NOTE: This summary does NOT include testimony on background information about O.J.'s life story, his work history, his first marriage, etc. It only includes testimony directly related to the murders and any domestic abuse incidents brought out by the plaintiffs. It is a consolidation of the testimony given both during the plaintiff's portion of the trial and the defense's portion of the trial. Although different issues may have been scattered out throughout the testimony during the entire period of O.J. was on the stand, everything concerning each separate topic or issue was consolidated together in this summary for ease of reading and understanding exactly what O.J. said about each one.
NOTE: Click on the item you want in order to go direct to that paragraph. Use "Back" to return to this table of contents. When you return, you must allow the page to completely reload before selecting another item.
O.J. said Nicole would confide in him about her life. She sought his advice about her relationship with Joseph. He said in the summer of 1992, Nicole also called him when he was back East and told him she had "gotten herself pregnant" (not by O.J.) and she needed his advice; she did want her parents to know. O.J. had gone on with his own life and met a person he was interested in. O.J. said he and Nicole only had two arguments during this period of separation. One was when he had accidentally said something to one of her "friends" (Keith) about condolences that she had found someone else before she had told Keith about it; she got mad at O.J. The other was about a bill where Nicole had charged golf and lunch on O.J.'s personal account for a couple of guys she took to Laguna (she had her own account). (See also "Stalking" below.)
The divorce was final in October, 1992. O.J. said he had "instigated the divorce." Nicole wanted to separate to have some time on her own. O.J. knew it would probably take a year to get a divorce and he did not want to be separated a year and then file and have another year for a divorce to be final. So he told Nicole to go ahead and start the divorce proceedings and they would have a lot of time to change their minds if they wanted to. There was an actual court proceeding for the divorce with depositions taken. Both O.J. and Nicole testified about the 1989 incident in these depositions. O.J. testified essentially to the same facts he testified to in this current trial. And Nicole testified that she had not been struck by O.J. since that incident.
They were in agreement about what they would do about the kids. They planned to spend all the major holidays together and after that, see what was happening in their relationships with each other and with other people. That first Thanksgiving, without any explanation Nicole canceled the planned trip for herself and the kids to New York where O.J. was working. O.J. was very upset because he had gone to a lot of trouble to be in New York for Thanksgiving instead of Detroit. O.J. got his lawyer involved and at Christmas the kids were to be sent to New York with a responsible adult; then Nicole called and wanted to come too. At this time, O.J. "had a girlfriend in New York (Paula?), so Nicole could not stay in his apartment. O.J. paid for Nicole's ticket to New York and put her up in a hotel; they and the kids spent three days together and had a great Christmas together for three days. The night before leaving, Nicole called O.J. and explained that at Thanksgiving she had canceled because she and her boyfriend had a big fight (he found out later that she broke up with the guy on New Years). She also asked "what happened to us." But O.J. did not want to even discuss it.
After that he tried to avoid talking to her and they did not speak much for two and a half months. (In January, 1993, Nicole met Kato Kaelin and Grant Cramer in Aspen, Colorado. Kato moved into her guest house shortly thereafter.) O.J. had a different life and was in a healthy relationship, the kids were happy, and she was happy from what he heard from friends. Whenever he talked to Nicole it seemed he would always get involved with her problems about her boyfriends or whatever, and he did not want to do deal with anything other than the kids. So he told Cathy Randa, and the housekeeper that if Nicole called about the kids to let him know immediately, but otherwise he did not want to hear about it.
In mid-March, 1993, Nicole started pursuing O.J. again. She showed up at the golf course where he was, followed him to Mexico, brought him cookies, sent him letters and tapes, and called his home and office "incessantly." "Out of the blue", Nicole wrote him a letter saying she loved him and always would and that she wanted to come home and be a family again. O.J. was shocked at Nicole's change of mind and it did not make sense to him. He had thought she was not in love with him. He thought she was in a happy relationship but had just had a fight with her boyfriend. He did not want to get back together with her because he was in a happy relationship and his life was going well. He planned instead that they would get together once a week as a family. Then he noticed that Nicole was making a big effort to be the girl that he had always known for 15 years, and she even took golf lessons. They were having fun with the kids. O.J. went and talked to his mother about it and she said for the kids' sake he should try to understand why Nicole wanted to get back together and what his feelings were. They went on a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a few days. But O.J. still was not ready. Around Mother's Day in May, 1993, O.J. went back to Cabo San Lucas with some friends, and Nicole decided to show up there too. When his friends left, O.J. stayed (in a separate place) and spent time with Nicole and the kids. They agreed to attempt a reconciliation.
