O.J. and Kato Dined at the Santa Monica McDonalds

According to the prosecution, Simpson was last seen in public at 9:36 p.m. that evening when he returned to the front gate of his house with Brian 'Kato' Kaelin, a bit-part actor and family friend who lived on the property of Simpson's estate, after the pair ate at a nearby McDonald's.

Brian Gerard "Kato" Kaelin (born March 9, 1959) is the one-time house guest of O.J. Simpson who became peripherally involved in the 1994–95 O.J. Simpson murder case and subsequent trial. At the time of the trial, he was an aspiring actor.

Kaelin was nicknamed "Kato" as a child after the character played by Bruce Lee in the television series, The Green Hornet. He graduated from Nicolet High School in Glendale, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin in 1977. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, where he was the game show host at the student-run, campus TV station, TV-10. He subsequently moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a career in baseball.

He was married to Cynthia Coulter from 1983 to 1989; they have one child. He has also dated Elizabeth Daily.Kaelin was "best friends" with actor/comedian Norm Macdonald from mid 2000 to mid 2001 according to Macdonald's The Norm Show co-star Artie Lange. Kaelin was even given a guest role on said show. The two had a "falling out," ending their friendship.

Kaelin came to notice for his role as a minor witness in the trial of O.J. Simpson for the murders of Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. In 1994, Kaelin was staying in a guest house on the Simpson property, and was present at the compound on the night of June 12, witnessing some of Simpson's movements before and after the time of the murders. Kaelin's story seemed to contradict Simpson's version of the events on some key points. However, his rambling and inconsistent testimony over four days of the 1995 criminal trial made him a less-than-ideal witness for the prosecution. Prosecutor Marcia Clark had him declared a hostile witness. Kaelin also testified at the 1996 civil trial against Simpson.As one of the more colorful figures in the Simpson case cast of characters, Kaelin received considerable media attention. He was the subject of jokes by TV comedians, who made fun of his spaced-out surf bum persona, lack of employment, and parasitic habits. One popular joke held that he was proof that Gilligan and Ginger Grant of Gilligan's Island had actually had children.

Prior to his involvement in the OJ Simpson trial, he was in an early 1990s movie called Beach Fever, in which he created a love potion with his friend and hit on girls at the beach, and starred in a low budget crime movie Night Shadow in 1989. He also had a minor role in National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2.In 1998, Kaelin went on a speaking tour billed as the The Sixteenth Minute, talking about life after his fifteen minutes of fame.Kaelin appeared on the first episode of the Fox sketch comedy MADtv (Oct. 1995) and also made a cameo appearance on the HBO sketch comedy, Mr. Show, during the show's first season (Nov. 1995) - in the episode entitled "We Regret to Inform You", he shows up at lobotomized actor Borden Grote's party.He has made numerous forays into reality television. In 2004, participated in the development of a 2004 reality show called House Guest where he would live in the homes of other (minor) celebrities. The show never aired. He was seen on an episode of the E! reality series Sunset Tan, asking specifically for a "farmer's tan". He was also a guest player on the 6th episode of the Comedy Central series Reality Bites Back. As of 2008, he is a contestant in the Fox Reality reality show Gimme My Reality Show, in which D-list celebrities compete to receive their own reality show.He has also participated in game shows. He was a contestant on the hit game show Russian Roulette. In 2005, Kaelin appeared in the first three National Lampoon's Strip Poker pay-per-view programs (Kaelin is an avid poker player). The titles were filmed at the notorious Hedonism II, a naturist resort in Negril, Jamaica, which led Kaelin to quip, "The first few days there were the hardest!" The Playboy bunnies, WWE Divas, and pin-up models competing in the no limit Texas hold 'em games, upon losing all their chips and clothes, had to dive into the "Pool of Shame" and visit "Kato's Guesthouse," where Kaelin would interview the nude defeated players. Kato also appeared in numerous comedic skits.He also has worked as a host on television and radio. For a short time in 1995 he worked as a radio talk host on KLSX in Los Angeles, and also provided online content for National Lampoon. In June 2005, Kato Kaelin began to host Eye for an Eye, a daytime TV court show that is in syndication in 34 countries. Kaelin is a recurring guest on the video game review show X-Play. He has also appeared periodically as a guest co-host for Confessions Live, a syndicated call-in talk show that was produced in Arkansas.In February 2009, Kaelin guest-starred in the web series Star-ving and the movie Whacked.He also appeared as a "not famous celebrity" on the TV show Reality Bites Back.

