Mark Fuhrman's Death and His Role in the OJ Simpson Case

The Legacy of Mark Fuhrman and the O.J. Simpson Trial

Former Los Angeles Police Department detective Mark Fuhrman, a key witness in the O.J. Simpson murder trial from 1995 that became a national fixation, has died. It may be difficult today, with even the biggest news stories having a short shelf life, to grasp how captivated the nation was 31 years ago about the trial of a former football star who had been accused of murdering his ex-wife and her friend.

The televised trial, which divided the nation along racial lines, had cliffhanger twists and turns and an assortment of unusual characters, a couple of whom had Florida connections. Here's a quick look back at a few of them:

O.J. Simpson: From Football Star to Controversial Figure

O.J. Simpson was an NFL legend, a former star running back for the Buffalo Bills who was the first player to run for 2,000 yards in a single season. After his playing career, he became a broadcaster and starred in films, cementing his fame.

In 1994, Simpson, who had a stormy relationship with his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, was accused of murdering her and a friend, Ronald Goldman. After a lengthy, televised trial that lasted for 10 months in 1995, Simpson was acquitted.

Simpson, who lived in Kendall, Florida, area in the early 2000s, later served nine years in prison after being convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping in Nevada. He died in 2024.

Mark Fuhrman: A Controversial Witness

Fuhrman was one of the L.A.P.D. detectives who worked the Simpson case. He said he found a bloody glove at the scene prosecutors argued belonged to the former football star. Under cross examination, Fuhrman's credibility and objectivity was shredded when several witnesses said he used racial slurs in the course of his work, possibly giving him a motive to plant evidence against Simpson. Fuhrman denied making slurs, but Simpson's defense team produced recorded interviews proving that the detective did, in fact, use racial slurs.

Fuhrman retired from the police department in August of 1995 and, in October of that year, pleaded no contest to perjury charges filed against him. He maintained that he did not plant evidence against Simpson and was not a racist.

Fuhrman wrote a book about the case and moved to Idaho, where, on May 12, he died, with The Los Angeles Times and other media outlets confirming his death a week later.

Johnnie L. Cochran: A Legal Powerhouse

Cochran was one of the superstar defense lawyers Simpson hired to defend him. A Louisiana native who rose to prominence as an attorney in California, Cochran worked in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office and later, in private practice, won a huge settlement for a Black former football player whose family claimed had been shot by police.

In the Simpson case, Cochran's closing argument became famous when he told a jury that had seen the former football star struggle to put on the gloves prosecutors said he wore during the murders: "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."

Cochran had other high-profile clients after Simpson's acquittal, including Sean Combs and Michael Jackson. He died in 2005.

F. Lee Bailey: A Defending Attorney

Bailey was another member of Simpson's defense team. Later a Florida resident, he had become a legal star after representing "Boston Strangler" suspect Albert DeSalvo and heiress Patty Hearst.

Bailey, who lived in Manalapan, Florida, south of West Palm Beach, in the early 2000s, was the attorney who cross-examined Fuhrman and got him to admit he had not used racial slurs. Bailey was later disbarred for financial misconduct in Florida in 2001 and then in Massachusetts in 2003. He died in 2021.

Robert Kardashian: A Family Connection

If his last name is familiar, it's because he is the father of the Kim Kardashian and her siblings. Before they all became famous, it was Robert Kardashian in the spotlight, first as the founder of Movie Tunes and then as a member of Simpson's criminal defense team.

Kardashian and Simpson had met at the University of Southern Cal, where Simpson starred on the football team. Simpson was best man at Kardashian's wedding. When Simpson was charged with murder, Kardashian reactivated his lapsed law license to join his criminal defense team. It was Kardashian who read a letter from Simpson to the media after the former football star failed to turn himself in.

Kardashian later expressed doubts about Simpson's innocence and the two men had a falling out. He died in 2003.

Share :