During the year of the reconciliation, there were good and bad times. O.J. had always had problems with Nicole, but the relationship was not "mostly a problem" as Petrocelli characterized it. [This testimony related to the statement O.J. had made to the LAPD, which Mr. Baker objected to and said it was inaccurate. He requested that the court use the tape of that interview.] O.J. and Nicole knew how to "push each other's buttons." They got into very heated arguments which sometimes resulted in Nicole moving out one or two days or sometimes a week. O.J. said there was one "very physical" altercation, and other times "not so physical" when Nicole hit O.J.; O.J. said he never hit Nicole, never kicked her, never beat her. He is aware Nicole had told others that he hit her and written down that he had hit her; that is false.
Nicole went to Michelle's room (maid), and O.J. followed her. Nicole "pushed the phone at O.J.," jumped on the bed and went to the other side, said some things and then went out the door. O.J. says it was not physical in Michelle's room. Nicole told the police that O.J. punched her and pulled her hair. O.J. denies it. Nicole went to the hospital the next day (O.J. asked her to go). O.J. said he was wrong to put her out of the room and he now realizes that was "battery." O.J. also left the house and avoided the police and went to a friend's house. He said he did not know the police were going to arrest him. He knew when he left Nicole was in the police car. He went to his friend's house about a mile away. He borrowed his friend's car and drove back to Rockingham, parked on Bristol around the corner from Ashford. He went through the Von Watts' tennis courts and went back into his house. Then A. C. Cowlings came over. O.J. left once or twice and took some clothes back to his friend's house. He also took some jewelry that Nicole had thrown all over the floor (mostly his jewelry, a couple of pieces of hers). He went back out through the Von Watts' tennis courts. He never climbed over a fence back there. When he got to the car, he couldn't find the car key. He hid the clothes and the bag with the jewelry by a garbage can, under the lid. He went back to his house looking for the car key. He didn't find it; he picked up his clothes, forgot the jewelry bag, and walked to his friend's house. Later he asked A. C. to look for the car key and pick up the bag. O.J. denied that he did this same thing on June 12.
Nicole refused to testify in court about this incident and did not show up. After that incident O.J. wrote a letter to Nicole apologizing, saying he had gotten crazy. He had to move in with a friend for a couple of days. He was concerned about losing Nicole over this. He had his lawyer draw up a document that said if he ever hit Nicole again, the prenuptial agreement would be null and void. He offered the document to Nicole in February and she signed it in August. O.J. went on a TV sport show and minimized what happened. He did so to protect his family, his name and image, and his privacy. He and Nicole also talked to a Hertz executive and explained what had happened. They told them the truth but not in detail. After this incident, O.J. and Nicole both went to counseling together. O.J. said he sometimes felt like a battered husband and when he and Nicole went to therapy together they agreed that they were both abusive to each other. O.J. said Nicole's mother said Nicole had admitted to her and to Cora Fischman that the physical side of that incident was initiated by Nicole. O.J. never physically harmed Nicole again. He also executed an agreement that if he ever physically harmed her again, their marital prenuptial agreement would be null and void (this had a value of $4-5 million to Nicole).
