O.J. Simpson listens as his defense attorney, Ozzie Fumo, questions witness David Cook during an evidentiary hearing in Clark County District Court May 16, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Julie Jacobson | Pool | Getty Images
O.J. Simpson, the former NFL star who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife in a televised trial that gripped the nation, has died of cancer at age 76, according to a statement from his family.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” the statement said. “During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”
Reports circulated in February that Simpson had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and was in hospice care as he underwent chemotherapy. Simpson denied that he was in hospice in a video posted to X, but did not address whether he or not he’d been diagnosed with cancer.
“Hospice? Hospice? You talking ’bout hospice?” Simpson said in the video with a laugh, adding that he doesn’t know who started the rumors.
Orenthal James Simpson played 11 seasons in the National Football League, known as “The Juice” to his fans, but his sports legacy took a backseat in the 1990s after his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, was killed.
Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, were found stabbed to death outside of her Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994.
When Los Angeles Police officers went to Simpson’s home to speak to him about the murders, Simpson did not answer the door but officers noticed blood on the door of his vehicle.
Once a revered athlete, Simpson went from a Hall of Fame icon to a murder suspect.
Days later police charged Simpson with the murders and Simpson attempted to evade arrest, resulting in an infamous hourslong chase along Southern California’s highway in Simpson’s white Ford Bronco.
Simpson’s case went to trial in 1995 and was broadcast to millions of viewers across the nation. He was acquitted of both murders in what many view as a controversial verdict. Two years later, he was found civilly liable for the double homicide.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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