OJ Simpson, the former American football star and Hollywood actor who was cleared of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in a criminal trial, has died aged 76.
He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren when he “succumbed to his battle with cancer” on Wednesday, his family said on X.
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Simpsonwas tried for double murder in 1995, in what was dubbed the “trial of the century”, which gripped the world.
He was found not guilty of killing Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, but was later found responsible for the deaths in a civil lawsuit.
Simpson was then imprisoned in 2008 for nine years for armed robbery and kidnapping after an incident at a Las Vegas hotel.
Local 10 News in Nevada reported in February this year that Simpson was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, but the former NFL running back said in a video at the time that “all is well”.
Posting on X, Simpson laughed as he said: “I’m not in any hospice, I don’t know who put that out there.”
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0:30
‘Hospice?’ OJ Simpson speaks in February
Caitlyn Jenner, whose ex-wife Kris Jenner was a close friend of the retired footballer and Ms Brown Simpson, said bluntly “good riddance” in response to Simpson’s death.
David Cook, attorney for Mr Goldman’s family, also told TMZ that Simpson “died without penance” as the family is still owed damages. He added that the Goldmans are exploring their options on what assets they can collect from Simpson’s estate.
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Simpson was acquitted after a 1995 criminal trial watched by millions worldwide, where Simpson famously tried on a pair of blood-stained gloves allegedly found at the scene of the crime.
The gloves appeared to be too small, leading defence attorney Johnnie Cochran to say: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
Alan Dershowitz, another of Simpson’s lawyers at the time, said the defence was “a nightmare team” and that he did not want the former NFL star to take the stand.
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OJ: ‘It was a nightmare team’
“Ultimately it was the glove” that persuaded Simpson not to speak at the trial, Mr Dershowitz told Sky News.
“When he was able to go in front of the jury and show them that the glove didn’t fit, that led him to conclude, and he made the decision, not to take the stand.
“In the civil case, he took the stand and was immediately found liable.”
Image: OJ Simpson tries on one of the leather gloves allegedly found at the scene of the 1994 killings. Pic: AP
Image: OJ Simpson appears in a courtroom for his preliminary hearing in 2007. Pic: AP
Nicknamed “The Juice”, Orenthal James Simpson rose to fame as a sports star in the Buffalo Bills team.
He was enrolled in the NFL’s hall of fame and was the first running back to gain 2,000 yards in a season in 1973.
He also became known as an advertising star, football commentator and Hollywood actor, appearing in a number of TV and film roles including the Naked Gun movie series.
Image: OJ Simpson became famous as a running back for the Buffalo Bills. Pic: AP
Image: Nicknamed ‘The Juice’, Simpson became a star of TV and film after his NFL career. Pic: AP
Simpson was charged with two counts of first-degree murder after Ms Brown Simpson and Mr Goldman were stabbed to death at her Los Angeles home on 12 June 1994.
After he was accused of the killings, Simpson wrote a letter which insisted he was innocent, said goodbye to friends and made “a last wish” to “leave my children in peace”.
On 17 June that year, his lawyer Robert Shapiro feared Simpson was suicidal, while a white Ford Bronco carrying the former footballer led police on a 60-mile chase through Los Angeles.
Image: OJ Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson in 1993. They divorced in 1992. Pic: AP
Image: A white Ford Bronco carrying OJ Simpson was trailed by Los Angeles police on 17 June 1994. Pic: AP
Simpson was acquitted of double murder on 3 October 1995.
A civil wrongful death lawsuit later found him liable for the two deaths in 1997. He was ordered to pay $33.5m in damages, but he declared bankruptcy shortly after.
Simpson was later arrested in 2007 for armed robbery and kidnapping in a dispute over sports memorabilia at a Las Vegas casino hotel.
Image: OJ Simpson being taken from the Las Vegas Police Investigative Services Division, 16 September 2007. Pic: AP Photo / John Locher
Sky News’ Steve Bennedik recalls how Simpson’s trial was covered
It was the first few weeks of 1995 when Sky News’ live coverage of the OJ Simpson court case got under way. Each evening we showed the trial and invited questions. In those days, the main form of correspondence was by letter.
But there was also a new electronic method emerging, called email. And the first of these had the simple, but deflating, sentence: “Which one is OJ?”
We asked ourselves: Is our audience ready to follow the story of a very American tragedy unfold on British TV? We decided to stick with it.
In contrast, OJ Simpson was a household name in the US. So much more than an ex-football star. But the shock of this icon being arrested for murder, the bizarre Bronco highway chase, the high-profile celebrity defence team, and ultimately the “did he do it?” question had universal attraction.
Although the case stuttered through until October, the weak Judge Lance Ito was obsequious to lawyers’ demands for delays, but the interest among Sky News viewers surged and remained undimmed.
