O.J. SIMPSON MURDER CASE By Harmita, Ashley, Peter

O.J Simpson Born in San Fransisco (1947) Former American football star for the NFL, actor, and sports commentator Considered one of the greatest running backs in football history Has four children and one deceased Accused of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman

The Murder June 12, 1994 Nicole and Goldman found stabbed and slashed to death Bodies were found at Nicole’s Condominium in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, CA Bettina Rasmussen, Brown’s neighbor, found Simpson and Goldman’s bodies and her dog unattended with bloody paws

The Investigation Phillip Vannatter, Ronald Phillips, Tom Lange, and Mark Fuhrman were the police officers to search the premises. Children were found upstairs asleep Secured the scene and made a walk through Went to O.J. Simpson’s house, where the Ford Bronco was located with blood around the exterior. O.J. Simpson was contacted, while he was away in Chicago for a meeting. Then he was a suspect because of his reaction and the blood on his Bronco

The Arrest Simpson was taken in for questioning June 17, 1994- Simpson is located at friend’s house Robert Kardashain Chased by police in his Ford bronco driven by friend A.C. Cowlings Simpson is taken into custody at his home on Rockingham

Evidence found at the scene

Matching gloves Hair Evidence in OJ’S trial Ronald Goldman’s shirt http://www.wagnerandson.com/images/shirts.jpg

Continued……. Blood stained socks Blood in ford bronco & back gate Carpet cotton fibers on the knit cap & gloves.

Blood evidence Simpson’s foyer Paper Sidewalk Fence

Physical evidence continued… Trail of bloody shoe prints . William Bodziak, testified that the murder scene shoe prints were left by size 12 Bruno Magli casual shoes. * Shoe comparision

Evidence cont.. Blood on the steps Blood was found in front of her body and behind it on the first step. Her body was positioned in another way as if she was killed somewhere else. They performed a splatter test Concluded that her throat was slashed over the step and a pint of blood came out in 5 seconds.

Autopsy of the victims death from multiple sharp force injuries single edged knife Nicole’s dead body . 7 stab wound . Neck . scalp . Incisions . ring finger of her right hand . Bruises . Right partial Ronald Goldman’s dead body . stab wound . Chest . Abdomen . Left thigh . Incisions . Scalp . face . neck . left hand

Evidence Ross Cutlery provided store receipts indicating that Simpson had purchased a 12 inch stiletto knife six weeks before the murders. Officers found arrest records indicating that Simpson was charged with the beating of his wife Nicole. Simpson was sentenced with 3 years of community service for this crime.

Blood evidence Chain of custody Must be frozen within 48 hours The precipitin test Chain of custody Must be frozen within 48 hours Benzidine color test & kastle meyer test- determine blood based on haemoglobin Microcrystalline test(Teichmann and Takayama) Percipitin test RFLP or PCR RFLP

RFLP testing

PCR results the blood left on the glove found in the back yard at O.J. Simpson's estate matched that of Goldman and Nicole Simpson. blood and stains found near the bodies showed genetic match with the OJ SIMPSON. small blood stains on a sock in O.J. Simpson's bedroom had the same genetic blueprints as Nicole Brown Simpson. blood drop lifted from O.J. Simpson's foyer contained DNA with the same distinctive series of genetic markers as Simpson's blood. O.J. Simpson's DNA banding pattern appeared to match DNA from a blood drop from the Bundy Drive walkway leading to the rear of the residence, as well as a blood drop from driveway of Nicole Simpson's home. And PCR tests also indicated that the nail scrapings and clippings from Nicole Simpson's body appeared to be her own. DNA tests matched blood collection from the white Bronco, sock, glove, O.J.’s driveway, and O.J.’s home with OJ Simpson.

Other analysis SEM can typically determine the species, race, and somatic origin of a hair. Use of comparative microscope to link suspect to the crime scene. You can also use SEM for analyze fiber structure. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for fiber analysis Scanning Electron Microscope

The Trail

The Lawyer O.J. Simpson hired high-profile defense team led by Jonnie Cochran He led the jury to reasonable doubt on creating doubt about the DNA evidence Cochran suggested police bias and misconduct, and suggested mishandling of evidence “If the glove doesn’t fit you must acquit”

Evidence submitted to court: Crime scene blood Blood drops were found alongside bloody shoe prints leading away crime scene blood was found on a gate at the back of the murder scene condominium Both sample of blood contained O.J Simpson's genetic markers. Simpson had a cut on his left middle finger when interviewed by police the day after the killings

Arguments to Crime Scene Blood Arguments by the defense alleged samples were sloppily collected and poorly handled, rendering DNA results unreliable raised possibility that blood was planted by someone who took it from a police crime lab vial that contained Simpson's blood and a blood preservative; most compelling evidence was bloodstains on paper wrapping that was supposed to be holding dry blood samples wound on Simpson's left hand was only a minor one he suffered in his house - not enough to drip as much blood as prosecutors found - and that Simpson re-injured the finger when he cut it on a glass in a Chicago hotel room the morning after killings, before police interviewed him.

