If I Did It

by The Goldman Family

  Howard tried to tell me that that wasn’t the point—that we needed to take a moment to gather our thoughts and to try to figure out where things stood, and that once we had more information I could be the most cooperative witness in the world. But I didn’t want to wait that long. I wanted to know what the cops knew, and I wanted to know right away.

  “I don’t need a lawyer,” I told Howard. “I’m innocent.”

  And yeah, I know what you’re thinking: “Everybody’s innocent! The prisons are filled with guys who didn’t do shit!” But that’s my point. Half of you think I did it, and nothing will ever make you change your minds. The other half know I didn’t do it, and all the evidence in the world—planted or otherwise—isn’t going to sway you, either. But this wasn’t about that. This was about me, the prime suspect, the accused party, and I did what all accused men do at the moment of truth: I proclaimed my innocence.

  Absolutely 100 percent not guilty, Your Honor.

  You might remember that phrase. I used it at the beginning of the trial.

  I turned to look at Howard again. “I’m going to talk to them,” I said. “I don’t care about anything else. I want to know exactly what the fuck is going on.”

  And that was the truth. My ex-wife was dead. I was exhausted. I needed to know what the cops knew. I wanted to get through this thing as quickly as possible, and I wanted desperately to see my kids.

  So I got in the car with Vannatter and Lange and we went down to Parker Center for the interview. No bullshit. No lawyers. No interference.

  Just me and them.

  If it had only been that easy …

  7.

  THE INTERROGATION

  ON JUNE 13, 1994, a little after 1:30 p.m., I found myself in an interrogation room at Parker Center, in downtown Los Angeles, talking to Philip Vannatter and Thomas Lange, the two cops who were leading the investigation. The interview lasted thirty-two minutes, and the entire transcript follows:

  VANNATTER: … my partner, Detective Lange, and we’re in an interview room in Parker Center. The date is June thirteenth, 1994, and the time is 13:35 hours. And we’re here with O.J. Simpson. Is that Orenthal James Simpson?

  OJ: Orenthal James Simpson.

  VANNATTER: And what is your birth date, Mr. Simpson?

  OJ: July ninth, 1947.

  VANNATTER: Okay. Prior to us talking to you, as we agreed with your attorney, I’m going to give you your attorney, I’m going to give you your constitutional rights. And I would like you to listen carefully. If you don’t understand anything, tell me, okay?

  OJ: All right.

  VANNATTER: Okay. Mr. Simpson, you have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney and to have an attorney present during the questioning. If you so desire and cannot afford one, an attorney will be appointed for you without charge before questioning. Do you understand your rights?

  OJ: Yes, I do.

  VANNATTER: Are there any questions about that?

  OJ: (unintelligible).

  VANNATTER: Okay, you’ve got to speak up louder than that …

  OJ: Okay, no.

  VANNATTER: Okay, do you wish to give up your right to remain silent and talk to us?

  OJ: Ah, yes.

  VANNATTER: Okay, and you give up your right to have an attorney present while we talk?

  OJ: Mmm hmm. Yes.

  VANNATTER: Okay. All right, what we’re gonna do is, we want to … We’re investigating, obviously, the death of your ex-wife and another man.

  LANGE: Someone told us that.

  VANNATTER: Yeah, and we’re going to need to talk to you about that. Are you divorced from her now?

  OJ: Yes.

  VANNATTER: How long have you been divorced?

  OJ: Officially? Probably close to two years, but we’ve been apart for a little over two years.

  VANNATTER: Have you?

  OJ: Yeah.

  VANNATTER: What was your relationship with her? What was the—

  OJ: Well, we tried to get back together, and it just didn’t work. It wasn’t working, and so we were going our separate ways.

  VANNATTER: Recently you tried to get back together?

  OJ: We tried to get back together for about a year, you know, where we started dating each other and seeing each other. She came back and wanted us to get back together, and—

  VANNATTER: Within the last year, you’re talking about?

  OJ: She came back about a year and four months ago about us trying to get back together, and we gave it a shot. We gave it a shot the better part of a year. And I think we both knew it wasn’t working, and probably three weeks ago or so, we said it just wasn’t working, and we went our separate ways.