O.J. Simpson Sentenced for Hotel Robbery

Nicole Brown Simpson's Grave

Ronald Goldman's Gravesite

Nicole Simpson's Sister Upset with the Goldmans Over Book

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fred and Kim Goldman on Larry King

O.J. Simpson Civil Trial in Santa Monica

The parents of Goldman, Fred Goldman and Sharon Rufo, brought suit against Simpson for wrongful death, and Brown's estate, represented by her father Lou Brown, brought suit against Simpson in a "survivor suit," in a trial that took place over four months in Santa Monica and was not televised (by judge's order). The Goldman family was represented by Daniel Petrocelli, with Simpson represented by Bob Baker. Attorneys for both sides were given high marks by observing lawyers. Simpson's defense in the trial was estimated to cost $1 million and was paid for by an insurance policy on his company, Orenthal Enterprises.

At one point, Baker made a mistake that allowed Petrocelli to introduce evidence regarding Simpson's failure of a lie detector test about the murders. Fuhrman was not called to testify, and Simpson was subpoenaed to testify on his own behalf. The jury in the civil trial awarded Brown and Simpson's children, Sydney and Justin, $12.5 million from their father as recipients of their mother's estate.

Simpson came under fire following the civil verdict for "dodging" the jury's award against him by allegedly hiding assets from the Goldman family.

-- wiki

Goldman Family Reacts

O.J. Simpson Murder Trial Took Place at the L.A. Country Courthouse

Rather than try the crime in mostly white Santa Monica, California where murders occurring in Brentwood would normally have been held, the prosecution decided to have the trial in Los Angeles. Bugliosi criticized this decision in his book. During the jury selection process, the defense made it difficult for the prosecution to challenge potential black jurors on the grounds that it is illegal to dismiss someone from the jury for racially motivated reasons (California courts barred peremptory challenges to jurors based on race in People v. Wheeler, years before the U.S. Supreme Court would do so in Batson v. Kentucky.

According to media reports, prosecutor Marcia Clark thought that women, regardless of race, would sympathize with the domestic violence aspect of the case and connect with her personally. On the other hand, the defense's research suggested that women generally were more likely to acquit, that jurors did not respond well to Clark's style, and that black women would not be as sympathetic to a white woman as victim. Both sides accepted a disproportionate number of female jurors. From an original jury pool of 40% white, 28% black, 17% Hispanic, and 15% Asian, the final jury for the trial had 10 women and two men, of which there were nine blacks, two whites, and one Hispanic.

It has also been suggested that the biggest mistake of the prosecutor was to pack the jury with black women. The prosecutor did not realize that the black women in the jury would see the victim Nicole Simpson (a white woman) as the enemy who has been stealing successful black men away from black women and, therefore, deserved everything she got.

Discussion of the racial elements of the case continued long after the trial. Some polls and some commentators have concluded that many blacks, while having their doubts as to Simpson's innocence, were nonetheless more inclined to be suspicious of the credibility and fairness of the police and the courts, and thus less likely to question the outcome. After the civil trial verdict against Simpson, most whites believed justice had been served and most blacks (75%) disagreeing with the verdict and believing the verdict to be racially motivated. An NBC poll taken in 2004 reported that, although 77% of 1,186 people sampled thought Simpson was guilty, only 27% of blacks in the sample believed so, compared to 87% of whites. Whatever the exact nature of the "racial divide," the Simpson case continues to be assessed through the lens of race.

Judge Lance Ito was also criticized for allowing the case to become a media circus and not regulating the court proceedings as much as he could have.

