LOS ANGELES, Sept. 23 -- Chronology of major events in the O.J. Simpson case: --June 12, 1994 -- O.J. Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and her friend, Ronald Lyle Goldman, 25, are stabbed and slashed to death outside her condominium in the trendy Brentwood neighborhood. --June 13, 1994 -- Simpson returns from a Chicago meeting to Los Angeles, where police briefly handcuff him, then take him to police headquarters where he agrees to be questioned. --June 16, 1994 -- Simpson, holding hands with his 8-year-old daughter Sydney and 6-year-old son Justin, attends funeral for his ex-wife. A separate funeral is held for Goldman. --June 17, 1994 -- Simpson is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and flees from a San Fernando Valley house with his longtime friend Al Cowlings. Simpson is arrested at his Brentwood mansion following a 90-minute police chase and standoff, and placed on suicide watch in Los Angeles county jail, where he is held without bail. --June 20, 1994 -- Simpson pleads innocent to two counts of murder. --June 22, 1994 -- Police release tapes of 911 emergency calls Nicole Simpson made eight months before the slaying. Her ex-husband is heard in the background screaming obscenities. --June 24, 1994 -- A judge takes the Los Angeles County grand jury off the case after Simpson's attorney claims the panel was tainted by information given to the media. --June 30, 1994 -- Simpson's preliminary hearing begins in Los Angeles Municipal Court. --July 8, 1994 -- A Los Angeles police criminalist testifies that Simpson's blood type matches that of a blood drop found at the crime scene.
Hours later, Judge Kathleen Kennedy-Powell rules there is enough evidence for Simpson to stand trial. --July 20, 1994 -- In a statement read by his personal attorney, Leroy Taft, Simpson said he did not kill his ex-wife or Goldman, and offers a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the 'real killer or killers.' Meanwhile, Goldman's mother files a civil lawsuit against Simpson, alleging he 'maliciously killed' her son. --July 22, 1994 -- Simpson pleads 'absolutely, 100 percent not guilty' during his arraignment in Los Angeles Superior Court. --July 28, 1994 -- DNA testing on blood samples found at the crime scene and at O.J. Simpson's estate begin at a Maryland laboratory to try to determine if they match the former football hero's blood. --Aug. 22, 1994 -- Prosecutors reveal that preliminary DNA tests show the football legend's blood matches that found at the crime scene. --Sept. 9, 1994 -- Prosecutors say they have decided not to seek the death penalty for Simpson, indicating they will seek a life imprisonment sentence if Simpson is convicted. --Sept. 19, 1994 -- Judge Lance Ito refuses to drop charges against Simpson, rejecting a defense argument that evidence was gathered at his estate during an illegal search. --Sept. 21, 1994 -- The judge rules there was 'sufficient probable cause' for a search warrant for the football legend's estate, despite inaccuracies and 'reckless' misstatements by police in an affidavit for the warrant. --Sept. 26, 1994 -- Simpson's double-murder trial begins with jury selection; Ito excuses more than half the pool of 218 potential jurors. --Sept. 29, 1994 -- More than 300 potential jurors say they could serve. --Nov. 3, 1994 -- A predominantly black jury of eight women and four men is sworn in to hear the double-murder case. --Dec. 8, 1994 -- A panel of 12 alternates -- nine women and three men -- is sworn in. --Dec. 10, 1994 -- Deputy District Attorney Christopher Darden, who headed a grand jury investigation into Simpson's friend, Al Cowlings, is allowed to remain on the Simpson prosecution team. --Jan. 4, 1995 -- Simpson gives up his right to challenge the admissibility of DNA blood evidence; the judge rules that jurors will be sequestered during the trial. --Jan. 11, 1995 -- The panel of 12 jurors and 12 alternates is sequestered before a controversial hearing on domestic violence begins. Prosecutors provide graphic details of alleged violence against Nicole Simpson by her former husband and divulge that Nicole contacted a battered women's shelter five days before her death and reported that Simpson was stalking her. --Jan. 12, 1995 -- A day after presenting a lurid laundry list of alleged domestic violence, prosecutors withdraw 18 of three dozen incidents of abuse they wanted jurors to hear about. They say jurors could still hear about the incidents when witnesses are cross-examined or their testimony is rebutted. --Jan. 18, 1995 -- In a crucial victory for the prosecution, the judge rules that the jury will hear evidence the football legend beat and humiliated his ex-wife for years before her slaying. Meanwhile, the judge replaces two jurors with alternates, saying he found 'good cause' to replace the panelists. more