As the court camera panned to the state of California seal, signalling another adjournment, we and no doubt the viewer sighed.
More behind-the-scenes legal wrangling, but we had an ace up our sleeve – Professor Gary Solis. Gary is a Vietnam veteran, former military judge advocate, with alma maters including George Washington University and the London School of Economics.
At the time, he was in London and ready to give up his evenings. He calmly steered our presenters, Laurie and Vivien, and our often puzzled viewers through the complexities of the Californian legal system and became a firm favourite with the newsroom and the public alike.
The court characters emerged. Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden for the prosecution, and the “Dream Team” defence – Jonnie Cochran, F Lee Bailey, Alan Dershowitz and Robert Kardashian, whose children would go on to outshine his fame.
It was compelling court drama, but it was also the very tragic story of two young people who’d been savagely attacked and murdered, with their families devastated by the loss, and tormented by the lingering back and forth court battle.
The proceedings had lasted months, but the jury reached their verdict in just a few hours and when they returned to the courtroom to deliver it, an early evening audience in the UK was hanging on every moment. And then it was over. OJ was a free man.
The People of the State of California v Orenthal James Simpson faded as a memory, flickering back to life with the news of his death.
He was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison in 2008. After nine years in a Nevada prison, he was released on parole in 2017 and then discharged from parole for good behaviour in 2021.
Since then, Simpson regularly commented on politics and sports on social media. He lived in a gated community in Las Vegas where he played golf.
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The US Justice Department has released a transcript of an interview with Ghislaine Maxwell – the jailed ex-girlfriend of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Maxwell said in the interview with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche last month that she never saw US President Donald Trump in an “inappropriate setting”.
According to the transcript, Maxwell said: “I never witnessed the president in any inappropriate setting in any way. The president was never inappropriate with anybody.”
Image: Trump and Epstein at a party together in 1992. Pic: NBC News
Maxwell also recalled knowing about Mr Trump and possibly meeting him for the first time in 1990, when her newspaper magnate father, Robert Maxwell, was the owner of the New York Daily News.
“I may have met Donald Trump at that time, because my father was friendly with him and liked him very much,” Maxwell said, according to the transcript.
Maxwell said her father was fond of Mr Trump’s then-wife, Ivana, “because she was also from Czechoslovakia, where my dad was from.”
She was sentenced in the US in June 2022 to 20 years in prison following her conviction on five counts of sex trafficking for luring young girls to massage rooms for Epstein to abuse. She has asked the US Supreme Court to overturn her conviction.
Epstein, 66, was found dead in his cell at a Manhattan federal jail in August 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide.
Image: Jeffrey Epstein. File pic: New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP
His case has generated endless attention and conspiracy theories due to his and Maxwell’s links to famous people like royals, presidents and billionaires, including Mr Trump. No one other than Epstein and Maxwell has been charged with crimes.
Mr Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. During Maxwell’s trial in 2021, Epstein’s longtime pilot, Lawrence Visoski, said Mr Trump flew on Epstein’s private plane several times. Mr Trump has denied flying on the plane.
Maxwell said in her interview with the Justice Department that she never saw Mr Trump receive a massage.
She told Mr Blanche that Mr Trump “was always very cordial and very kind to me”, adding: “And I just want to say that I admire his extraordinary achievement in becoming the president now.”
The release of the transcript comes after Mr Trump has faced criticism from Republican supporters and Democrats over his Justice Department’s decision not to release further details relating to Epstein, after the now US president promised to do so during the election.
Image: Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
The Justice Department previously said a review of the Epstein case had found “no incriminating ‘client list'” and “no credible evidence” the jailed financier had blackmailed famous men.
In the transcript of the department’s interview with Maxwell, Epstein’s former girlfriend said that she is not aware of any Epstein ‘client list’.
After her interview in July, Maxwell was moved to a minimum-security prison camp in Bryan, Texas, by the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) after she was held at a low-security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, that housed men and women.
The Texas camp houses solely female prisoners, the majority of whom are serving time for nonviolent offences and white-collar crimes.
Neither Maxwell’s lawyer nor the BOP gave a reason for the move.
Maxwell’s legal team have maintained that she was wrongly prosecuted and denied a fair trial, and have floated the idea of a pardon from Mr Trump.
Image: Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US Department of Justice
The president said earlier this month that “nobody” had asked him about pardoning Maxwell, but insisted that he has “the right to do it”.
Mr Trump said: “I’m allowed to do it, but nobody’s asked me to do it. I know nothing about it. I don’t know anything about the case, but I know I have the right to do it. I have the right to give pardons, I’ve given pardons to people before, but nobody’s even asked me to do it.”