Computational simulations of inference to the best explanation in legal decision theory have shown different results depending of the model assumed. Amalia Amaya's model based on coherence concludes, in a paper presented in 2007, that acquittal for reasonable doubt is the best legal explanation for all the facts.

-- wiki

The Stanley Mosk Courthouse houses several departments of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. While the Rodney King LAPD trial took place at a courthouse in Simi Valley, the Los Angeles Riots of 1992 began as protestors arrived downtown at the Los Angeles County Courthouse following the aquittals.

Los Angeles Superior Court
Stanley Mosk Courthouse
111 North Hill Street
Los Angeles, California

Notorious: LA Edition

O.J. Simpson's Rockingham Gate

According to the prosecution, Simpson was last seen in public at 9:36 p.m. that evening when he returned to the front gate of his house with Brian 'Kato' Kaelin, a bit-part actor and family friend who lived on the property of Simpson's estate, after the pair ate at a nearby McDonald's. Simpson was not seen again until 10:54 p.m., an hour and 18 minutes later, when he came out of the front door of his house to a waiting limousine hired to take him to LAX Airport to fly to a Hertz convention in Chicago. Both the defense and prosecution agreed that the murders took place between 10:15 and 10:40 p.m., with the prosecution saying that Simpson drove his white Bronco the five minutes to and from the murder scene. They presented a witness in the area of Bundy Drive who saw a car similar to Simpson's Bronco speeding away from the area at 10:35 p.m.

According to his testimony, limousine driver Allan Park arrived at Simpson's estate at 10:25 p.m. Driving past the Rockingham gate, he did not see Simpson's white Bronco parked at the curb. Park testified that he had been looking for and had seen the house number, and the prosecution presented exhibits to show that the position in which the Bronco was found the next morning was right next to the house number (implying that Park would surely have noticed the Bronco if it had been there at that time). According to Simpson's version of events, the Bronco had been parked in that position for several hours. Meanwhile, Kato Kaelin was on the phone to his friend, Rachel Ferrara. Park parked opposite the Ashford gate, then drove back to the Rockingham gate to check which driveway would have the best access for the limo. Deciding that the Rockingham entrance was too tight, he returned to the Ashford gate and began to buzz the intercom at 10:40, getting no response. He then made a series of calls to his boss's (Dale St.John) pager and then to his home, trying to get Simpson's home number. At approximately 10:50, Kato Kaelin (who was still on the phone to Rachel Ferrara) heard three thumps against the outside wall of his guest house. He ventured outside to investigate but decided not to venture directly down the dark south pathway. Instead he walked to the front of the property where he saw Allan Park's limousine outside the gate.

At the same time Park saw Kaelin come from the back of the property to the front, he saw "a tall black man" of Simpson's height and build enter the front door of the house, after which lights went on and Simpson finally answered Park's call, explaining that he had overslept and would be at the front gate soon. Kaelin opened the front gate to let Park onto the estate grounds. Both Kaelin and Park helped Simpson put his belongings in the trunk of the limo for the ride to the airport, where both remarked that Simpson looked agitated. But other witnesses, such as the ticket clerk at LAX who checked Simpson onto the plane and a few others, testified that Simpson looked and acted perfectly normal. Conflicting testimony such as this was to be a recurring theme through the trial.Simpson's claim that he was asleep at the time of the murders was replaced by a series of different stories. According to the defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran, Simpson had never left his house that night and that he was alone in his house packing to travel to Chicago. Cochran claims that Simpson went outside to hit a few golf balls into the children's sandbox in the front garden, one or more of which made the three loud thumps on the wall of Kaelin's bungalow. Cochran produced a potential alibi witness, Rosa Lopez, a neighbor's Spanish-speaking housekeeper who testified that she had seen Simpson's car parked outside his house at the time of the murders. But Lopez's testimony, which was not presented to the jury, was pulled apart under cross-examination when she was forced to admit that she could not be sure of the precise time she saw Simpson's white Bronco outside his house.

