Maeve Bidonde, Staff Writer
Orenthal James “O.J.” Simpson, former Buffalo Bills running back and one of the best running backs of all time, died on April 10 at the age of 76 from Prostate Cancer. O.J. Simpson was most famously known for being the prime suspect in the brutal double murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
O.J. Simpson’s trial was broadcast on TV where everyone tuned in. People began to pick sides, one side believed in O.J.’s innocence and the other side believed him to be guilty. His trial was considered “The Trial of The Century”. Simpson had been found not guilty but civilly liable for their deaths.
Before this trial and long before he met Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. broke records in football when he played with the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco Forty Niners. Simpson even won the Heisman Trophy for College Football’s Top Player back when he attended the University of Southern California. He used his football stardom to transition to a sportscaster, advertising pitchman, and a Hollywood actor. He was even a part of The Naked Gun media franchise.
According to the New York Post, the Goldman family claimed that Simpson evaded paying the money he owed them for Ron’s murder. One of Simpson’s lawyers said he hoped the Goldmans’ wouldn’t get any of Simpson’s estate to pay off what he owed them. This statement was reversed and the team said the claim would be accepted and handled in accordance with Nevada Law. The team also acknowledged that Simpson failed to pay the amount of $33.5 million dollars he owed. That judgment has swelled to over $100 million dollars.
According to Yahoo News, when O.J. Simpson passed away when his family posted on X. They said he died surrounded by his children and grandchildren. O.J. Simpson was cremated and his ashes were given to his children to do what they see fit with them. Simpson’s youngest daughter, Aaren Simpson, died from drowning just before she turned two-years-old in 1979. With his death, it marks Simpson’s end with his battle with Prostate Cancer and his reunion with his late daughter.
In terms of sorting out Simpson’s estate, according to Reuters, Simpson’s lawyer said that any outstanding judgments are next to last on the list of things to be paid from his estate. The estate contained a Nevada bank account worth less than five figures, household furnishing, and gold clubs. Higher on the list is paying the Internal Revenue Service. Which comes after administrative costs, medical bills, funeral costs, child support, and any alimony. In 2017, Simpson relocated to Nevada after a nine-year sentence after a conviction of robbing and kidnapping sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel.
Simpson’s lawyer recalled O.J. Simpson’s final moments before his death this month. He recalled Simpson celebrating Easter quietly to himself by watching golf. He recalled his last Super Bowl was spent predicting the San Francisco Forty Niners would win.
O.J. Simpson lived a long and complicated life, especially after the murder trial. Simpson’s famous trial has become a part of America’s pop culture. To this day, no other than O.J. Simpson has become a suspect in the murders. Which means O.J. Simpson’s death marks the end of the lingering question on everyone’s minds: Did he get away with it?
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