STALKING: In April, 1992, when they were separated but not yet divorced, O.J. arrived at the Trieste restaurant to meet a party of friends. He saw some of Nicole's friends (including Keith) sitting at the bar near the door, spoke to them and asked if Nicole were there. He went to the end of the bar where Nicole was standing with a guy named Rainey England, an ex-boyfriend of Denise. He said he and Nicole had an agreement that if they ran into each other somewhere, whoever was there first stayed and the other one would leave "if it was a problem." He told her the people he was joining were already there and seated. She said her party was about to be seated, and they both agreed it was okay and they both stayed. After leaving the restaurant, at 11:00 p.m. he went over to Nicole's condo uninvited and unannounced. He did not know whether she would be at home. As he walked up to front door of the house, he could see in through the front window, and saw Nicole's head and she was engaged in a sexual act with Keith. He was a little stunned; as he turned to leave, he hit the doorbell to alert them that they could be seen "out in the open" and he went home. The next day, he went back to Nicole's house to talk to her about it around lunch. She was with the guy and they talked about how she should be a little more discrete with the kids in the house. Afterwards, he went out and shook Keith's hand. He saw on numerous occasions throughout the summer and would ask him about his golf game. After that incident he met Paula Barbieri and began a relationship with her. Although she told the 911 operation she was afraid of O.J., O.J. did not think she was scared of him that night because she came back downstairs into the room where he was. She told O.J. the next day he scared her when he gets angry. There was nothing physical about the incident. When the police came, they surreptitiously taped the conversation with O.J. and Nicole. They did not arrest him. On Christmas Eve, 1993, O.J. and Nicole, Kato and the kids, went to the Jenner's house for a party. O.J. saw a guy named Joseph what Nicole had dated when they were separated. O.J. said this did not upset him. O.J. said he and Nicole had some words and then they went home and had their Christmas. He wanted her to pay the taxes and he wanted her to stay away from his house. After that, O.J. met with his lawyer, and then had Cathy Randa write a letter to Nicole. He gave Cathy some facts and told her what to write. In his deposition he said he dictated a letter to Cathy. Now he said he just told her what to write. His lawyer read and revised the letter, which was sent on June 6, 1994. O.J. said he was not threatening "IRS action" and denied Nicole's entry in her diary that he had threatened to report her to the IRS to retaliate because they had a fight on Friday, June 3, although the letter was delivered the following Monday. O.J. denied it had anything to do with the fight. (Nicole had brought him the kids on that Saturday and they went with him and Paul to a pediatric AIDS benefit.) O.J. denied that a second letter had been sent to Nicole on June 8 telling her the kids were welcome whenever he, Jason, or Arnelle were at home, but otherwise the housekeeper was not available to cook, baby-sit, or run errands for Nicole. (He had it written but it was not supposed to go out unless he said to mail it.) He got back to Los Angeles approximately May 1, 1994. Nicole picked him up at the airport, she said she loved him and was sorry about the way she had acted, but he wanted out. They talked and Nicole suggested that they try to "date." He went to the Brown's house and met Nicole and the kids for Mothers' Day. He worked late the Friday night and got there around 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, went to bed, got up and went to Denise's son's first communion. Back at the Brown's home there was some tension going on between Nicole and Denise. Nicole went to O.J.'s condominium, went to bed and slept all day while O.J. and the kids stayed at the Brown's house. He and Nicole had planned a date to go out on Saturday night and he went to wake her up at 6:00 and Nicole didn't want to go out. First she wanted to go and she got dressed, then when she went to the door she started shaking and she said, "Look at me, I'm having a nervous breakdown." O.J. said he was partly angry and partly concerned. He said when she was shaking he was hugging her and asking her what was wrong, but she couldn't explain what was wrong. They did eventually go out that night. The next day was Mother's Day (May 10), and everything was fine. O.J. talked to Nicole's parent about his concerns over Nicole's behavior. O.J. said the relationship ended either that night or the next night. O.J. said he couldn't do it any more; they talked and agreed to go their separate ways. O.J. denied that they broke it off on May 22, and said it was at his instigation. The week after Mother's Day, he went to New York. Sydney's First Holy Communion was that week. He missed the family celebration, although he had tried his best to get out of his commitment to Hertz for an event. When he came back home, Nicole was sick