-- wiki

The house in Brentwood where the former football star once lived was long ago bought and flattened, replaced by a Mediterranean with a new address, sky-high hedges and a sign on the door warning, “Dog on Property.”

Some of the tourist maps to stars’ addresses no longer show Mr. Simpson’s home.

-- Jennifer Steinhauer - Los Angeles Journal

OJ on the Run: The Bronco Chase

O.J. Simpson's Ashford Gate

According to his testimony, limousine driver Allan Park arrived at Simpson's estate at 10:25 p.m. Driving past the Rockingham gate, he did not see Simpson's white Bronco parked at the curb. Park testified that he had been looking for and had seen the house number, and the prosecution presented exhibits to show that the position in which the Bronco was found the next morning was right next to the house number (implying that Park would surely have noticed the Bronco if it had been there at that time). According to Simpson's version of events, the Bronco had been parked in that position for several hours. Meanwhile, Kato Kaelin was on the phone to his friend, Rachel Ferrara.

Park parked opposite the Ashford gate, then drove back to the Rockingham gate to check which driveway would have the best access for the limo. Deciding that the Rockingham entrance was too tight, he returned to the Ashford gate and began to buzz the intercom at 10:40, getting no response. He then made a series of calls to his boss's (Dale St.John) pager and then to his home, trying to get Simpson's home number. At approximately 10:50, Kato Kaelin (who was still on the phone to Rachel Ferrara) heard three thumps against the outside wall of his guest house. He ventured outside to investigate but decided not to venture directly down the dark south pathway. Instead he walked to the front of the property where he saw Allan Park's limousine outside the gate.

-- wiki

The house in Brentwood where the former football star once lived was long ago bought and flattened, replaced by a Mediterranean with a new address, sky-high hedges and a sign on the door warning, “Dog on Property.”

Some of the tourist maps to stars’ addresses no longer show Mr. Simpson’s home.

-- Jennifer Steinhauer - Los Angeles Journal

The O.J. Simpsons: IF I DID IT!

O.J.'s Corner: Rockingham & Ashford

The house in Brentwood where the former football star once lived was long ago bought and flattened, replaced by a Mediterranean with a new address, sky-high hedges and a sign on the door warning, “Dog on Property.”

Some of the tourist maps to stars’ addresses no longer show Mr. Simpson’s home.

-- Jennifer Steinhauer - Los Angeles Journal

The Ghost of Brentwood: Nicole Brown Simpson

Bronco Alley Behind Nicole's Bundy Condo

Even with no murder weapon, no good fingerprints, and no witnesses to the murders, the prosecution was confident that they presented a solid case, supported by DNA evidence, and they fully expected a conviction. According to the prosecution's account of the murders, as Nicole Brown was lying face down, Simpson pulled her head back using her hair, put his foot on her back, and slit her throat, severing her carotid artery. They then argued that Simpson left a "trail of blood" from the condo to his Bronco to his house on Rockingham Drive.

According to the prosecution, Simpson was last seen in public at 9:36 p.m. that evening when he returned to the front gate of his house with Brian 'Kato' Kaelin, a bit-part actor and family friend who lived on the property of Simpson's estate, after the pair ate at a nearby McDonald's. Simpson was not seen again until 10:54 p.m., an hour and 18 minutes later, when he came out of the front door of his house to a waiting limousine hired to take him to LAX Airport to fly to a Hertz convention in Chicago. Both the defense and prosecution agreed that the murders took place between 10:15 and 10:40 p.m., with the prosecution saying that Simpson drove his white Bronco the five minutes to and from the murder scene. They presented a witness in the area of Bundy Drive who saw a car similar to Simpson's Bronco speeding away from the area at 10:35 p.m.