  VANNATTER: Okay, the two children are yours?

  OJ: Yes.

  LANGE: She have custody?

  OJ: We have joint custody.

  LANGE: Through the courts?

  OJ: We went through the courts and everything. Everything is done. We have no problems with the kids, we do everything together, you know, with the kids.

  VANNATTER: How was your separation? What—

  OJ: The first separation?

  VANNATTER: Yeah, was there problems with that?

  OJ: For me, it was big problems. I loved her, I didn’t want us to separate.

  VANNATTER: Uh huh. I understand she had made a couple of crime—crime reports or something?

  OJ: Ah, we had a big fight about six years ago on New Year’s, you know, she made a report. I didn’t make a report. And then we had an altercation about a year ago maybe. It wasn’t a physical argument. I kicked her door or something.

  VANNATTER: And she made a police report on those two occasions?

  OJ: Mmm hmm. And I stayed right there until the police came, talked to them.

  LANGE: Were you arrested at one time for something?

  OJ: No. I mean, five years ago we had a big fight, six years ago. I don’t know. I know I ended up doing community service.

  VANNATTER: So you weren’t arrested?

  OJ: No, I was never really arrested.

  LANGE: They never booked you or—

  OJ: No.

  VANNATTER: Can I ask you, when’s the last time you’ve slept?

  OJ: I got a couple of hours sleep last night. I mean, you know, I slept a little on the plane, not much, and when I got to the hotel I was asleep a few hours when the phone call came.

  LANGE: Did Nicole have a housemaid that lived there?

  OJ: I believe so, yes.

  LANGE: Do you know her name at all?

  OJ: Evia, Elvia, something like that.

  VANNATTER: We didn’t see her there. Did she have the day off perhaps?

  OJ: I don’t know. I don’t know what schedule she’s on.

  LANGE: Phil, what do you think? We can maybe just recount last night—

  VANNATTER: Yeah. When was the last time you saw Nicole?

  OJ: We were leaving a dance recital. She took off and I was talking to her parents.

  VANNATTER: Where was the dance recital?

  OJ: Paul Revere High School.

  VANNATTER: And was that for one of your children?

  OJ: Yeah, for my daughter, Sydney.

  VANNATTER: And what time was that yesterday?

  OJ: It ended about six thirty, quarter to seven, something like that, you know, in the ballpark, right in that area. And they took off.

  VANNATTER: They?

  OJ: Her and her family—her mother and father, sisters, my kids, you know.

  VANNATTER: And then you went your own separate way?

  OJ: Yeah, actually she left, and then they came back and her mother got in a car with her, and the kids all piled into her sister’s car, and they—

  VANNATTER: Was Nicole driving?

  OJ: Yeah.

  VANNATTER: What kind of car was she driving?

  OJ: Her black car, a Cherokee,
a Jeep Cherokee.

  VANNATTER: What were you driving?

  OJ: My Rolls-Royce, my Bentley.

  VANNATTER: Do you own that Ford Bronco that sits outside?

  OJ: Hertz owns it, and Hertz lets me use it.

  VANNATTER: So that’s your vehicle, the one that was parked there on the street?

  OJ: Mmm hmm.

  VANNATTER: And it’s actually owned by Hertz?

  OJ: Hertz, yeah.

  VANNATTER: Who’s the primary driver on that? You?

  OJ: I drive it, the housekeeper drives it, you know, it’s kind of a—

  VANNATTER: All-purpose type vehicle?

  OJ: All-purpose, yeah. It’s the only one that my insurance will allow me to let anyone else drive.

  VANNATTER: OK.

  LANGE: When you drive it, where do you park it at home? Where it is now, it was in the street or something?

  OJ: I always park it on the street.

  LANGE: You never take it in the—

  OJ: Oh, rarely. I mean, I’ll bring it in and switch the stuff, you know, and stuff like that. I did that yesterday, you know.

  LANGE: When did you last drive it?

  OJ: Yesterday.

  VANNATTER: What time yesterday?

  OJ: In the morning, in the afternoon.

  VANNATTER: Okay, you left her, you’re saying, about six thirty or seven, or she left the recital?

  OJ: Yeah.

