Direct examination of Raymond David Kilduff

📄 Direct examination of Raymond David Kilduff — Thursday, December 5, 1996

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\DEC\5\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-RAYMOND-.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 26 of 57

◀ Direct examination of Jim Merrill (part 3) Direct examination of Mark Partridge ▶

Witness: Raymond Kilduff
Examiner: Daniel Petrocelli
Called by: Plaintiff • Date: Thursday, December 5, 1996 • Utterances: 123

Plaintiffs read selected portions of the deposition of Raymond David Kilduff, a Hertz Corporation division vice president, who encountered OJ Simpson at O'Hare airport on the morning of June 13, 1994. Kilduff testified that Simpson was sitting outside the O'Hare Plaza with a virtually empty black duffel bag, was frantic, emotional, moaning 'Oh my God, this is bad,' and told Kilduff he would 'hear about it in the news' — all before Kilduff had any knowledge of the murders in Los Angeles.

# 1 MR. PETROCELLI:

That's it. I don't have anything else.

We will now read from the deposition of Raymond David Kilduff taken in Chicago on Tuesday May 28, 1996.

# 2 (Selected portions of the deposition of Raymond David Kilduff taken in Chicago on Tuesday May 28, 1996 were read by Plaintiffs' Counsel, Mr. Petrocelli reading the questions, and Mr. Gelblum reading the answers.)

# 3 THE COURT:

Who is this?

# 4 MR. PETROCELLI:

Raymond David Kilduff K-I-L-D-U-F-F.

Starting at page 6, Mr. Leonard, line 8.

# 5 Q:

Can you state your name for the record, spelling your last name, please?

# 6 A:

Raymond David Kilduff, K-I-L-D-U-F-F.

# 7 Q:

And are you employed?

# 8 A:

Yes, I am.

# 9 Q:

Where are you employed?

# 10 A:

The Hertz Corporation.

# 11 Q:

What is your position there?

# 12 A:

Division vice president, central division sales.

# 13 Q:

Can you explain in general terms what your job entails?

# 14 A:

Yes. It's running the central mid-Atlantic United States corporate accounts, taking care of doing a lot of negotiating with the corporate accounts, setting up functions. We bring in, in this particular case, customers from those areas, the big corporate customers to a golf outing.

# 15 Q:

So one of functions you have presently is setting up affairs for customers, correct?

# 16 A:

That's correct.

# 17 Q:

Was that the case as of June of 1994? Did you have the same general responsibilities in your job?

# 18 A:

The same.

# 19 Q:

Directing your attention to June 13, 1994, was there a function that was to take place that day regarding the Hertz Corporation?

# 20 A:

Yes. We had a golf outing at Mission Hills Country Club.

# 21 Q:

Is Mission Hills in the Chicago area?

# 22 A:

Yes. It's about 30 minutes from O'Hare.

# 23 Q:

I'm sorry?

# 24 A:

About 30 minutes from O'Hare north.

# 25 MR. PETROCELLI:

Page 8, Mr. Leonard, line 1. (Reading:)

# 26 Q:

Now, at some point in the morning of June 13, did you have occasion to see O.J. Simpson?

# 27 A:

Yes? I had gone to O'Hare to pick up -- yes, I did.

# 28 Q:

And approximately when was it that you saw O.J. Simpson?

# 29 A:

Approximately about 8:30, I think, in the morning, somewhere around there, 8:30, 8:40.

# 30 MR. PETROCELLI:

Page 9, line 2, Mr. Leonard. (Reading:)

# 31 Q:

Again, where was it that you first saw O.J. Simpson that morning?

# 32 A:

Sitting outside the O'Hare Plaza on a bench.

# 33 MR. PETROCELLI:

Skipping to page 11, line 16. (Reading:)

# 34 Q:

How did you happen to see O.J. Simpson? What were you doing when you first saw him? Where were you? What were you doing?

# 35 A:

I was bringing two customers and my boss, John Johnson, back from O'Hare. I picked them up and were dropping them off, taking them to get ready to go play golf.

# 36 MR. PETROCELLI:

Skipping to page 21, Mr. Leonard, line 19, referring to the same point in time. (Reading:)

# 37 Q:

And what happened after that?

# 38 A:

There was some exchange between O.J. and John, and then I got into the car and O.J. got into the car.

# 39 Q:

All right. Can you tell us what the exchange was between Mr. Simpson and -- when you say, "John," that's your boss?

# 40 A:

John Johnson, right, my boss.

# 41 Q:

Tell us what the exchange was.

# 42 A:

It was in reference to -- O.J. wanted to make sure his golf clubs got back. Jim had them, our sales rep, Jim Merrill, had those. That something terrible had happened in Los Angeles and that we would hear about it in -- on the news or something like that.

# 43 MR. PETROCELLI:

Skipping over to page 46, beginning at line 6.

# 44 MR. LEONARD:

Hold on.

# 45 (Reading:)

# 46 Q:

Now, Mr. Simpson, when you saw him on June 13, sitting outside the O'Hare Plaza on the bench, was wearing blue jeans, correct?

# 47 A:

Correct.

# 48 Q:

And a long-sleeved, blue-jean-type shirt, correct?

# 49 A:

That's right.

# 50 Q:

With sleeves rolled partway up his arms, correct?

# 51 A:

Yes.

# 52 Q:

And when you saw him on the bench, he had that duffel bag next to him, right?

# 53 A:

Yes.

# 54 Q:

It was a black duffel bag?

# 55 A:

That's how I remember it.

# 56 Q:

And he was sitting and you were standing, correct?

# 57 A:

Yes.