PULP VACATION 1995 Part XXVII O..J. Tour

Bundy Drive Courtyard Murder Scene

Hired by Nicole's father, Lou Brown, to measure the economic impact that the crime scene stigma had on the Bundy property, economist and crisis consultant Randall Bell writes in his book, Disasters: Wasted Lives, Valuable Lessons, "Right after the murders, thousands of people showed up and just stood around staring at the crime scene. This continued through the long-standing trial. Relying on research I'd done on the Charles Manson murders at the home of Sharon Tate, I advised Mr. Brown that the dimunition around the property would gradually decrease and the market value would go back up. Two and one-half years after the murders, the property was purchased by a very nice couple. They asked my advice and I suggested they change both the address and the facade on Bundy Drive, which, I believed would keep the gawking down. Some months later, while working a nearby case, I decided to see if my advice had been followed. Although I had been to the condo many times, I drove right past it - it was no longer recognizable to me."

On the morning of June 13, 1994, neighbors, alerted by a barking dog, found the mutilated bodies of Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in the enclosed front courtyard of her condo on South Bundy Drive in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. Goldman was a waiter at the restaurant Mezzaluna, where Brown and her family had dined that evening. He was at her condominium to return a pair of eyeglasses that Brown's mother, Juditha, had accidentally dropped outside the restaurant at the curb. Both Goldman and Brown had been stabbed multiple times. While the killer was committing the murders, Sydney and Justin, her children by Simpson, were asleep inside the condominium.

O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson had divorced two years earlier. Evidence found and collected at the scene led police to suspect that O.J. Simpson was the murderer. Nicole had been stabbed multiple times through the throat to the point of near decapitation; her vertebrae was almost severed, and she also had a swollen face. Goldman's body was found with 'teaser' wounds on it, implying that the murderer taunted him with the knife before actually killing him.

Brown's bloody Akita dog was found barking at the crime scene at 11 p.m., and the prosecution narrowed the time frame of the murders to 10:15 to 10:40 p.m.
-- wiki

Death2ur's visit to the murder site of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman

Nicole Simpson's Bundy Drive

Bundy Drive is a congested north/south four lane thoroughfare that passes through the heart of West Los Angeles and is infamous for being the street where Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were murdered on June 12, 1994.

On the morning of June 13, 1994, neighbors, alerted by a barking dog, found the mutilated bodies of Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in the enclosed front courtyard of her condo on South Bundy Drive in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. Goldman was a waiter at the restaurant Mezzaluna, where Brown and her family had dined that evening. He was at her condominium to return a pair of eyeglasses that Brown's mother, Juditha, had accidentally dropped outside the restaurant at the curb. Both Goldman and Brown had been stabbed multiple times. While the killer was committing the murders, Sydney and Justin, her children by Simpson, were asleep inside the condominium.

O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson had divorced two years earlier. Evidence found and collected at the scene led police to suspect that O.J. Simpson was the murderer. Nicole had been stabbed multiple times through the throat to the point of near decapitation; her vertebrae was almost severed, and she also had a swollen face. Goldman's body was found with 'teaser' wounds on it, implying that the murderer taunted him with the knife before actually killing him.

Brown's bloody Akita dog was found barking at the crime scene at 11 p.m., and the prosecution narrowed the time frame of the murders to 10:15 to 10:40 p.m.

-- wiki

OJ, Nicole and Ron: Countdown to Murder documentary

A Bad Day Continued at the Simpson Recital

4:30 p.m. Dance for Kids presents a western-themed recital called "On the Farm" at Paul Revere Middle School in Brentwood. Sydney performs, to Kenny Loggins's "Footloose," in a bell-bottomed outfit decorated with silver-spangled fringes. Nicole, wearing a black cocktail dress, sits with Justin, her mother, Juditha Brown, 63, and several friends; O.J. Simpson arrives late, driving his 1988 Bentley, and sits apart from Nicole and the others.

6 p.m. In the school parking lot after the dance recital, Nicole and Simpson, who were divorced in October 1992 but had attempted several reconciliations, talk briefly. He tries unsuccessfully to get the family together for a photograph.

