when a neighbor heard three words shouted by a male from the direction of the condo, "Hey, Hey, Hey!" followed by an indistinguishable response by another male. My first question, then, is whether the two killings happened at different times. One scenario is that OJ showed up (did he have a key to Nicole's gate? Did he park on the Bundy side or the Gretna Green side--to the West?) and Nicole came out of the door of the condo to meet him (didn't want to wake up the kids), an argument ensued and OJ hit her with some blunt object, knocking her out, before slitting her throat. One hypothesis might be that the killing was not planned, but that the direction of the conversation drove OJ into a rage and he did it. Contrary to this, however, were elements of premeditation (taking out the dome light of the Bronco; bringing a large deadly knife along, wearing dark sweats). But was she dead by the time that Goldman showed up to return Nicole's mother's glasses? It would have been difficult for him to have arrived there before about 10:30, since he didn't leave the Mezzaluna Restaurant, where he worked (on San Vicente) until 9:50 and then he went home and apparently changed out of his waiter garb. The shouts of "Hey, Hey, Hey!" are consistent with his coming upon OJ after he had just killed Nicole or was in the process of doing it. Goldman then became an "unintended" victim.

Back at North Rockingham Avenue

If we assume that the killing of Goldman took place at around 10:40 p.m, then OJ really had to leap into action to get back to his Rockingham place, because we have the word from Kato Kaelin that he heard "three thumps" on the south side of his cabin at about 10:40 or 10:45 p.m. It is important to focus on how to characterize these bumps, because if we see them as a "crash," we might try to conclude that OJ was climbing over the fence from the Salinger's property to the south. If, however, there were three "thumps," which Kato characterized as more like a "signal," we see it as someone (OJ, in my hypothesis) trying to rouse Kato, probably to go distract the limo driver, who was sitting outside the Ashford St. gate, while OJ entered the house.

But here is my question. If OJ arrived home at about 10:43, screeching to a halt by the Rockingham gate, not bringing the Bronco onto the property for fear of being seen, what is the most likely scenario for what happened next? It seems to be that OJ entered through the gate, took the narrow and dark path on the south side of the estate down to Kato's room, banged three times, losing the right hand glove in the process (it was pitch dark), and then retreated to the driveway where he could gather his things (did he bring the knapsack with the knife and lay it down by the Bentley upon entering the property?) and enter the house, which he did about 10:55 p.m. Maybe he hit Kato's wall at 10:50 p.m.; it seems like Kato isn't precisely sure about the time. But if OJ did this (and didn't try to scale the fence from the Salinger's property), why wasn't there any blood at all on the south pathway leading to Kato's room (a distance of about 100 feet), while there were several drops of blood when OJ returned to the driveway and then entered the house? Wouldn't it seem natural that if OJ was bleeding when he entered the Rockingham entrance (and there were three drops of blood there), that there would also be a few drops of blood while he stumbled along the darkened path on the south side of the house to Kato's room? For, if the drops of blood continued to flow when he resumed his walk on the driveway, we would think that they would also have dribbled in the seven or so minutes between OJ's arrival and home and his entry into the house. Confused on this one...

Conclusion--After OJ Entered His Home

So, he entered his home at 10:55 p.m. and the limousine actually pulled out for the airport at 11:15 p.m. I guess he made the plane ontime, though how he could do that in less than 30 minutes is sort of a mystery to me. Maybe the plane was delayed. In any case, he no doubt hurriedly went upstairs, ripped off his clothes, perhaps even took a quick shower, dressed in new clothes rapidly, brought down his packed clothes and then put his dirty clothes (along with the knife) in his knapsack. But, in his haste, he forgot to put his socks in the knapsack, thus leaving in my mind the biggest "smoking gun" clue--his socks with Nicole's blood on them in the bedroom.

During the trip to the airport, he seemed to complain about two things: being too hot (he was sweating) and having forgotten to do something at the house (had he remembered now that he left the incriminating socks on the floor of the master bedroom?). But it was too late. He had to race to LAX, get rid of his knapsack, catch the plane, get to Chicago, and act surprised when informed of the death of Nicole several hours later.

So, even though there are "unsolved" issues here, there probably are plausible explanations for them. But trial is something else, and the crack defense team managed to throw enough dirt in the eyes of the jury (DNA evidence was new and difficult to explain; the LAPD gathered evidence in a haphazard way; Mark Fuhrman's racist past was deftly exploited) to make them have some doubt. That was all it did to find OJ "Not Guilty."

3614