with double pneumonia, the week of her birthday, May 19. O.J. helped out by bringing food and trying to nurse her. For her birthday he had bought Nicole a Cartier lighter, but the kids asked what could they give her and he didn't think a lighter was a good gift for the kids to give her. So he gave Nicole an emerald bracelet that he had actually bought for Paula. (He told the police on June 13 that he had bought it for her, given it to her, she returned it, and he gave it to Paula.) O.J. went to her house on her birthday, May 19, and they talked about a lot of things. O.J. gave her the expensive bracelet, and three days later on May 22, she returned it to him. This was on the day O.J. hosted the spring party for Justin's school. Nicole was feeling better and she was there helping. She came inside where he was watching a basketball game with some other fathers. Nicole laid on the couch with O.J. and then went upstairs to the bedroom. He went to check on her, and she wanted to talk. He told her he would go to her house that night, and Nicole left. He did go over there and they talked about a lot of things. Nicole said she knew he had not bought the bracelet for her and she gave it back. He had previously given her some earrings he had made special to replace some that had Nicole said had been stolen. When his office got the check from the insurance company, it was sent to Nicole. He sent the jeweler a check for $10,000. So he asked Nicole for the insurance check and she had spent it, so she gave him the earrings. O.J. denied they broke up that day (though Nicole's diary says that.) He said he started dating Paula publicly two days after Mother's Day, with his kids. He was disappointed that the reconciliation with Nicole did not work, but he was also relieved. He was not trying to win Nicole back at that time. He still loved Nicole and he was concerned about her, but he cut off the relationship. O.J. also denied that the previous weekend when he and Paula had been in Palm Springs, after Paula was upset with him and left, that he had talked a lot at dinner that night about Nicole. Also, on Memorial Day weekend (the end of May), Nicole had been upset with him because he had invited Faye Resnick and Christian Reichardt to a charity event after Faye had called him and asked if they could go. She called and yelled at him and hung up. O.J. said he did not know if Nicole was upset with him during that time frame because he was avoiding her. He wouldn't talk to her after the hang-up. On Monday, June 6, O.J. and Justin went to Nicole's to get the dog because they were fighting. O.J. flew back east the following day, June 7. While he was gone he called the kids but did not have any conversations with Nicole. He went to Washington, D.C. for Hertz, then to Connecticut for the Fortuner Co. (Swiss Army Knife). Then he went to Long Island, New York, with his friend Bobby Bender. He missed Justin's graduation from the Sunshine School. He returned to Los Angeles on Friday, June 10; Paula picked him up at the airport. His friend in Long Island wanted him to stay there for the weekend and fly to Chicago from there on Monday, but O.J. had missed Sydney's first communion, and so he wanted to be present at her dance recital. He had tried to get out of a business commitment with Hertz to go to the first communion but was unable to even though he contacted the chairman of the board about it. He drove to the recital in his Bentley. Nicole had saved a seat for O.J.; it was two seats away from Nicole. When he went in he went to Nicole to get his ticket. He at some point noticed that fathers had flowers for their daughters, so he went out and bought some for Sydney and came back. After the recital, Nicole disappeared. Ron Fischman took a picture of O.J. and Sydney. O.J. talked to the Browns and Ron Fischman. Then Nicole's car came and the Browns got in and left. Judy Brown had said they were supposed to go out to dinner; O.J. said he didn't know about it before that. He said that Juditha Brown said something to the effect "You're not going to dinner with us, are you? He laughed and said no. He did not know that they had originally planned to go to Jackson's, where Jason worked as a chef, or that Nicole had canceled that on Saturday, June 11. 7:00 to 9:15 P.M.: O.J. then went home and got there around 7:00 p.m. He had told the police in his June 13, 1994 statement: He had gone home for awhile, got in the Bronco, drove toward Paula's house, tried calling her on the way; she had left a message; he checked his messages and she had left a message saying she had to leave town, so O.J. went back home and ended up visiting with Kato. However, the phone records did not show any cell phone calls to Paula until 10:03 p.m. O.J. said he did not make that call from the Bronco; he had the cell phone out of the car at that time (he had taken it out earlier). Also, even though the police transcript of the statement on June 13, 1994 quoted him as saying the last thing he did before leaving for Chicago was to go out and get his "phone" from the Bronco, he meant all his phone accessories, including portable charger, a wire that hooks into any car cigarette