June 12th marks the 20th anniversary of the murders of OJ Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. The murders, OJ’s slow speed chase and the trial were the precursors of media transforming into the TMZ-24/7 news cycle we currently live in.
The case had everything; money, a professional athlete, plus race and intrigue. It divided the nation and made media stars out of everyone involved. Opinions on OJ’s guilt or innocence seemed to generally be drawn along racial lines, with more white people believing OJ was guilty, while black people tended to believe that OJ was a victim of the establishment and racist cops planting evidence.
Two years ago a book was released by private investigator William C. Dear who spent 18 years investigating the case and concluded that the police missed a key suspect who likely committed the crimes and gave OJ an incentive to want to cover for him, his son from OJ’s first marriage, Jason Simpson.
Simpson was 24 at the time of the murders. Dear believes the evidence suggested Jason murdered the two as a rage crime – Dear claims he had ongoing psychological issues that required medication, which he was off at the time of the murders.
Dear also believes that OJ visited the crime scene shortly after the murders took place, which might explain why some of his DNA was connected to the crime.
Dear made a list of all potential suspects, visited the crime scene and other relevant places, conducted interviews, established a clear timeline of events, debunked alibis, collected evidence and generally aimed to subvert false assumptions made by the LAPD.
Below are the key pieces of evidence as to why Dear – who has solved cold case murders in the past – believes Jason Simpson is the real killer. These opinions are strictly Dear’s and presented here for entertainment purposes only.
The information is taken from a 2012 piece on Business Insider where Dear laid out his most compelling evidence which includes: medical reports on Jason Simpson’s mental health, previous situations involving Jason and rage attacks where a knife was used. Dog hair fibers that were located with some of the evidence collected against OJ – Jason owned a dog – his whereabouts on the night in question are unverified, evidence that an attorney was hired for Jason days after the murders but before OJ’s arrest.
Prior to the killings, OJ’s son Jason was diagnosed with “intermittent rage disorder” (AKA Jekyll and Hyde syndrome) and was given the drug Depakote to control his rage and seizures
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A note titled “Dear Jason” that described the writer as being three persons was identified by handwriting experts as being written by Jason Simpson; he also wrote about killing anyone who hurt his loved ones and how he felt like “Jekyll and Hyde” (in diaries obtained by Dear)
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In January 1994, six months before the killings, Jason went to the emergency room because he heard voices of people who weren’t there and said he felt as if he was “going to rage” because he ran out of Depakote; he stopped taking Depakote two months before the murders
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In his past, Jason had nearly killed a girlfriend (with a knife) and almost seriously injured another in fits of rage (whereas O.J. has been accused of domestic abuse but he has never been arrested for assault and was not prone to use weapons to settle a dispute)
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The night of the murders, Jason expected Nicole Brown Simpson’s family to dine at the restaurant where he was working, but Brown Simpson chose another restaurant (probably without telling Jason)
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The murders took place between 9:45 and 10:05 p.m.; Jason was by himself after approximately 9:50 p.m. and “has no alibi that can be supported by anyone else as to where he was while the killings occurred.”
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One of Jason’s ex-classmates informed Dear that Jason was trained in hand-to-hand combat as well as field knife training while attending the Army and Navy Academy, whereas O.J. hates the sight of blood
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Dear bought contents of a storage locker owned by Jason Simpson around the time of the murders and found a knife that matched the description of the murder weapon. “After examination of [Jason’s] knife by a world-renowned forensic scientist, the butt of the knife appears to match the blow/injury Nicole Simpson suffered on the top of her head” (whereas O.J.’s Swiss Army knife and stilleto were conclusively ruled out as the murder weapon)
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At the time of the murders, 24-year-old Jason was on probation for assault with a deadly weapon for attacking his boss with a kitchen knife
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The LAPD found 15 separate unidentified fingerprints at the crime scene (none belonged to O.J. and police never compared Jason’s fingerprints)
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“Investigators found blood and skin under Nicole’s fingernails … along with blood drops on her back that didn’t match those of O.J.” (Jason was never interviewed and never gave a DNA sample)
In the years since the trial, OJ’s behavior has been questionable – this included writing a book entitled, If I did it, a “hypothetical” account of how OJ would’ve committed the crime – and subsequently landing in jail in Las Vegas for strong armed robbery, certainly seem to point to his guilt. But the theory presented above does highlight one glaring fact from the trial. Shoddy police work seemed to be the overarching theme.