-- People Magazine Timeline

Putting lessons from OJ

Where O.J. Played Golf That Morning

6 a.m. O.J. Simpson tees off 19 minutes after sunrise at the Riviera Country Club, a tony, old-money retreat studded with eucalyptus trees not far from his Brentwood home. One member of his foursome, movie producer Craig Baumgarten, 45, botches a shot and irritably blames Simpson, who becomes angry. But the tension quickly subsides. "There was never a moment when we thought they'd come to blows," says one member of the foursome. "We laughed about it later." Afterward, the golfers have lunch, then settle into the card room of the Spanish-style clubhouse to play gin rummy.

-- People Magazine Timeline

If OJ Did It....

Murder Victim Ronald Goldman's Brentwood Bachelor Pad

Ronald Lyle "Ron" Goldman (July 2, 1968 – June 12, 1994) was an American aspiring model and waiter. He was murdered in 1994 along with Nicole Brown Simpson, former wife of O. J. Simpson, an actor and retired American football player. The subsequent criminal investigation and trial against O. J. Simpson was described by some as the "trial of the century." Although Simpson was acquitted following the criminal trial, he was later held liable for Goldman's death and that of his ex-wife in a 1997 civil trial.

At the time of his murder, Goldman was working as a waiter at Mezzaluna Trattoria, a restaurant located at 11750 San Vicente Boulevard in Los Angeles. Nicole Brown Simpson, a friend of Goldman and the ex-wife of O. J. Simpson, had called to report that her mother Juditha Brown had accidentally left her eyeglasses on the table. After a quick search, they were discovered in the gutter outside the restaurant. Although Goldman had not served Nicole's table, he agreed to bring them to her home after work. Some authors, including Gerry Spence and Mark Fuhrman, have cited this fact as evidence that Simpson and Goldman were lovers. Goldman told friends that he was "just friends" with Simpson.Before returning the eyeglasses, Goldman stopped at his apartment located at 11663 Gorham Avenue in Brentwood to change clothes and possibly took a shower. When he arrived at Nicole Brown Simpson's condominium located at 875 South Bundy Drive, he was murdered along with Simpson on the walkway leading to the residence, just a few weeks shy of his 26th birthday. During a reconstruction of the events, police believe he had arrived during or shortly after the murder of Simpson, and was stabbed to death in the process.O. J. Simpson was charged and tried for both the murders of Goldman and his ex-wife. In October 1995, Simpson was found 'not guilty' of both murders. In a 1997 civil trial, a jury found Simpson liable for Goldman's death and awarded $33 million (USD) in damages to the Goldman family.During the trial, Fred Goldman lashed out at defense attorney Johnnie Cochran's courtroom rhetoric such as the labelling of Mark Fuhrman as a Hitler, and his use of bodyguards from the black nationalist group Nation of Islam. Simpson's family, in turn, verbally attacked Goldman, who was supported outside the court by chanting members of the Jewish Defense League.

The rights to O. J. Simpson's book, If I Did It, a first-person account of how he would have committed the murders, were awarded to the Goldman family in August 2007. The family was granted the proceeds from the book in 2007 as part of a $33.5 million civil jury award against the ex-football star they have been trying to collect for over a decade. The Goldmans own the copyright, media rights and movie rights. They also acquired Simpson's name, likeness, life story and right of publicity in connection with the book, according to court documents. After renaming the book to If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, the Goldmans published it in September 2007 through Beaufort Books. Within days it became a bestseller.The Goldman family contributed a portion of proceeds from the If I Did It book sale to the newly-founded Ron Goldman Foundation for Justice. The foundation provides grants for multiple organizations and programs that provide resources to victims and survivors of violent crimes.
--- wiki

OJ Simpson and Nicole Brown The Last Video

Nicole Simpson's Last Meal

On the morning of June 13, 1994, neighbors, alerted by a barking dog, found the mutilated bodies of Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in the enclosed front courtyard of her condo on South Bundy Drive in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. Goldman was a waiter at the restaurant Mezzaluna, where Brown and her family had dined that evening. He was at her condominium to return a pair of eyeglasses that Brown's mother, Juditha, had accidentally dropped outside the restaurant at the curb. Both Goldman and Brown had been stabbed multiple times.

-- wiki

911 Call by Nicole Simpson ( private investigator )