lighter, extra batteries, and a case; the actual tape of that statement reflects that, when he said "whatever that is". He views the whole package as "his phone." He took it with him because if he had to stay over in Chicago, he might rent a Hertz car. The case was on the passenger side of the Bronco, either the seat or the floor. He denied picking up a five-minute message from his cell phone voice mail message manager even though he had told the police on June 13 that he had picked up a message from Paula and she said she had to leave town. He denied telling Dr. Lenore Walker that he had picked up such a message from Paula. He said he did check his home telephone answering machine. He didn't know anything about a phone record that he had picked up a message from his cell phone message manager for five minutes at 6:56 p.m. or again at 8:55 p.m. He said he reached Paula's normal answering machine which had a message (for anybody) that she was going out of town. He did leave a message for Paula asking what was wrong, but it was not in response to a message from her saying she was breaking up with him. O.J. did call Paul's number several times because he was hoping if she was home it was still not too late for her to give him a ride to the airport. He said that he did call Gretchen Stockdale about a half hour later and left a message saying he was "unattached for the first time in his life." He said he meant unattached to Nicole. His maid Gigi called to ask if she could take the night off to stay at Knotts' Berry Farm. He also called Christian Reichardt. He then called Nicole's house to talk to Sydney, around 9:00 p.m.; he and Nicole did not have any conversation. O.J. also called Paula's number around 10:03 p.m., after he got back from McDonald's and he made the call with the cell phone, standing in the driveway. (O.J.'s security system: There is a keypad outside the front door to use to deactivate the alarm when entering the house. That was the only place you could deactivate the alarm except inside the garage. There is no keypad on the laundry room door on the garage side of the house. There was "stuff" in front of the garage door out to the path, but the door opens outward and would not have kept that door from opening. O.J. said there was no keypad on the back door, and he was not aware of any "delay" on it.) O.J. had packed some earlier in the day. That evening, he went upstairs and packed some more things. He told the police he was packing leisurely, and also that he was rushing and hurrying and packing later. He noticed that he only had big bills and needed change for tips at the airport. He went out to Kato's room around 9:10 p.m. and asked Kato for change for $100. He mentioned he was "going for a burger." Kato gave him $20 and asked if he could go with him to get a burger. They went in the house, through the kitchen and out to the car (Bentley). He does like to drive his Bronco as he told the police, but he drives both cars and they took the one that was nearest that night. He didn't tell Kato he was going to McDonald's, he just drove there. They ordered and Kato paid. He didn't break any $100 bills because they don't take anything over $20. He ate his food while driving back. He drove in, let Kato out, parked the car, scooped up some lettuce from the car, and went in the house. This was around 9:35 p.m. He was not bleeding at that time. Somewhere between getting back from the recital, before going to McDonald's (7:00 to 9:00 p.m.), O.J. brought the Bronco inside the gate and got some golf clubs and the cell phone out of it, drove it out the Rockingham gate and parked it on Rockingham, although normally he parks it near the mailbox by the Ashford gate. O.J. said he did that so his dog would not get out of the gate. The Rockingham gate stays open about 20-30 seconds and closes automatically. He said Chachi would sometimes run out the gate, and he had complaints from the SPCA. When O.J. goes out that gate, he waits until the gate is about to close before pulling out. He said he was just making sure Chachi didn't get out and would have been out for awhile. The SPCA had told him if they found her out again, they would pick her up. O.J. denied that between 9:35 and a10:55 p.m. he went to Nicole's house. APPROXIMATELY 9:50 TO 10:15 P.M.: O.J. had just gotten a new set of clubs the previous week and he didn't like the sand wedge that came with it, so he was looking for the sand wedge he normally used. A little before 10:00 p.m., he went into his garage to look for a sand wedge. He grabbed a 3 wood and swung it. He went out of the garage to the trunk of the Bentley where there was another set of golf clubs, and he looked for the old sand wedge. He also needed some golf balls, so he looked in the trunk for some unscuffed balls and got about four or five out. He also got a windbreaker, and also about four or five scuffed balls, which he dropped in the grass by the Bentley. He couldn't find the sand wedge so he took out a pitching wedge. Around that time he called Paula's house (10:03 p.m.). Then he chipped the scuffed balls. He put two clubs back in the Bentley, walked out the Rockingham gate to look in the trunk of the Bronco to look for the club. Chachi followed him out, and went across the street to do her business. Then he and Chachi walked around to the Ashford gate and went in there, and he went inside, turned the lights off downstairs, and went upstairs and sat/laid on his bed for awhile. (He got back from McDonald's around 9:35, and he was not outside the gate between 9:35 and 9:45, and he went inside no later than 10:15 p.m.) He looked at the clock, noticed it was 10:35 or so, got in the shower. 