--Jan. 24, 1995 -- The trial's opening statements begin, with prosecutors saying they will prove Simpson's charming public face hid a dark private side -- an obsessed man who killed his ex-wife so nobody else could have her, and that a trail of blood leading to his bedroom is 'devastating proof' that he murdered Nicole Brown Simpson. --Jan. 25, 1995 -- Simpson's defense lawyers present their opening statements, saying the government contaminated evidence, bungled tests and ignored potential witnesses in a 'rush to judgment' to prosecute Simpson. --Jan. 27, 1995 -- Simpson's book, 'I Want To Tell You,' and a 90- minute audio tape in which he repeatedly denies the killings, are released. --Jan. 30, 1995 -- The judge rules that Simpson's defense team violated the law and caused a two-day delay in the trial by mentioning witnesses that it had not disclosed to prosecutors, and allows prosecutors to re- open their opening statements in a 'virtually unprecedented' move. --Jan. 31, 1995 -- Prosecutors begin their case by calling a police detective who answered a 911 call from Simpson's mansion six years before to find a battered Nicole Simpson crying 'he's going to kill me. ' --Feb. 1, 1995 -- Simpson's longtime friend, Ronald Shipp, testifies that Simpson told him the day after his ex-wife was slain that he had 'some dreams' about killing her, but did not immediately tell authorities because he did not want to 'nail O.J.' --Feb. 2, 1995 -- The jury hears a chilling tape of Nicole Simpson's two frantic calls to 911 emergency dispatchers in October 1993 pleading for help as Simpson screams at her. Jurors also see three letters from Simpson apologizing to his then-wife for a 1989 beating. --Feb. 3, 1995 -- Simpson's former sister-in-law, Denise Brown, breaks down in tears as she emotionally recounts how the enraged football star once grabbed Nicole Simpson and threw her out of his mansion. --Feb. 7, 1995 -- The judge kicks a 63-year-old white female juror off the case and replaces her with a 54-year-old black man, increasing the number of blacks on the 12-member panel to nine. --Feb. 12, 1995 -- The jury -- traveling with a huge security detail normally reserved for heads of state -- tours the condominium where Nicole Simpson and Goldman were slain, and Simpson's Brentwood estate. --Feb. 23, 1995 -- Tempers flare as a heated sidebar conversation in which prosecutors complained about defense tactics caused the judge to cite Darden for contempt, but both sides calm down and later apologize to each other. --Feb. 24, 1995 -- The judge agrees to allow a defense alibi witness, Rosa Lopez, to testify in the midst of the prosecution's case, saying she is such an important witness he needed to have her testimony on the record in case she carries out her threat to flee the country and never return. --March 1, 1995 -- A black male juror is kicked off the O.J. Simpson jury and replaced with a white female juror, changing the panel's composition to eight blacks, two whites, one Hispanic and one person who is half-Indian and half-white. --March 2, 1995 -- O.J. Simpson's key alibi witness, Lopez, testifies that she is not exactly sure what time she saw the football legend's Ford Bronco outside his mansion the night of the murders. --March 3, 1995 -- Ito imposes stiff sanctions on the defense, including $950 fines to Simpson's attorneys Johnnie Cochran Jr. and Carl Douglas for failing to quickly turn a tape-recorded interview of Lopez. --March 15, 1995 -- Controversial police detective Mark Fuhrman denies using the racial slur 'nigger' within the past 10 years, despite prospective witnesses' claims that he uttered the epithet. --March 23, 1995 -- Simpson's former house guest, Brian 'Kato' Kaelin, testifies that he didn't see Simpson or know his whereabouts for more than an hour the night of the killings. --March 28, 1995 -- Simpson's alibi is damaged when a limousine driver testifies that he didn't see the football legend's Ford Bronco at the curb as he waited to pick him up for a trip to the airport the night of the killings. --March 31, 1995 -- One of Simpson's neighbors, Charles Cale, testifies that he did not see Simpson's Ford Bronco parked at the curb of his estate the night of the killings, but saw the vehicle there the next morning. --April 5, 1995 -- Black juror Jeanette Harris, 38, is kicked off the panel for failing to disclose an alleged instance of domestic violence. In a TV interview hours later, Harris says sheriff's deputies gave preferential treatment to white jurors. A KCAL reporter says Harris told him off-the-air that jurors were discussing Simpson's guilt or innocence in violation of a standing order not to discuss the case. --April 6, 1995 -- Judge Ito launches an investigation into allegations of juror misconduct and racial division among the panel, spurred by former juror Jeanette Harris's claims in the TV interview. more
