Direct examination of Fred Goldman (part 2)

📄 Direct examination of Fred Goldman (part 2) — Monday, December 9, 1996

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CIVIL\1996\DEC\9\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-FRED-GOL.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 28 of 57

Witness: Fred Goldman
Examiner: Daniel Petrocelli
Called by: Plaintiff • Date: Monday, December 9, 1996 • Utterances: 58

Fred Goldman testifies about his son Ron's dreams — a planned restaurant shaped like an ankh, his desire for marriage and children, and his love of kids. The examination ends with Petrocelli playing a 1993 Bat Mitzvah video of Ron and asking Fred direct questions about his grief.

# 1 (The following proceedings were held in open court, in the presence of the jury.)

# 2 Q:

(BY MR. PETROCELLI) Sorry, Mr. Goldman.

You were saying after Ron's death, you found out some information about his plans to open up a business, a restaurant?

# 3 A:

Yeah.

After Ron was murdered, we were cleaning out Ron's apartment, and we found a -- a file with all kinds of information in it.

There were proposed menus, ideas for the kinds of things that Ron wanted to have on the menu. He had names of various chefs that he had met, had names of people that were apparently interested in -- in -- in being involved. And he had a drawing of what he wanted his restaurant to look like.

# 4 (The instrument herein referred to as a Hand-drawn Diagram of Ron Goldman's planned restaurant was marked for identification as Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 772.)

# 5 (Diagram displayed on the Elmo screen.)

# 6 Q:

Is that the drawing on the TV?

# 7 A:

Yeah.

I never realized how far Ron had gotten with his plans and his dreams.

# 8 Q:

Mr. Goldman, what is the shape of that diagram? Does it have any significance?

# 9 (Pause in proceedings. Mr. Goldman sobbing.)

# 10 A:

I'm sorry.

It's the Egyptian symbol that Ron wore around his neck. It was an Egyptian symbol, the round shape with the line across it, and then the vertical line below it, was the Egyptian symbol of an ankh.

# 11 Q:

What does the ankh stand for?

# 12 (Pause in proceedings. Mr. Goldman sobbing.)

# 13 A:

It meant eternal life.

KEY QUOTE

# 14 Q:

And Ron were the ankh around his neck?

# 15 A:

Yes.

# 16 Q:

Are you able to finish this up, Mr. Goldman?

# 17 A:

Yeah.

# 18 Q:

Okay.

# 19 A:

Doesn't wear it anymore; Kim wears it now.

KEY QUOTE

# 20 Q:

And Ron talked to you about wanting to have a family?

# 21 A:

Yeah.

Besides wanting a restaurant, Ron wanted only two other things: Wanted to be married and have children.

Ron -- Ron absolutely adored kids. It was probably part of the reason why he was so good at his job at the camp; was also the reason why he took a job as -- as a tennis coach for the high-school tennis team.

When we were ever with any of our friends who had little kids, as with Michael and Lauren, especially, when they were little, Ron was always like the Pied Piper. And he'd have little kids following him all over the place. And Ron wanted to have kids of his own.

# 22 Q:

Did he have a name picked out for his first child?

# 23 A:

Yeah.

# 24 Q:

What was that?

# 25 A:

Ron picked a name out of -- I'm not sure where it came from, but he had decided that he was going to name his first child Dakota, whether it was a boy or a girl.

Never had that chance.

# 26 Q:

Mr. -- I'm sorry.

Focusing on the last several months -- several months of Ron's life, did you see him during that period of time -- let's say from Lauren's Bat Mitzvah, in November of '93, till Ron's death in June of 1994?

# 27 A:

Yeah. We spent Thanksgiving together, my birthday in December, Kim's birthday, the end of December. Patty's birthday in February. Michael's birthday in March. Mother's Day --

Amazing I can remember these.

Mother's Day in May.

Something tells me I'm missing something.

# 28 Q:

And in between those various family events --

# 29 A:

Oh, had Passover in there someplace.

# 30 Q:

-- did you see Ron in between those times?

# 31 A:

Yeah. Ron and I always found a way to see each other. He had -- he had his schedule for work, was always varying from day shifts to night shifts. But I'd either meet him at work or we'd meet somewhere. Yeah. Yeah, we always found a way to meet, or he was always coming out to the house.

