Albert Aguilera, a pharmacist and USC alumnus, testified that in early July 1986 he witnessed O.J. Simpson slap Nicole Brown Simpson on Victoria Beach in Laguna Beach. He described seeing Simpson strike Nicole with his right hand, knocking her to her knees, then crouch over her in what first appeared to be consolation before becoming agitated, while Nicole cried 'no, no' at least twice.
# 1 THE CLERK: You do solemnly swear that the testimony you may give in the cause now pending before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
# 2 ALBERT AGUILERA: I do.
# 3 THE CLERK: Please be seated.
And, sir, would you please state and spell your name for the record.
# 4 ALBERT AGUILERA: Albert Aguilera. Last name A-g-u-i-l-e-r-a.
# 5 THE CLERK: Albert, A-l-b-e-r-t?
# 6 ALBERT AGUILERA: Yes. DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. KELLY:
# 7 Q: Good morning, sir.
# 9 Q: You currently employed?
# 11 Q: And what type of work do you do?
# 12 A: I'm a pharmacist in retail.
# 13 Q: And did you receive a doctorate in pharmacy?
# 14 A: A doctorate pharmacy degree, yes.
# 15 Q: And where did you receive that from?
# 16 A: From the University of Southern California.
# 17 Q: And what years did attend U.S.C. prior to receiving your doctorate there?
# 19 Q: And when you were attending U.S.C., did you have occasion to know who O.J. Simpson was?
# 21 Q: And why did you have occasion to know that?
# 22 A: Well, everybody knew about the SC football team. We were doing great. During the whole four years I was there, we did very well.
# 23 Q: Did you ever see Mr. Simpson on campus when you were there?
# 24 A: Yes, on numerous occasions.
# 25 Q: You were familiar with his appearance?
# 27 Q: Knew him by sight?
# 29 Q: Okay.
Now, I want to draw your attention to approximately July 1, 1986.
Do you recall where you were living at that time?
# 30 A: I lived in Laguna Beach at a place called the Blue Lagoon.
# 31 Q: And who did you live there with?
# 33 Q: And did Art Sorce have any affiliation with football himself?
# 34 A: Yes. He was a former All American from Colorado, and he also played briefly with the Green Bay Packers.
# 35 Q: Now, going back -- going back to early July, 1986, do you recall having an occasion to be on Victoria Beach one afternoon?
# 36 A: Yes, we were walking on the beach that day.
# 37 Q: When you say we, who were you walking with?
# 39 Q: Okay.
And do you recall where you had started walking from?
# 40 A: We started from Blue Lagoon, which is the south end of Victoria Beach.
# 41 Q: And proceeded in what direction?
# 42 A: Proceeded north, walking down the water.
# 43 Q: Okay.
And do you recall what time of day it was, approximately?
# 44 A: Middle of the day, between 12, 1, 2, o'clock.
# 45 Q: And what, if anything, did you observe or anyone, did you observe, as you were walking along at that time?
# 46 A: As we were walking and talking, about three-fourths up the way -- of the way up the beach, we saw O.J. and Nicole.
# 47 Q: Okay.
Were you walking on the sand or in the water at this time?
# 49 Q: And how far out in the water were you, when you were walking along?
# 50 A: About 15, 20 yards in.
# 51 Q: And how far away were you from Mr. Simpson and Nicole when you first observed them?
# 52 A: Oh, probably were about 50, 60 yards away.
# 53 Q: And after first observing them, what, if anything, did you continue to observe about them at this time?
# 54 A: Well, she was standing in front of him, he was facing the beach, she had her back to us and she was --
# 55 Q: When you say he was facing the beach, you mean the water or the sand?
# 56 A: He was facing the water.
# 57 Q: Okay.
And she was facing?
# 58 A: She was facing him. She was standing in front of him so she had her back to us. She was -- looked -- appeared like she was teasing, him or laughing and kind of animated in front of him.
# 59 Q: Were you able to observe him at that time also?
# 60 A: Yes. He had a more serious look on his face, and was standing still.
# 61 Q: Okay.
And what, if anything, did you observe next?
# 62 A: Well, I was -- as we watched him and -- we would walk, and as we got almost directly in front of him, suddenly he slapped her and she fell down.
# 63 Q: All right.
When you say he slapped her, what exactly did you observe Mr. Simpson do at that time?
# 64 A: He swung his right hand and hit her across the face. And she went down.
KEY QUOTE # 65 Q: And how far were you from them when you made this observation?
# 67 Q: Okay.
What, if anything, happened next?
# 68 A: We kept walking and watching. And he crouched down over her. First looked like he was consoling her. Then he became agitated. And she -- couple times I heard her say, no, no, and it appeared to be in a crying voice.
# 69 Q: When you saw her go down, did she fall to the side, or how did she exactly fall?
# 70 A: Almost straight down.
# 71 Q: Okay.
And she was -- when she was on the ground, what position was she in on the ground at this time?
# 72 A: She was on her knees.
# 76 A: He was crouching over her.
# 77 Q: Okay.
And you indicated there was some conversation between them?
# 78 A: Couldn't hear the conversation. I heard her say no, no, at least twice.
# 79 Q: Okay.
What happened next?
# 80 A: We kept walking, and looking back, and didn't know what to think. She suddenly stood up and ran away from the -- towards the back of the beach, away from the beach area.
# 81 Q: Okay.
Directly away from the water at this time?
# 83 Q: What happened next?
# 84 A: Then we -- we -- at this point we were turning around, walking back, and we kept looking to see if he was going to pursue her. And he didn't; he stayed a little while longer. And we looked back once, and he was walking away in her direction.
# 85 Q: Okay.
I'm going to ask you to look up on the screen there, Mr. Aguilera (referring to Exhibit 2194).
Do you recognize the individual in that photograph?
# 86 A: Yes. Nicole Simpson.
# 87 Q: Is that the person you saw Mr. Simpson hit that day on the beach?
# 90 MR. KELLY: I have no further questions.