Direct examination of Shirley Baker

📄 Direct examination of Shirley Baker — Tuesday, July 11, 1995

Address:

C:\DEPT103\CRIMINAL\1995\JUL\11\DIRECT-EXAMINATION-OF-SHIRLEY-.DOC

TRIAL

▲ Day 112 of 167

◀ Jury enters courtroom Cross-examination of Shirley Baker ▶

Witness: Shirley Baker
Examiner: Robert Shapiro
Called by: Defense • Date: Tuesday, July 11, 1995 • Utterances: 95

OJ Simpson's oldest sister, Shirley Baker, testified about the night of June 13th, 1994, describing her brother as devastated, crying, and in shock after learning of Nicole's murder. Her central purpose was to directly contradict Ron Shipp's earlier testimony by asserting she was with OJ virtually every moment that night and that Shipp never spoke privately with her brother.

# 1 THE COURT:

All right. Mrs. Baker.

Shirley Baker, called as a witness by the Defendant, was sworn and testified as follows:

# 2 THE CLERK:

Please raise your right hand. 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.

# 3 MS. BAKER:

I do.

# 4 THE CLERK:

Please have a seat on the witness stand and state and spell your first and last names for the record.

# 5 MS. BAKER:

My name is Mattie Shirley Simpson Baker. M-A-T-T-I-E S-H-I-R-L-E-Y S-I-M-P-S-O-N B-A-K-E-R.

# 6 THE CLERK:

Thank you.

DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. SHAPIRO

# 7 MR. SHAPIRO:

Good morning, Mrs. Baker.

# 8 MS. BAKER:

Good morning.

# 9 MR. SHAPIRO:

How are you today?

# 10 MS. BAKER:

Fine.

# 11 MR. SHAPIRO:

You are a sister of Mr. O.J. Simpson?

# 12 MS. BAKER:

Yes, I am his oldest and his big sister.

# 13 MR. SHAPIRO:

You took care of him while he was growing up?

# 14 MS. BAKER:

Yes.

# 15 MR. SHAPIRO:

And did you--have you been coming to court on a regular basis since this trial began?

# 16 MS. BAKER:

Yes.

# 17 MR. SHAPIRO:

Are you employed also or were you?

# 18 MS. BAKER:

I was until November of last year.

# 19 MR. SHAPIRO:

And that was?

# 20 MS. BAKER:

I'm on leave now.

# 21 MR. SHAPIRO:

Because of your interest in coming here and supporting your brother?

# 22 MS. BAKER:

Yes.

# 23 MR. SHAPIRO:

When you come to Los Angeles where do you stay?

# 24 MS. BAKER:

We stay at O.J.'s house.

# 25 MR. SHAPIRO:

And when you say "We," who stays there with you?

# 26 MS. BAKER:

Well, my husband and myself, we are there, my sister Carmelita is there, Jason, Arnelle and Paula, when she is in town she is there. When my mother is here, she is there, and when my children come, we are all there.

# 27 MR. SHAPIRO:

And are all those people there now?

# 28 MS. BAKER:

Yes.

# 29 MR. SHAPIRO:

I want to direct your attention to the night of June the 13th. Did you get some very unfortunate news?

# 30 MS. BAKER:

Yes, we did.

# 31 MR. SHAPIRO:

And what was that news?

# 32 MS. BAKER:

We found out that Nicole had been murdered.

# 33 MR. SHAPIRO:

And as a result of that, did you come to Los Angeles?

# 34 MS. BAKER:

Yes, we did.

# 35 MR. SHAPIRO:

Who did you come with?

# 36 MS. BAKER:

My mother and I, we came on the three o'clock flight from San Francisco.

# 37 MR. SHAPIRO:

And at some time that early evening did you arrive at your brother's house on Rockingham?

# 38 MS. BAKER:

Yes, we did.

# 39 MR. SHAPIRO:

Where was your brother when you arrived?

# 40 MS. BAKER:

My brother--the first time we went there, we weren't able to get in, and when we went back we went into the house and my brother was sitting on the couch in the TV room.

# 41 MR. SHAPIRO:

Why weren't you able to get in the first time?

# 42 MS. BAKER:

The police would not allow us into the home.