# 58 Q:

And when he opened that duffel bag, you were standing, in effect, over him, right?

# 59 A:

Yes.

# 60 Q:

So therefore, you were in a position to see into the duffel bag, correct?

# 61 A:

Perfectly.

# 62 Q:

Excuse me?

# 63 A:

Perfectly.

# 64 Q:

And you testified previously that the bag was virtually empty, correct?

# 65 A:

Virtually. There was just a few items on the bottom.

# 66 Q:

It was virtually empty, correct?

# 67 A:

Correct.

# 68 MR. PETROCELLI:

And skipping over to page 56, Mr. Leonard, starting at line 15. (Reading:)

# 69 Q:

Now, you testified earlier that John Johnson got out of the car and chatted with Mr. Simpson, right?

# 70 A:

Right.

# 71 Q:

And you said that Mr. Simpson told Mr. Johnson that he wanted to make sure he got his golf clubs back, correct?

# 72 A:

Right.

# 73 Q:

And Mr. Simpson said that in your presence, correct?

# 74 A:

Correct. He also said it to me.

# 75 Q:

When did he also say it to you?

# 76 A:

He said it again when I was in the car, taking him back.

# 77 Q:

Did he tell you when he said this, first in your presence, in front of Mr. Johnson, or to Mr. Johnson, and then directly to you, in the car, where his golf clubs were?

# 78 A:

Yes.

# 79 Q:

And what did he say?

# 80 A:

They were in Jim's car.

# 81 Q:

And what did he ask you to do to make sure that the golf clubs got back to him?

# 82 A:

Put them on -- you know, get them to the airport and get them on the flight, make sure they get sent back.

# 83 MR. PETROCELLI:

Finally, Mr. Leonard, page 75.

# 84 MR. LEONARD:

Which line?

# 85 MR. PETROCELLI:

Page 74, line 23, beginning there.

# 86 MR. LEONARD:

23?

# 87 MR. PETROCELLI:

24.

# 88 MR. LEONARD:

Okay.

# 89 (Reading:)

# 90 Q:

After the morning of June 23, 1994, when you gave Mr. Simpson a ride to the airport, did you ever speak to him again?

# 91 A:

No.

# 92 Q:

Was he upset during the time he spent with you when you were giving him a ride to the airport?

# 93 A:

Yes.

# 94 Q:

Did he seem somewhat frantic?

# 95 A:

Yes. I can almost swear I could hear the wheels turning.

KEY QUOTE

# 96 Q:

Emotional?

# 97 A:

Yes.

# 98 Q:

And was he moaning in some manner, also?

# 99 A:

Yes.

# 100 Q:

In what manner was he moaning?

# 101 A:

"Oh, my God, this is bad."

KEY QUOTE

# 102 Q:

Do you recall anything else he said other than "this is bad"?

# 103 A:

He said, "this is bad." He said, you know, "You'll hear about it in the -- you'll hear about the in the news." I mean, what I felt -- in the end, I felt that --

# 104 Q:

Had you heard anything on the news yet?

# 105 A:

No. I had no idea. But out of there, I figured something horrible had happened. It seemed like it was a family -- and I just figured that out myself.

# 106 Q:

Did he tell you what had happened?

# 107 A:

No. He didn't say? He just said, "This is really bad, and you'll read about it in -- you'll read or hear about it in the news."

# 108 Q:

Did he appear to be in a hurry to you, also?

# 109 A:

A big hurry.

# 110 Q:

Was he rushing you?

# 111 A:

Rushing.

# 112 Q:

Was he abrupt with you?

# 113 A:

In a way.

# 114 Q:

And in terms of the words I just used to describe in terms of frantic, emotional, abrupt, were these out of character for him as you had known him?

# 115 A:

Yes.

# 116 Q:

Did you ever see him act in any way similar to this before?

# 117 A:

No.

# 118 Q:

And did there ever come a time that Mr. Simpson called to you apologize for his behavior during that time on the way to the airport?

# 119 A:

No, not me but ...

# 120 Q:

I'm asking you, did he call you?

# 121 A:

Personally, no, he did not personally call me.

# 122 MR. PETROCELLI:

That's it.

# 123 MR. LEONARD:

I don't have anything at this time, Your Honor.

Temperature

tense

Key Quotes (4)

Witness (Kilduff)

I can almost swear I could hear the wheels turning.

Vivid characterization of Simpson's mental state the morning after the murders — visibly agitated, mind racing.

Witness (Kilduff)

Oh, my God, this is bad.

Simpson's spontaneous statement to Kilduff in the car, made before news broke publicly, suggests guilty knowledge.

Witness (Kilduff)

This is really bad, and you'll read or hear about it in the news.

Simpson explicitly signaled awareness of a serious event without disclosing what it was — key to the consciousness-of-guilt theory.

Witness (Kilduff)

Perfectly.

Emphatic confirmation that Kilduff had a clear view into the duffel bag and that it was virtually empty — relevant to what happened to any incriminating items.

Evidence (1)

Informal

Black duffel bag carried by Simpson at O'Hare Plaza, described as virtually empty with only a few items on the bottom

discussed

Notable Exchanges (2)

Examiner•Witness (Kilduff)

Systematic confirmation that Simpson's frantic, emotional, abrupt, rushing behavior on June 13 was entirely out of character for him as Kilduff had known him.

revealing

Examiner•Witness (Kilduff)

Extended questioning about the duffel bag — establishing Kilduff was standing over Simpson and had a perfect view inside, and that it was virtually empty.

strategic

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 8488 • 123 utterances • Plaintiff witness

Civil Trial

Department 103