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
A tour bus returning to New York City from Niagara Falls has crashed on a major road, killing and injuring multiple people.
The bus, with 52 passengers on board, crashed and rolled on Interstate 90 near Pembroke, about 30 miles (48km) east of Buffalo, in New York State at around 12.30pm (5.30pm UK time).
“At this time we have multiple fatalities, multiple entrapments and multiple injuries,” said Trooper James O’Callaghan, a spokesperson for the New York State Police. He added that authorities believe one child was among those killed.
Several people inside were thrown from the bus as the windows shattered, while some passengers became trapped in the wreckage.
Image: Some passengers remain trapped in the wreckage of the bus. Pic: Buffalo News/AP
Erie County Medical Centre in Buffalo said it had received 24 patients.
At a news conference, Dr Jennifer Pugh, chief of emergency medicine, said two people had been taken to the operating theatre, one of whom had suffered internal injuries.
Dr Jeffrey Brewer, chief of surgery, said he expected that two patients who had suffered the most serious injuries would recover.
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He added that people had been admitted with blunt trauma, head injuries and extremity (arm and leg) fractures.
Mr O’Callahan said most people on the bus were Indian, Chinese, and Filipino, and translators were being brought to the scene. The driver survived and is cooperating with the police.
He added, “It’s a full-size tour bus. Heavy amount of damage. Most people, I’m assuming, on the bus did not have a seat belt on, that is the reason why we have so many ejected people on this bus.”
The Mercy Flight air medical transport service said its three helicopters were transporting people from the crash site to area hospitals.
“It’s a very active scene,” said Mercy Flight president Margaret Ferrentino. “At this time we’re praying for the victims.”
Mr O’Callaghan said the driver, who survived the accident, lost control while the bus was at full speed, causing it to flip when he tried to correct course.
The highway has been closed in both directions, causing massive traffic delays at the onset of one of the last weekends of the summer vacation season.
The falls, which are on the US-Canada border, are a major tourist attraction.
More than nine million visitors explore Niagara Falls State Park annually, according to the official website for the park.
The FBI has raided the home of John Bolton, the former national security adviser to Donald Trump who has since become a staunch critic of the US president.
The search of Mr Bolton’s house in Bethesda, Maryland on Friday was part of a “national security investigation in search of classified records”, reported NBC News, Sky’s US partner network, citing a source.
Mr Bolton has not been detained or apprehended. He served as President Trump’s top security adviser for 17 months during his first term in office, but was forced out of the role in 2019.
President Trump on Friday told reporters in Washington that he’d had no advance knowledge of the raid, adding: “I’m not a fan of John Bolton.”
The US Justice Department is yet to comment but FBI director Kash Patel posted on X on Friday morning, writing: “NO ONE is above the law… @FBI agents on mission.”
An FBI official said in a statement the agency was “conducting court authorized activity in the area”, indicating grounds had been approved for a search warrant.
Mr Trump’s former adviser is yet to respond to enquires for comment. He was not at his home during the early morning raid, CNN reported. He was seen in his Washington DC office on Friday in talks with FBI officials, according to the Associated Press.
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Image: FBI members carry boxes outside the home of the former White House national security adviser John Bolton.
Pic: Reuters
US federal authorities are yet to release any detail as to why the search has been conducted and what allegations may be levelled against Mr Bolton.
Unnamed sources told the New York Times that an investigation has been launched into whether Mr Bolton illegally shared or possessed classified information. NBC reported a source saying the probe was looking into potential instances of the documents being leaked to journalists.
During his time as adviser, Mr Bolton had clashed regularly with the president on policy direction over Iran and North Korea. He was viewed as hawkish adviser, and President Trump has previously criticised him as “warmongering”, saying he pushed him to take military action on Iran.
Image: John Bolton listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting in April 2018. Pic: AP.
Since leaving the post, Mr Bolton has called the Republican president unfit to serve, and most recently criticised Trump’s actions in Ukraine and negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In 2020, Mr Bolton also published a memoir of his time in the White House, in which he described multiple instances of what he described as Mr Trump’s misconduct and incompetence in handling foreign policy.
He also alleged that the president often prioritised his own personal interests over national security. Prior to publication, Trump’s government had tried to block the release but failed in its legal bid.
Since his return to office, Trump has on multiple occasions sought to use his presidential powers against perceived political enemies. On his first day back in the White House, Trump revoked the security clearances of more than four dozen intelligence officials, including Mr Bolton.
He also cancelled security detail for Mr Bolton and two other former Trump officials earlier this year. The officials had been receiving the federal protection because of threats to their safety from Iran.
Prior to working in Trump’s first-term team, Bolton had previously served in George W. Bush’s administration as the US ambassador to the United Nations.