9:15 - 10:55 P.M.: While O.J. was in the shower, he thought he heard the phone ringing, looked out and saw the light on for the gate. He assumed it was Dale St. John, his normal driver. He did not get out, walk over and press the button to let him in because for one, he didn't want to get out of the shower, and two, he didn't want the dog to run out, and he knew Dale would wait like he always does. Usually the maid would let him in, but she was not there. He then went downstairs half dressed wearing pants, shoes, and a dark robe; brought down a suit bag, looked in his golf cover bag (on the bench) for his black shoes, saw the shoes and closed the bag, and then saw the limousine and signaled to the driver. He picked up the bag and dropped it at the edge of the driveway and went back inside the house. He did not go out into the driveway. He denied telling Dr. Lenore Walker that he went out to the Bentley to look for the shoes. When he went back inside, the phone (gate) rang again and he answered it. O.J. denied that he ever told Alan Park he had overslept. He did not open the gate for the limousine then, he let him wait outside the gate. He finished dressing (stonewashed jeans and denim shirt), and went downstairs. There was only one cut on his hand when he came back from Chicago, and Nurse Peratis, Vannatter and Lange saw only one cut. The picture taken on June 15 by Dr. Huizenga showed two cuts and seven abrasions (per Petrocelli). O.J. did not know how he got those cuts between June 13 and 15. They said they could have gotten there any time, and were so small he would not have noticed them. The only "physical" thing he could recall was wrestling with Justin, but he did not think that caused it. O.J. had no explanation for the blood found at Bundy, on his driveway, in the Bronco, or in his house. He did not remember bleeding at Bundy in the past three weeks before the murders. He could have bled over there in the backyard or driveway at some time. When the police called they said Nicole was killed, and he asked "What do you mean?" They told him they did not know anything more. After the call, he was packing and going from the bedroom to the bathroom, packing and making calls. The phone was by the bed; there was no phone in the bathroom. When he used the phone he sat on the bed. On one trip to the bathroom a glass broke. He may have dropped it, or slammed it on the counter, or knocked it over, he did not know how it broke. He pushed the broken glass 12 inches into the sink and picked up some pieces from the floor. He did not think he cut his finger when the glass broke but while he was cleaning up. He did not remember seeing any blood on a towel or anywhere else. He was not focused on that, just trying to get out of there. He got a band-aid from the hotel clerk. He called Jim Merrill about three times. He asked for a cab but 15 minutes later there was no cab. A guy he knew from Hertz showed up and he said he needed a ride. Another guy named Raymond Kilduff gave him a ride. He told Merrill on the phone that he was on the 9:15 flight and if he could get the golf clubs there to put them on that flight or the next flight. The next day, Cathy Randa got Jim Merrill on the phone and he apologized for the rude way he had spoken to him. After that, he and Bob Kardashian were driving around killing time, waiting for his children, and they stopped at the airport and picked up his golf clubs. O.J. said he believed when he left the hotel he was wearing black pants and the white golf shirt. He may have changed on the plane but he did not think so. He did throw up on the plane and had a big wet spot. The stewardess gave him a band-aid for his finger. He signed an autograph to avoid a confrontation. He made a number of phone calls. The guy who sat by him was a lawyer and told him he should have a criminal defense attorney. He called Skip Taft, and when he got home, Howard Weitzman was waiting for him. He knew the police were coming to arrest him on Friday. He wanted to go to Nicole's grave. He left with A. C. Cowlings, and he took his grip. He had pictures in it. He had given A. C. most of the money for Arnelle and Jason. Before he left, he wrote a letter and gave it to A. C. He was contemplating killing himself when he wrote the letter. O.J. said that although the "suicide note" was dated June 15, he wrote it on June 17 at Robert Kardashian's house after learning he was going to be arrested. He was in a lot of pain and feeling a lot of sorrow at Nicole's death at the time. The media was writing a lot of untrue things about him. He had a gun with him on the ride. He remembered being on the phone with Detective Lange.