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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.

Simpson was 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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‘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.”

OJ Simpson grimaces as he tries on one of the leather gloves prosecutors say he wore the night his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered.
Pic: AP
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OJ Simpson tries on one of the leather gloves allegedly found at the scene of the 1994 killings. Pic: AP

O.J. Simpson appears in a courtroom for his preliminary hearing in 2007. 
Pic:AP
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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.

O.J. Simpson, football player for the Buffalo Bills seen in 1969. (AP Photo)
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OJ Simpson became famous as a running back for the Buffalo Bills. Pic: AP

O.J. Simpson poses for a photo in 1968
Pic:AP
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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.

OJ Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson in 1993.
Pic: AP
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OJ Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson in 1993. They divorced in 1992. Pic: AP

A white Ford Bronco, driven by Al Cowlings and carrying OJ Simpson, being trailed by Los Angeles police on 17 June , 1994. Pic: AP
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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.

O.J. Simpson, center, is taken from the Las Vegas Police Investigative Services Division in Las Vegas, Sunday, Sept. 16, 2007. (AP Photo/John Locher)
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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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Diverted American Airlines flight escorted by Italian fighter jets after ‘bomb threat’

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Diverted American Airlines flight escorted by Italian fighter jets after 'bomb threat'

An American Airlines flight travelling from New York to New Delhi was diverted midair due to a “bomb threat”.

Flight 292 landed at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport “due to a possible security issue,” the airline said in a statement on Sunday, adding later the threat “was determined to be non-credible”.

The airline did not clarify what the security issue was, but a source familiar with the situation told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News it was a bomb threat sent via email.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the crew reported the security issue.

“Safety and security are our top priorities, and we apologise to our customers for the inconvenience,” the airline said in a statement.

An American Airlines plane is seen from the cockpit of an Italian Air Force Eurofighter aircraft, as it is escorted, in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on February 23, 2025. Italian Air Force/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
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The view from the cockpit of the fighter jet. Pic: Italian air force/Reuters

An Italian Air Force Eurofighter aircraft escorts an American Airlines plane in this handout photo obtained by Reuters on February 23, 2025. Italian Air Force/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
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Pic: Italian air force/Reuters

The flight requested a diversion to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport at around 2pm local time, Roberto Rao, a spokesperson for the airport.

“We immediately agreed and organised a safe landing,” Mr Rao told NBC News.

“We don’t know what the security concern was, but my opinion is that it was serious enough to divert the plane, but not urgent, because we received the alert when the plane was over the Caspian Sea, a three hours’ flight from Rome.”

Once in Italian airspace, the plane was escorted by two Italian air force fighter jets and landed in Rome at around 5.30pm local time.

American Airlines flight AA292 en route from New York to New Delhi that turned around over the Caspian Sea Sunday, Feb. 23, 2025, sits on the tamarack of Rome's Leonardo da Vinci International airport. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
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The flight on the ground in Rome. Pic: AP

‘What’s going on here?’

Neeraj Chopra, one of the 199 passengers on board, said the captain announced the plane had to turn around about three hours before it was supposed to land in New Delhi because of a change in “security status”.

Mr Chopra, who was traveling to India to visit family, described the mood on board as calm until the captain later announced that fighter jets would be escorting their plane to Rome.

“I felt a little panic of, okay, what’s going on here?” Mr Chopra told the Associated Press. “There’s got to be like something bigger going on here.”

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Jonathan Bacon, 22, added that once on the ground, all passengers were loaded on to buses and taken to the terminal, where each passenger and their personal items underwent additional security screenings that were time-consuming and felt “slightly heightened”.

More than two hours after landing, Mr Bacon and his friend said they were still waiting for their checked baggage. “It was definitely the longest flight to Europe I’ve ever taken,” he said.

American Airlines said the plane was inspected and cleared to depart again for New Delhi “as soon as possible” on Monday, after the crew gets some rest.

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At least three dead after boat capsizes off New York coast

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At least three dead after boat capsizes off New York coast

At least three people have died and two are injured after a boat capsized off the coast of New York, police in the US have said.

The vessel sent out a distress call from the Ambrose Channel just after noon on Sunday.

One of the injured is in a critical condition and another is described as stable, NBC, Sky’s US partner, said.

Five people were rescued from the water after the New York Fire Department (FDNY), the New York Police Department (NYPD), and the US Coast Guard responded to the call for help.

The boat capsized in an area known as Breezy Point, NBC said, quoting the NYPD.

Breezy Point is “a neighborhood at the tip of Queens’ Rockaway peninsula,” according to NBC New York, citing the Coast Guard.

Six people were said to be in the water after the boat capsized, the FDNY said.

Two of the victims were airlifted to Staten Island University Hospital and three were taken to Coast Guard Station Sandy Hook, where its emergency medical crews were waiting to treat them, the agency said.

Four of the five people rescued from the sinking boat were unresponsive, and some of them were given CPR, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard said on Sunday night it is still searching for one person missing in the water roughly five miles (8km) southeast of Breezy Point.

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Nothing else is known about the victims or what kind of boat was involved.

Police said it is not clear what happened but it did not appear the vessel collided with another boat. The Coast Guard said it was notified of a “vessel taking on water” and described the boat as “sinking”.

The investigation is ongoing.

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Day 34: Why Trump really flipped the script on Ukraine

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Day 34: Why Trump really flipped the script on Ukraine

👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈

As President Trump claims he is “close” to signing a mining deal with Ukraine, and his secretary of state Marco Rubio talks about a lack of “gratitude” from President Zelenskyy for US military assistance, our US correspondents Mark Stone, Martha Kelner and James Matthews discuss if this is the real reason Trump’s administration appears to have turned its back on Ukraine.

And, why Canada is taking its feud with Donald Trump on to the ice.

You can email James, Mark and Martha on trump100@sky.uk

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