Key Players in OJ Simpson Murder Trial: Where Are They Now?

NFL star OJ Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpsonand her friend Ronald Goldman after a high-profile trial in the 1990s.

The litigation was one of the most infamous criminal trials in American history and a defining moment of the 1990s.

Brown Simpson and Goldman were stabbed to death outside their Los Angeles home in June 1994, and police officials named Simpson their prime suspect a day later. After an infamous chase in his white Ford Bronco that was broadcast on national television, Simpson was eventually arrested and taken into police custody outside his home in Brentwood, California.

Simpson was indicted a month later and pleaded not guilty to the charges. A trial officially began in January 1995, with Simpson notably hiring a self-proclaimed “dream team” of defense attorneys, including: Kris Jenneris the ex-husband Robert Kardashian Sr. (Jenner, meanwhile, was close friends with Brown Simpson and sat in the courtroom with her family throughout the trial.)

Despite prosecutors Marcia Clark And Christopher DardenAlthough the list of seemingly growing evidence grew, a sequestered jury ultimately found Simpson not guilty of the two murders. The families of Brown Simpson and Goldman later sued Simpson for wrongful death in 1996, for which he was found liable. Simpson was ordered to pay $33 million in damages to the victims’ families.

Simpson died 28 years later in April 2024 after a battle with cancer at the age of 76. He leaves behind five children and several grandchildren.

Read on for a breakdown of all the major players in the Simpson criminal trial and where they are now:

Marcia Clark (Prosector)

Clark was the lead prosecutor in the criminal case and worked with Darden to build the case that Simpson Brown killed Simpson and Goldman. Following the trial, she published a memoir about the case entitled Without doubt. Clark has also written numerous crime novels, including a four-book novel Samantha Brinkman series and 2022 The autumn girl.

Christopher Darden (prosecutor)

Darden worked with Clark for the District Attorney’s Office, where he served as an assistant district attorney. After leaving the prosecutor’s office, Darden worked in private practice as a criminal defense attorney for nearly 27 years. He has also served as an adjunct law professor at several California-based colleges. Darden is also an author of non-fiction and fiction books and a television commentator. He is running for judge in Los Angeles County starting in 2024.

Robert Kardashian Sr. (defense)

Robert shared four children with his ex-wife Jenner. Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian And Rob Kardashian, who shared their childhood memories of the Simpson trial in the courtroom. Robert, an entertainment lawyer, died in September 2003 at age 59 after a short battle with esophageal cancer.

Robert Shapiro (defense)

Shapiro is still a practicing litigator and a partner at Glaser, Weil, Fink, Howard, Avenchen & Shapiro in California, representing clients such as Rockstar Energy Drink, Wynn Resorts and Cadeau Express. He also co-founded legal organizations Legalzoom and RightCounsel.com. Shapiro has also written three books, including a children’s book about the negative effects of drug use.

Johnnie Cochran (defense)

Cochran infamously said, “If the glove doesn’t fit, you have to acquit him,” as part of his defense after prosecutors claimed a glove found at the crime scene contained Simpson’s DNA. After the trial, Cochran co-founded a personal injury law firm. He died in 2005 at the age of 67.

F. Lee Bailey (defense)

Bailey, who also represented the heiress Patty Hearst, was disbarred in the state of Florida in 2001 after allegedly misusing client funds and making false statements under oath. Bailey was disbarred in Massachusetts in 2003 for similar reasons. He died in June 2021 at the age of 87.

Alan Dershowitz (Defense)

Dershowitz was a professor at Harvard University for 50 years and retired in 2014.

Lance Ito (judge)

Ito continued to work as a judge until he retired in 2015.

Mark Fuhrman (witness)

The homicide detective discovered a “bloody glove” at the crime scene that prosecutors concluded belonged to Simpson. (A matching glove was apparently found near Simpson’s car and he was asked to put it on during the trial.) Fuhrman was also the officer who took Simpson into custody, which was captured in footage commonly referred to as the Fuhrman tapes becomes. Since leaving the LAPD, Fuhrman has worked as a forensic scientist and crime scene expert for Fox News and hosts a radio show of the same name in Spokane, Washington.

Brian “Kato” Kaelin (witness)

Kaelin was living in Simpson’s home at the time of the crime and was one of the prosecution’s key witnesses. He claimed he could not explain Simpson’s whereabouts at the time of the murder. The actor has since appeared on many reality TV shows including Celebrity Bootcamp, Celebrity Big Brother And The weakest link. He has been hosting one since 2011 Tailgating with Kato Talk show.

Allan Park (witness)

The limousine driver had taken Simpson to the LA airport on the night of the murder and testified at the trial that the athlete’s Bronco was parked in front of his house. After a few appearances at celebrity golf tournaments, Park changed careers and worked as a train conductor.

Faye Resnick (witness)

Resnick was a friend of Brown Simpson and they reportedly spoke shortly before his death. Resnick wrote Nicole Brown Simpson: The Private Diary of a Life Interrupted before the trial, which sparked controversy over jury selection. Resnick, who worked as an interior designer and posed for him playboy in 1997, has since made several appearances on Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Gil Garcetti (District Attorney)

Garcetti was the LA district attorney at the time of the trial, but left office soon after. He has since become a photographer and has published several books of photo essays.