--April 18, 1995 -- Testimony is stalled as the judge questions jurors to see if they substantiate ex-juror Jeanette Harris's claims. --April 20, 1995 -- A distraught juror asks Ito to dismiss her from the panel, saying, 'I can't take it any more.' The 25-year-old black woman remains in the jury box, though, when testimony resumes. Meanwhile, three deputies who had guarded the sequestered panel are reassigned by Ito. --April 21, 1995 -- Rebellious jurors -- upset with the removal of three deputies who guarded the sequestered panel -- refuse to enter the jury box and demand a meeting with the judge, forcing the cancellation of testimony. --April 24, 1995 -- Ito meets with jurors who staged a revolt against his decision to remove three deputies who had been guarding the panel, stalling testimony for a second day. --May 1, 1995 -- A juror who pleaded to be taken off the trial is dismissed, making her the seventh juror to be kicked off the panel within the last 3 1/2 months. The jury's racial composition shifts to seven blacks, three whites and two Hispanics. --May 10, 1995 -- For the first time, jurors hear incriminating DNA test results linking Simpson's blood to a blood drop leading away from the condominium where Nicole Simpson and Goldman were murdered. --May 11, 1995 -- The jury appears stunned when a DNA expert says only one in 170 million people, including Simpson, would have the genetic characteristics of a drop of blood left at the murder scene. --May 16, 1995 -- DNA expert Gary Sims says bloodstains found on one of Simpson's socks match the DNA of Nicole Simpson, and a glove found at his estate contains DNA matching that of Goldman. --May 25, 1995 -- A 38-year-old white female juror is dismissed by Ito after a top-secret meeting. The juror is allegedly dismissed for planning to write a book -- a claim she later steadfastly denies. --May 26, 1995 -- A 71-year-old black woman who had served as an alternate juror is chosen to replace the juror ousted a day before, shifting the jury's racial composition to eight blacks, two whites and two Hispanics. --May 31, 1995 -- The judge rules that the jury will be allowed to see 40 gruesome photographs of Nicole Simpson and Goldman, despite strong objections by the defense. more
--June 5, 1995 -- A 54-year-old black man and a 28-year-old Hispanic woman are dismissed from the Simpson trial jury, and the defense goes to the Court of Appeal to try to keep the black juror on the panel. The Court of Appeal denies the defense's petition for an immediate stay of Ito's order. --June 6, 1995 -- A 24-year-old black woman and a a 28-year-old black woman are chosen to replace two jurors ousted a day earlier; Jury sees autopsy photos of Nicole Simpson, with O.J. Simpson and at least one juror appearing red-eyed. --June 8, 1995 -- The judge calls an abrupt halt to testimony after Goldman's family breaks down in tears and at least one juror is apparently upset by a new set of gruesome autopsy photos. --June 12, 1995 -- On the one-year anniversary of the murders, Nicole Simpson's father, Lou Brown, files a lawsuit against Simpson accusing him of stalking and brutally attacking his ex-wife. Reporters are allowed to look at gruesome autopsy photographs of Nicole Simpson and Goldman, and candlelight vigils are held for both victims. --June 13, 1995 -- For the second time in less than a week, a juror flees the courtroom during the coroner's graphic testimony about Goldman's stabbing and slashing wounds. --June 15, 1995 -- In a dramatic display for the jury, Simpson struggles as he tries on a pair of bloodstained leather gloves that the prosecution contends links him to the murders, but he tells the jury the gloves are 'too tight.' Many legal experts say the demonstration backfired on the prosecution. --June 20, 1995 -- In a surprise announcement, prosecutors reveal they will not present any more evidence of alleged physical and mental abuse that they contend links Simpson to the killings. --June 29, 1995 -- In a stinging defeat for the prosecution, the judge bars an FBI agent from telling the jury about the rarity of the type of carpet in O.J. Simpson's Ford Bronco -- which appears to match fibers found at the murder scene. Also, prosecutors indicate they intend to call Nicole Simpson's mother, Juditha Brown, as their last witness. --June 30, 1995 -- An FBI expert testifies that hair from Simpson and the two murder victims is consistent with hairs found on crucial murder scene evidence. --July 5, 1995 -- An FBI expert testifies that fibers from the carpet in Simpson's Bronco closely resemble fibers discovered on a knit cap found near Goldman's body and on a bloodstained leather glove discovered at Simpson's estate 2 miles away. --July 6, 1995 -- In an anticlimactic ending to 92 days of testimony from 58 witnesses and nearly 500 pieces of evidence, prosecutors rest their case without calling the mother of Nicole Simpson as their last witness. --July 7, 1995 -- The judge refuses to acquit Simpson of murder, saying the prosecution had presented enough evidence to allow the jury to decide the fate of the football legend. --July 10, 1995 -- Three generations of Simpson's family -- his mother, sister and daughter -- are called to the stand to launch the defense's case and provide a sympathetic picture of him. --July 12, 1995 -- A defense witness testifies he saw a white vehicle -- possibly a Ford Bronco like Simpson's -- speeding away from the scene where Nicole Simpson and Goldman were murdered, providing testimony helpful to the prosecution. --July 17, 1995 -- A workout video Simpson made less than three weeks before the murders is shown to the jury; Simpson's personal doctor acknowledges that the former football hero would have been