O. J. Simpson’s estate to pay $58 million to the father of one of the victims, 30 years after the murders

Orenthal James Simpson, better known as O.J. Simpson, continues to make headlines more than a year after his death. The executor of the former NFL star’s estate has reached a multimillion-dollar settlement, agreeing to pay nearly $58 million (€49.9 million) to Fred Goldman, the father of Ron Goldman. Both Ron and Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown were found dead more than 30 years ago, stabbed to death in the courtyard of her condominium in Brentwood, California.

The money will come from the estate of O. J. Simpson, who starred in what became known as the “trial of the century.” In 1995, he was accused of murdering his ex-wife and her friend, a part-time model and waiter. The trial lasted a year and became one of the darkest episodes in the history of the American justice system. O. J. Simpson represented the paradigm of the influence of money on judicial decisions.

A year after Simpson was acquitted, Fred Goldman, a lawyer, took the case to a civil court. A judge found O.J. Simpson liable for the wrongful deaths of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson and ordered him to pay millions of dollars in damages to the families. Simpson spent the rest of his life avoiding payment until his death from cancer last April. It was recently revealed that he had only paid about $130,000 of the more than $33 million he owed.

Malcolm LaVergne, the executor of Simpson’s estate, has accepted Fred’s claim for $57,997,858.12, plus judgment interest on the approved amount, according to court documents filed this week. The news was first reported Saturday by the online celebrity gossip magazine TMZ.

The case dates back to mid-June 1994 when television stations around the world broadcast images of a car chase on a Los Angeles freeway. Simpson was arrested as the prime suspect in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her alleged lover, a young waiter named Ron Goldman.

The trial became a media circus. It was broadcast on the country’s major networks in a case that captivated the American public. It had all the ingredients of a soap opera: a sports star at the center, alleged infidelities, jealousy and murder. The trial dragged on for a year. And the outcome was that Simpson was acquitted and avoided prison despite the overwhelming evidence against him.

Simpson’s life was never the same again. He wandered through several states until he ended up in jail for armed robbery. He had intended to steal valuable sports memorabilia. After nine years in prison, he settled in Las Vegas, where he lived quietly until his death.

“He died without penance,” Fred Goldman’s lawyer told People magazine. “He did not want to give a dime, a nickel to Fred, never, anything, never.” The $58 million settlement was set during a review of the civil trial held in 2022.

In 2006, Simpson released a memoir, If I Did It, containing a hypothetical account of the murder. The book caused considerable controversy because it was presented as a confession by the killer. After its publication, a court awarded the book rights to the Goldman family.

LaVergne, the executor, explained to TMZ that the $58 million in settlements to Fred Goldman will be paid as O.J. Simpson’s properties, some of which were reportedly stolen, are auctioned off. Although he now appears cooperative, LaVergne asserted last year after O.J. Simpson’s death that he would never give the Goldmans a single penny.

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