Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman and just two months after his death, the FBI has released 475 pages of documents on O.J. Simpson.
The documents, obtained by Rolling Stone, are largely focused on the investigation into the 1994 murders of Simpson’s ex-wife and her friend. The documents include information on forensic evidence, including blood found at the crime scene, fiber samples, and hair samples from both Nicole Brown Simpson and Goldman.
But a large portion of the documents focus on authorities’ attempts to place Simpson at the crime scene by connecting him to a pair of Bruno Magli-style shoes, which an FBI expert testified were left behind at the crime scene. The files show the officer’s efforts to prove that Simpson had purchased a pair of size 12 shoes prior to the murder. At one point, according to the file, police flew to Italy to study a replica of the shoes, which were rare. The FBI also compiled a list of all of Bruno Magli’s stores in the United States.
Simpson was charged with the murders but was acquitted after a highly publicized trial. He was later found liable for the deaths in a civil suit brought by the families in 1997.
During the trial, police testified that O.J.’s shoe size matched up with the print found at the crime scene, but Simpson denied ever wearing a pair of the Bruno Magli shoes.
Simpson died from metastatic prostate cancer in April at age 76. Following his death, Fred Goldman, the father of Ron, told Rolling Stone, “The only thing I have to say is that today is just a further reminder of how long we have missed my son, how long he’s been gone, and the only thing that is important today are the victims. That’s it. I have nothing else to say.”