# 43 MR. SHAPIRO:

And what time was this?

# 44 MS. BAKER:

4:30, five o'clock.

# 45 MR. SHAPIRO:

Where did you go?

# 46 MS. BAKER:

We left there and we went to the police station to see if we could find out anything and then from there we left and we went to the Brentwood Lodge, which is up the street from O.J.'s house.

# 47 MR. SHAPIRO:

And then you returned that evening?

# 48 MS. BAKER:

Yes. We kept calling until we were able to get into the house.

# 49 MR. SHAPIRO:

When you came into the house did you see your brother?

# 50 MS. BAKER:

Yes. We walked in and went into the TV room and he was sitting there.

# 51 MR. SHAPIRO:

And can you describe what his mood and demeanor was like when you first saw him?

# 52 MS. BAKER:

He was devastated. He was crying, he was sad, he was in disbelief, he was in shock. It was--it was sad, it was just so sad.

KEY QUOTE

# 53 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you try to comfort him?

# 54 MS. BAKER:

We tried to, but we were--we were all in shock. Umm, Nicole had been a part of our family for 17 years and we couldn't--we couldn't believe what was going on and we didn't know what was going on because we were only hearing bits and pieces from the newspaper and everything and the TV we had no idea what had happened and we were just all just devastated.

# 55 MR. SHAPIRO:

Were there other family members there when you were there with your brother?

# 56 MS. BAKER:

Yes, there were.

# 57 MR. SHAPIRO:

What other family members were there?

# 58 MS. BAKER:

My mother was there, Arnelle was there, Jason was there. There was a house full of people there. Some of my children were there, friends.

# 59 MR. SHAPIRO:

Were there people that were coming and going?

# 60 MS. BAKER:

Constantly.

# 61 MR. SHAPIRO:

And they were paying their condolences?

# 62 MS. BAKER:

Yes.

# 63 MR. SHAPIRO:

During this period of time when you were downstairs did you sit near your brother?

# 64 MS. BAKER:

Yes. We sat on the couch in the TV room. There is a big couch there, and O.J. Was sitting there and my mother was sitting on one side of him and I was sitting on the other side of him and he was--as I say, he was devastated. He was exhausted because he had been on the plane the night before, he had gone to Chicago and then he had returned, and all of this was happening and he was just--it was sad. We were all very, very sad because we couldn't believe what had happened.

# 65 MR. SHAPIRO:

While you were sitting on the couch did your brother ever leave your presence?

# 66 MS. BAKER:

No.

# 67 MR. SHAPIRO:

At some point in time did you and your brother leave the couch?

# 68 MS. BAKER:

Yes. He was sitting on the couch and he was holding my mother's hand and sometimes he would lean on her shoulder and then sometimes he would lay his head back on the couch and close his eyes and we kept urging him to go upstairs and to try to lay down and to try to rest, because every time he would lean back and he would close his eyes for a minute or two, he would jerk or somebody would say something or he was trying to listen to everything, because there was a lot of commotion going on in there, and we were trying to get him to go upstairs. I asked Robert Kardashian if he would take O.J. Upstairs because we thought he needed to leave from downstairs.

# 69 MR. SHAPIRO:

And did Mr. Kardashian take him upstairs?

# 70 MS. BAKER:

Yes. They got up from the couch, they walked down the hallway. He stopped, he paused at the kitchen door, and he said something to someone in the kitchen, and then he and Robert walked up the stairs.

# 71 MR. SHAPIRO:

Did you go up the stairs shortly thereafter?

# 72 MS. BAKER:

I walked up the stairs directly behind them.

# 73 MR. SHAPIRO:

And when you got upstairs, was there anyone up there?

# 74 MS. BAKER:

The only person that was upstairs at that time was my brother-in-law who was in the front bedroom and he was in the bed.

# 75 MR. SHAPIRO:

When you got upstairs, where did your brother go?

# 76 MS. BAKER:

My brother and Robert Kardashian walked into the room. I hesitated at Justin's room while they went into the room for O.J. To get into the bed. I stood in the doorway. He walked towards--in the room and I stood back. O.J. And Robert walked in. O.J. Took his pants off or Robert took his pants off, I didn't see who did it. O.J. Laid in the bed and then I walked into the room.

