OJ SIMPSON DEATH
O.J. Simpson dies at 76: Timeline of former football star’s life before and after murder trial
Simpson has died after losing his battle with cancer, the former NFL star-turned-actor’s family announced on Thursday.
O.J. Simpson, the former NFL star who was acquitted of a brutal double murder in the mid-1990s, has died of cancer at the age of 76.
In a statement on social media on Thursday, his family said: “On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”
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College and NFL career
Born in San Francisco in 1947, Simpson was a Heisman Trophy-winning college football player, winning a national championship in 1968 with the USC Trojans.
He then spent 10 years in the NFL between 1969 and 1979, playing for the Buffalo Bills for the bulk of his professional career. While with the Bills, he was named the NFL’s MVP in 1973, and was selected for the Pro Bowl five times.
From NFL to acting
After his retirement from playing, he worked as an analyst on NBC’s TV coverage of the NFL, and embarked on an acting career. Most notably, he appeared as Detective Nordberg in all three instalments of the Naked Gun trilogy of crime comedy films.
Acquitted in murder trial
In 1994, Simpson was charged with the murder of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronaldo Goldman. He stood trial during a televised, 11-month trial that divided the nation, largely along racial lines. In October 1995, he was acquitted of both murders.
However, in a later civil suit filed by Brown Simpson and Goldman’s families, a jury found Simpson liable in their killings, awarding the Goldman family $8.5 million in compensatory damages.
Convicted in armed robbery trial
In 2008, Simpson again faced a criminal trial, after being hit with multiple charges relating to a 2007 armed robbery at the Palace Station hotel in Las Vegas. This time, he was found guilty on all counts, and was sentenced to 33 years in prison, with eligibility for parole after nine years.
He was released in October 2017, having served just under nine years.