physically capable of committing the murders. --July 19, 1995 -- Jurors see a videotape of an energetic Simpson throwing punches and joking about hitting 'the wife' during a workout session less than three weeks before his ex-wife was murdered. --July 24, 1995 -- A defense expert testifies that he believes test results show traces of a preservative on two bloodstained pieces of evidence, indicating that the blood may have come from vials containing the preservative. --July 25, 1995 -- An FBI expert helps the prosecution's case by adamantly maintaining the tests showed that blood on two pieces of evidence did not come from preserved blood samples as the defense claims. --July 28, 1995 -- In a crucial defeat for the defense team, a North Carolina judge refuses to force a screenwriter to turn over interview tapes and testify in Simpson's trial about use of a racial epithet by a controversial police detective. --Aug. 2, 1995 -- Simpson's DNA expert testifies that he found a 'substantial contamination problem' at the police crime lab that first analyzed evidence. --Aug. 7, 1995 -- In a major victory for Simpson's defense team, the North Carolina appeals court rules that a screenwriter who heard a controversial police detective use a racial epithet is a material witness who should testify in Simpson's trial. more
--Aug. 15, 1995 -- In a stunning development, Judge Ito says he may have to excuse himself from the case if his police captain wife is declared a 'material witness.' Prosecutors indicate they may seek to have him dismissed regardless. --Aug. 16, 1995 -- Prosecutors back away from their attempt to have Ito dismissed for an apparent conflict-of-interest involving his wife, police Capt. Margaret York. --Aug. 18, 1995 -- A Superior Court judge rules Ito's wife is not a material witness in the Simpson trial, allowing Ito to remain on the case. --Aug. 22, 1995 -- Dr. Henry Lee, a renowned forensic expert hired by the defense, testifies he found two types of sole patterns leading away from the murder scene, bolstering the defense's theory of multiple killers. --Aug. 23, 1995 -- Lee declares 'something's wrong' with a blood sample linking Simpson to the trail of blood leading away from the murder scene. --Aug. 31, 1995 -- In a huge blow to the defense, the judge rules the jury can hear just two of 61 shocking statements made by Fuhrman. --Sept. 5, 1995 -- The jury hears the voice of Fuhrman uttering a racial slur he had denied under oath using within the past decade. Jurors also hear an excerpt from another interview in which Fuhrman uses the epithet. --Sept. 6, 1995 -- Fuhrman takes the 5th Amendment in a riveting appearance outside the jury's presence, refusing to answer whether he had planted any evidence in the Simpson case. --Sept. 7, 1995 -- The judge says he will instruct jurors that Fuhrman is 'not available for further testimony' -- a ruling the prosecution vows to appeal. --Sept. 8, 1995 -- Hours after an appellate court overturns his ruling, Ito agrees to abandon his plans to tell jurors why they wouldn't hear from Fuhrman again. --Sept. 12, 1995 -- Glove expert Richard Rubin testifies he cannot conclusively determine whether a pair of gloves worn by Simpson at two football games in 1991 and 1993 are exactly the same pair as those linked to the murders, though they are the same style. --Sept. 13, 1995 -- A state DNA analyst testifies that new DNA test results link bloodstains in Simpson's Bronco to Simpson and Goldman. --Sept. 14, 1995 -- Two FBI experts contradict the account of a renowned forensic expert who had bolstered the defense's theory that there were multiple killers, saying there was not evidence of more than one set of bloody shoeprints. --Sept. 19, 1995 -- A lead police investigator emphatically denies statements to two Mafia informants that apparently contradicted his testimony about why police went to Simpson's mansion the morning after the murders; the two goverment witnesses and an FBI agent contradict his testimony. --Sept. 20, 1995 -- The judge bars the defense from calling a controversial FBI expert who has accused the agency's crime lab scientists -- including one who worked on the Simpson case -- of slanting evidence toward prosecutors. --Sept. 21, 1995 -- In a major victory for the defense, the judge says he will tell the jury they do not have to either send Simpson to prison for life or set him free, but can convict him of the lesser offense of second-degree murder. Attorneys from both sides agree to rest their cases the following day. Also, the state Supreme Court rejects Simpson's request to overturn the appellate court's ruling that had prompted Ito to drop his plans to tell the jury why it wouldn't hear from Fuhrman again. --Sept. 22, 1995 -- Outside the jury's presence, Simpson tells the judge, 'I did not and could not and would not have committed this crime,' but that he does not plan to testify in his own defense. Both sides rest their cases after presenting 120 witnesses during eight months of testimony. Closing arguments are scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 26, one year to the day that the trial began with jury selection.