# 77 MR. SHAPIRO:

During the time you were here watching the trial, did you see a man by the name of Ron Shipp testify?

# 78 MS. BAKER:

Yes, I did.

# 79 MR. SHAPIRO:

And did you hear his testimony?

# 80 MS. BAKER:

Yes, I did.

# 81 MR. SHAPIRO:

During the time that you were with your brother sitting on the couch, did you ever see Ron Shipp talk privately to your brother?

# 82 MS. BAKER:

No.

# 83 MR. SHAPIRO:

During the time you went upstairs to the bedroom with your brother did you ever see Ron Shipp come up and talk privately to your brother?

# 84 MS. BAKER:

Ron Shipp did come up to the bedroom. I was in the bedroom. I was sitting on the couch. The telephone was ringing and O.J. Had just closed his eyes for a moment, and when the telephone rung O.J. Started to shake. And I asked Ron, I said, "Ron, is there any way that you can turn that phone off or unplug the phone?" He walked around the side of the bed and he unplugged the phone. And it seemed to me like I could still hear the phone ringing, so he took the phone and I think he put it in the night stand. He said a few words to me and then he left the room and he never returned to that room again.

# 85 MR. SHAPIRO:

So you are absolutely certain at no time did your brother speak privately to Ron Shipp in the bedroom that night?

# 86 MS. BAKER:

I'm absolutely certain, yes.

KEY QUOTE

# 87 MS. CLARK:

Objection, that is speculation.

# 88 THE COURT:

Overruled.

# 89 MR. SHAPIRO:

Where did you spend the night?

# 90 MS. BAKER:

I spent the night on the couch and laying on the bed in O.J.'s room. My husband and my other children came at about ten o'clock and from my--my husband came upstairs and the two of us stayed in O.J.'s room until the next morning until Robert Kardashian and Howard Weitzman came to the house.

# 91 MR. SHAPIRO:

So with the exception of the time that your brother went in to get in bed, with Robert Kardashian, you were with your brother the entire time he was in the bedroom?

# 92 MS. BAKER:

Every moment until that morning.

KEY QUOTE

# 93 MR. SHAPIRO:

Thank you very much.

# 94 MS. BAKER:

Thank you.

# 95 THE COURT:

People.

Temperature

emotional

Key Quotes (4)

Shirley Baker

He was devastated. He was crying, he was sad, he was in disbelief, he was in shock. It was--it was sad, it was just so sad.

Defense humanizes OJ and establishes his emotional state immediately after Nicole's murder, countering prosecution's narrative.

Shirley Baker

Nicole had been a part of our family for 17 years and we couldn't--we couldn't believe what was going on.

Frames Nicole as a beloved family member, complicating the prosecution's domestic violence narrative.

Shirley Baker

I'm absolutely certain, yes.

Direct contradiction of Ron Shipp's testimony that OJ privately admitted dreaming about killing Nicole — the primary purpose of calling this witness.

Shirley Baker

Every moment until that morning.

Closing statement establishing she was with OJ continuously through the night, leaving no window for the private conversation Shipp claimed occurred.

Notable Exchanges (2)

Robert Shapiro•Shirley Baker

Shapiro walks Baker through a detailed account of the bedroom scene — who was present, when Shipp arrived, what he did (unplugged the phone at her request), and when he left — systematically dismantling Shipp's claim of a private confession.

strategic

Robert Shapiro•Shirley Baker

Baker recounts sitting on the couch with OJ flanked by her on one side and their mother on the other, urging him to go upstairs to rest, painting a picture of a grieving family vigil.

emotional

Credibility Attacks (1)

⚔ Ron Shipp

contradicting testimony via eyewitness account

Baker testifies she was present in OJ's bedroom throughout the night and that Shipp's visit was brief — he unplugged a phone at her request, exchanged a few words with her, and left, never speaking privately with OJ. This directly refutes Shipp's claim that OJ privately confessed to dreaming about killing Nicole.

Objections

1 objections (0 sustained, 1 overruled)

Proceeding 6717 • 95 utterances • Defense witness

Criminal Trial

Department 103