O.J. Simpson, the former football star best known for being acquitted for the double murder of his ex-wife and her friend following the 1995 trial that captivated the nation, has died. He was 76.
O.J. Simpson, the former football star best known for being acquitted for the double murder of his ex-wife and her friend following the 1995 trial that captivated the nation, has died. He was 76.
"On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer," Simpson's family wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "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."
Simpson reportedly battled prostate cancer in recent years and underwent chemotherapy as part of his treatment. In February, he posted on X denying that he had entered hospice care. "All is well," he said, noting he planned to host friends at his Las Vegas home for the Super Bowl.
Simpson served nine years in a Nevada prison for a 2007 armed robbery that involved an attempt to retrieve personal sports mementos.
He was acquitted in the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, who were stabbed to death outside Brown Simpson's condominium in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on June 12, 1994. In 1997, he was found responsible for the deaths of both Goldman and Brown in a civil wrongful death case filed by Goldman's father.
Before being accused of murder, Simpson was a beloved football star who made a name for himself first at the University of Southern California and then in the NFL. He played for the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers. After his football career was over, he served as a football commentator, and went on to act in movies and TV shows, as well as serve as a long-time spokesman for Hertz.
Simpson had three children with his first wife, Marguerite Whitley. Their youngest child together drowned in the family swimming pool in 1979. He and Brown Simpson had two children together.