Arguments to Crime Scene Blood Prosecution Arguments Place Simpson at the crime scene He dripped blood after committing the crimes Scientific testing and controls discarded any possibility of contamination or tampering

Evidence Submitted to Court: Bloody Shoe Prints Matched a size 12 Bruno Magli, a rare Italian made shoe

Arguments to Bloody Shoe Prints Arguments by the Defense No Murder shoes were ever recovered Thousands of shoes of that kind were sold No evidence to show that Simpson ever owned a pair Introduced fact that imprints were found that didn’t match the Bruno Magli shoes

Arguments to Bloody Shoe Prints Prosecution Arguments Tried to imply Simpson could have owned such pair of shoes as they were sold at Bloomingdales in New York were Simpson frequently shopped Simpson wears a 12

Evidence Submitted to Court: Crime Scene Hairs and Fibers Hairs found in a dark knit cap were similar to Simpson's hairs Fibers on a cap were similar to those in the carpeting of Simpson's Ford Bronco Dark blue cotton fibers were found on Goldman.

Arguments to Hair and Fibers Arguments by the Defense Hairs mean that assailant was black – 10% of LA population Hair appeared to be dandruff free – Simpson’s hair contained dandruff Dark blue sweat suit was never found Fiber evidence could have been cast around scene when an officer unrolled blanket from inside house to cover Nicole’s body

Arguments to Hair and Fibers Prosecution Arguments Witness stated he saw Simpson night of the murders wearing a dark blue suit Evidence places Simpson at crime scene

Evidence Submitted to Court: Bloody Gloves One dark, cashmere-lined Aris Light leather glove, size extra large, was found at the murder scene The Other was found behind Simpson's guest house DNA tests showed blood on glove found on Simpson's property appeared to contain genetic markers of Simpson and both victims a long strand of blond hair similar to Ms. Simpson's also was found on that glove.

Arguments to Bloody Glove Arguments by the Defense Glove found behind guest house was planted by racist cop - Detective Mark Fuhrman Blood on glove was planted Hair analysis isn’t sophisticated Glove didn’t fit

Arguments to Bloody Glove Prosecution Arguments Simpson lost left glove in struggle Accidentally dropped other glove while trying to hide it Glove didn’t fit b/c it shrunk due to being soaked in blood Also was wearing rubber gloves underneath

Evidence Submitted to Court: Bloody Socks One pair of Dark socks found crumpled at foot of Simpson’s Bed DNA test showed Genetic Markers found belonging to both Simpson and Ex-Wife.

Arguments to Bloody Socks Argument by the Defense Socks were planted in Simpson’s house Blood was later added to socks in the lab Most compelling evidence of tampering is that blood had soaked all the way through one sock - shouldn't have happened if a foot was in it.

Arguments to Bloody Socks Prosecution Arguments Sock directly linked Simpson to one of the victim’s

Evidence Submitted to Court: Bloody Bronco Small spot of blood found near outside driver's door handle More blood found smeared inside on console, door, steering wheel and carpeting DNA tests showed some of the blood apparently a mixture with genetic markers of Simpson and the victims.

Arguments to Bloody Bronco Arguments by the Defense Challenged DNA results – particularly the match to Goldman Genetic material of unknown person found on steering wheel Police planted some of the blood Bronco entered twice by unauthorized people while it sat in impound

Arguments to Bloody Bronco Prosecution Arguments Simpson drove vehicle to and from crime scene

Trial cont…. Juries didn’t understand the significance of the evidence. Even though incontrovertible DNA evidence indicated that Simpson was present at the crime scene and that blood from Nicole and Goldman were left on Simpson’s clothes, the jury dismisses this evidence. The fact that DNA analysis identifies the different blood types with such accuracy that you could exclude every other human being on the face of the earth, seems to have been ignored by the jury. Later interviews with jury members revealed that they indeed did not truly understand how accurate DNA analysis was and that the blood evidence was not that important.  

Refrences http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/663943/trace_evidence_in_the_oj_simpson_case.html altered dimensions/OJ SIMPSON http://www.cnn.com/US/OJ/evidence/index.html http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/Simpson/Evidence.html http://www.usatoday.com/news/index/nns25.htm http://www.cnn.com/US/OJ/evidence/physical/pros.exhibits.html