  VANNATTER: And you spoke with her parents?

  OJ: Yeah, we were just sitting there talking.

  VANNATTER: Okay, what time did you leave the recital?

  OJ: Right about that time. We were all leaving. We were all leaving then. Her mother said something about me joining them for dinner, and I said no thanks.

  VANNATTER: Where did you go from there, O.J.?

  OJ: Ah, home, home for a while, got my car for a while, tried to find my girlfriend for a while, came back to the house.

  VANNATTER: Who was home when you got home?

  OJ: Kato.

  VANNATTER: Kato? Anybody else? Was your daughter there, Arnelle?

  OJ: No.

  VANNATTER: Isn’t that her name, Arnelle?

  OJ: Arnelle, yeah.

  VANNATTER: So what time do you think you got back home, actually physically got home?

  OJ: Seven-something.

  VANNATTER: Seven-something? And then you left, and—

  OJ: Yeah, I’m trying to think, did I leave? You know, I’m always … I had to run and get my daughter some flowers. I was actually doing the recital, so I rushed and got her some flowers, and I came home, and then I called Paula as I was going to her house, and Paula wasn’t home.

  VANNATTER: Paula is your girlfriend?

  OJ: Girlfriend, yeah.

  VANNATTER: Paula who?

  OJ: Barbieri.

  VANNATTER: Could you spell that for me?

  OJ: B-A-R-B-I-E-R-I.

  VANNATTER: Do you know an address on her?

  OJ: No, she lives on Wilshire, but I think she’s out of town.

  VANNATTER: You got a phone number?

  OJ: Yeah …

  VANNATTER: So you didn’t see her last night?

  OJ: No, we’d been to a big affair the night before, and then I came back home. I was basically at home. I mean, any time I was—whatever time it took me to get to the recital and back, to get to the flower shop and back, I mean, that’s the time I was out of the house.

  VANNATTER: Were you scheduled to play golf this morning, some place?

  OJ: In Chicago.

  VANNATTER: What kind of tournament was it?

  OJ: Ah, it was Hertz, with special clients.

  VANNATTER: Oh, okay. What time did you leave last night, leave the house?

  OJ: To go to the airport?

  VANNATTER: Mmm hmm.

  OJ: About … The limo was supposed to be there at ten forty-five. Normally, they get there a little earlier. I was rushing around—somewhere between there and eleven.

  VANNATTER: So approximately ten forty-five to eleven.

  OJ: Eleven o’clock, yeah, somewhere in that area.

  VANNATTER: And you went by limo?

  OJ: Yeah.

  VANNATTER: Who’s the limo service?

  OJ: Ah, you have to ask my office.

  LANGE: Did you converse with the driver at all? Did you talk to him?

  OJ: No, he was a new driver. Normally, I have a regular driver I drive with and converse. No, just about rushing to the airport, about how I live my life on airplanes, and hotels, that type of thing.

  LANGE: What time did the plane leave?

  OJ: Ah, eleven forty-five the flight took off.

  VANNATTER: What airline was it?

  OJ: American.

  VANNATTER: American? And it was eleven forty-five to Chicago?

  OJ: Chicago.

  LANGE: So yesterday you did drive the white Bronco?

  OJ: Mmm hmm.

  LANGE: And where did you park it when you brought it home?

  OJ: Ah, the first time probably by the mailbox. I’m trying to think, or did I bring it in the driveway? Normally, I will park it by the mailbox, sometimes …

  LANGE: On Ashford, or Ashland?

  OJ: On Ashford, yeah.

  LANGE: Where did you park yesterday for the last time, do you remember?

  OJ: Right where it is.

  LANGE: Where it is now?

  OJ: Yeah.

  LANGE: Where, on—?

  OJ: Right on the street there.

  LANGE: On Ashford?

  OJ: No, on Rockingham.

  LANGE: You parked it there?

  OJ: Yes.

  LANGE: About what time was that?

  OJ: Eight-something, seven … eight, nine o’clock, I don’t know, right in that area.

  LANGE: Did you take it to the recital?

  OJ: No.

  LANGE: What time was the recital?

  OJ: Over at about six thirty. Like I said, I came home, I got my car, I was going to see my girlfriend. I was calling her and she wasn’t around.