# 32 Q:

Now, this period of time, end of '93 into '94, by then, had Ron moved out of your home again?

# 33 A:

Yeah. Ron moved out again. He moved --that's when he moved into Brentwood.

# 34 Q:

And did you ever have a chance to go to his apartment in Brentwood?

# 35 A:

Yes. I -- we went there numerous times.

# 36 Q:

Did Ron talk to you about whether he liked Brentwood, living there?

# 37 A:

He liked Brentwood.

I wish he hadn't moved there.

KEY QUOTE

# 38 MR. PETROCELLI:

Can you put up that last picture.

# 39 (Photograph of Ron Goldman, wearing blue shorts, with his arm around a person wearing red shorts, displayed on the Elmo screen.)

# 40 Q:

(BY MR. PETROCELLI) What is this photo, Mr. Goldman?

# 41 A:

As best as I know, that's one of the last -- last pictures taken of Ron.

# 42 Q:

You found that after his death?

# 43 A:

Yes. He was -- he played softball in Brentwood with a bunch of kids.

My favorite picture of him.

# 44 MR. PETROCELLI:

Take it down.

# 45 Q:

(BY MR. PETROCELLI) The last video you have of Ron is at the Bat Mitzvah?

# 46 A:

Yeah.

# 47 MR. PETROCELLI:

Can you play it.

# 48 (Videotape originated on November 13, 1993, was played.)

# 49 (Videotape concluded playing.)

# 50 Q:

(BY MR. PETROCELLI) Mr. Goldman, did you love your son?

# 51 A:

Oh, God, yes.

# 52 Q:

Do you miss him?

# 53 A:

More than you can imagine.

# 54 Q:

Do you think about him every day?

# 55 A:

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of Ron.

# 56 Q:

Will your life ever be the same again?

# 57 A:

Never, ever be the same. A hole missing.

KEY QUOTE

# 58 Q:

Thank you, sir.

Temperature

emotional

Key Quotes (5)

Fred Goldman

It meant eternal life.

Ron designed his dream restaurant in the shape of an ankh — the Egyptian symbol of eternal life — which he wore around his neck. The irony is devastating.

Fred Goldman

Doesn't wear it anymore; Kim wears it now.

Quiet, understated grief — Ron's sister now wears the necklace he wore when he was killed.

Fred Goldman

Never had that chance.

Said after revealing Ron had picked the name 'Dakota' for his first child. One of the most concise encapsulations of loss in the testimony.

Fred Goldman

I wish he hadn't moved there.

Referring to Ron's move to Brentwood — haunting with the knowledge of what happened there.

Fred Goldman

Never, ever be the same. A hole missing.

Final answer of the direct examination, summarizing the permanent nature of his loss.

Evidence (3)

Plaintiffs' Exhibit No. 772

Hand-drawn diagram of Ron Goldman's planned restaurant, shaped like an ankh

marked for identification, displayed on Elmo screen

Informal

Photograph of Ron Goldman in blue shorts with arm around a person in red shorts — described as one of the last photos taken of him

displayed on Elmo screen

Informal

Videotape originated November 13, 1993 — footage of Ron at Lauren's Bat Mitzvah

played in court

Notable Exchanges (2)

Daniel Petrocelli•Fred Goldman

Petrocelli walks Goldman through Ron's dreams — the restaurant, marriage, children — then closes with direct questions about love and grief while playing the last video of Ron alive.

deliberate and devastating

Fred Goldman

Goldman pauses twice sobbing while explaining the ankh symbol on Ron's restaurant diagram, then reveals Kim now wears the necklace.

grief-stricken

Light Moments (1)

Fred Goldman

Goldman rattles off family birthdays from memory — Thanksgiving, his birthday, Kim's, Patty's, Michael's, Mother's Day — then says 'Amazing I can remember these,' then catches himself: 'Oh, had Passover in there someplace.'

Witness Demeanor

(Pause in proceedings. Mr. Goldman sobbing.) — when asked about the shape of the ankh diagram

(Pause in proceedings. Mr. Goldman sobbing.) — when asked what the ankh symbol means

Objections

None recorded

Proceeding 8544 • 58 utterances • Plaintiff witness

Civil Trial

Department 103