  LANGE: So you drove the—you came home in the Rolls, and then you got in the Bronco …

  OJ: In the Bronco, ’cause my phone was in the Bronco. And because it’s a Bronco. It’s a Bronco, it’s what I drive, you know. I’d rather drive it than any other car. And, you know, as I was going over there, I called her a couple of times and she wasn’t there, and I left a message, and then I checked my messages, and there were no new messages. She wasn’t there, and she may have to leave town. Then I came back and ended up sitting with Kato.

  LANGE: Okay, what time was this again that you parked the Bronco?

  OJ: Eight-something, maybe. He hadn’t done a Jacuzzi, we had … Went and got a burger, and I’d come home and kind of leisurely got ready to go. I mean, we’d done a few things …

  LANGE: You weren’t in a hurry when you came back with the Bronco.

  OJ: No.

  LANGE: The reason I asked you, the cars were parked kind of at a funny angle, stuck out in the street.

  OJ: Well, it’s parked because … I don’t know if it’s a funny angle or what. It’s parked because when I was hustling at the end of the day to get all my stuff, and I was getting my phone and everything off it, when I just pulled it out of the gate there, it’s like it’s a tight turn.

  LANGE: So you had it inside the compound, then?

  OJ: Yeah.

  LANGE: Oh, okay.

  OJ: I brought it inside the compound to get my stuff out of it, and then I put it out, and I’d run back inside the gate before the gate closes.

  VANNATTER: O.J., what’s your office phone number?

  OJ: (gives number)

  VANNATTER: And is that area code 310?

  OJ: Yes.

  VANNATTER: How did you get the injury on your hand?

  OJ: I don’t know. The first time, when I was in Chicago and all, but at the house I was just running around.

  VANNATTER: How did you do it in Chicago?

&nb
sp; OJ: I broke a glass. One of you guys had just called me, and I was in the bathroom, and I just kind of went bonkers for a little bit.

  LANGE: Is that how you cut it?

  OJ: Mmm, it was cut before, but I think I just opened it again, I’m not sure.

  LANGE: Do you recall bleeding at all in your truck, in the Bronco?

  OJ: I recall bleeding at my house and then I went to the Bronco. The last thing I did before I left, when I was rushing, was went and got my phone out of the Bronco.

  LANGE: Mmm hmm. Where’s the phone now?

  OJ: In my bag.

  LANGE: You have it?

  OJ: In that black bag.

  LANGE: You brought a bag with you here?

  OJ: Yeah, it’s—

  LANGE: So do you recall bleeding at all?

  OJ: Yeah, I mean, I knew I was bleeding, but it was no big deal. I bleed all the time. I play golf and stuff, so there’s always something, nicks and stuff here and there.

  LANGE: So did you do anything? When did you put the Band-Aid on it?

  OJ: Actually, I asked the girl this morning for it.

  LANGE: And she got it?

  OJ: Yeah, ’cause last night with Kato, when I was leaving, he was saying something to me, and I was rushing to get my phone, and I put a little thing on it, and it stopped.

  VANNATTER: Do you have the keys to that Bronco?

  OJ: Yeah.

  VANNATTER: Okay. We’ve impounded the Bronco. I don’t know if you know that or not.

  OJ: No.

  VANNATTER: —take a look at it. Other than you, who’s the last person to drive it?

  OJ: Probably Gigi. When I’m out of town, I don’t know who drives the car, maybe my daughter, maybe Kato.

  VANNATTER: The keys are available?

  OJ: I leave the keys there, you know, when Gigi’s there because sometimes she needs it, or Gigi was off and wasn’t coming back until today, and I was coming back tonight.

  VANNATTER: So you don’t mind if Gigi uses it, or—

  OJ: This is the only one I can let her use. When she doesn’t have her car, ’cause sometimes her husband takes her car, I let her use the car.

  LANGE: When was the last time you were at Nicole’s house?

  OJ: I don’t go in, I won’t go in her house. I haven’t been in her house in a week, maybe five days. I go to her house a lot. I mean, I’m always dropping the kids off, picking the kids up, fooling around with the dog, you know.