Dan Leonard cross-examines Faye Resnick on the writing process and accuracy of her book 'The Private Diary of Nicole Brown Simpson,' including her use of a pseudonym (Marcello/Alessandro) for a man she was protecting, and her authentication of the book with friends after it was written. The examination also covers details of specific incidents involving O.J. Simpson — cocaine use, the sushi bar bathroom door incident, and the Toscana restaurant confrontation — probing witness consistency and the reliability of her accounts.
# 2 Q: Good afternoon, Ms. Resnick.
# 4 Q: If you have any problem understanding my questions, please let me know and if you need to break at any time, just let us know and we will accommodate you.
# 6 Q: You were having severe financial difficulties in May of 1994?
# 7 A: I wouldn't call them severe.
# 8 Q: How would you characterize them?
# 9 A: I was used to living a very wealthy life for most of my life, and I no longer had the capabilities of continuing that.
# 10 Q: Would you say you were broke at that time in, let's say, June of 1994?
# 11 A: I would say, in comparison to my life -
# 12 MR. MARKS: Well, I think, I would like your question to be whether she had any money at the time or something like that or - I don't like the term. You should ask her what her finances were or something like that.
# 13 MR. LEONARD: What is your objection?
# 14 MR. MARKS: Objection to the phrase, not to the -
# 15 Q: Would you say that you were broke in June of 1994?
# 16 A: I would say that, to my estimation of living, you could say that.
# 17 Q: You thought you were broke, right?
# 18 MR. MARKS: How about asking her what money she had at the time, instead of just asking for some kind of general description. You can ask her about whether she had any losses. I mean -
# 19 MR. LEONARD: Is that an objection?
# 20 MR. MARKS: I want the question to be clear about what her finances were. I have no problem with that.
# 21 Q: Did you have any difficulty understanding my question?
# 22 A: To answer your question, I had money in the - I had money. I was - certainly didn't have what I used to have.
# 23 Q: So you wouldn't have characterized yourself as being broke in 1994, is that correct, in June of 1994?
# 24 A: I believe I characterized myself as not having the monies that I used to have in the past and broke, to me, might be different than broke to someone else.
# 25 Q: Did you represent to anyone in 1994, in June, that you were broke?
# 27 Q: Who would that have been?
# 28 A: I couldn't say. I don't know where the question's coming from.
# 29 Q: But it's possible that you could have told someone in June of 1994 that you were broke?
# 31 Q: Were you having, at that time, multiple financial setbacks?
# 32 MR. PETROCELLI: June '94?
# 33 Q: Let's say May and June of '94.
# 34 A: Multiple financial setbacks?
# 35 MR. MARKS: Can you talk about specifics?
# 36 MR. LEONARD: I think it would be helpful if you object -
# 37 MR. MARKS: My objection is only to the phrase that you are using, multiple financial setbacks. If you want to ask something specific about what was going on in her financial life, I have no objection.
# 38 Q: Can you answer the question?
# 39 A: I don't really know how to answer that question. I would also like for you to be a little more specific, if you could.
# 40 Q: Did you have anything that you would characterize as a financial setback in June or May of 1994?
# 41 A: I don't know what you are referring to.
# 42 Q: You mentioned earlier something about a $20,000 loan -
# 46 Q: That was actually a loan for a woman friend of Christian's; is that right?
# 47 A: That's what I was told.
# 48 Q: Did you know the woman?
# 49 A: Yes. It was a friend of Christian's.
# 50 Q: Did you speak to this woman about why she needed the money?
# 51 A: I spoke essentially with Christian about it since it was Christian's friend. Christian asked me to loan his friend and he this money, Christian guaranteeing the loan. But this was in March.
# 52 Q: And was that something that was bothering you in May of 1994, the fact that you had loaned this money?
# 53 A: It certainly did bother me.
# 54 Q: And why was that?
# 55 A: Because they didn't pay me back.
# 56 Q: You also mentioned that Christian was supposed to pay you $2,000 a month?
# 58 Q: And he never paid you that amount?
# 59 A: He paid me $2,500 altogether for the year.
# 60 Q: Anything else, let's say, in March, April, May or June of 1994, in the financial realm, that was causing you a problem?
# 62 Q: Okay. Just those two items that you have talked about?
# 63 A: That's all I can think of.
# 64 Q: What happened in the exact - tell me exactly what happened with regard to the $20,000. When did you learn that there was going to be a problem with that?
# 65 A: Christian had promised me that this woman would pay me back within one month. I had learned of that when she didn't pay me, one month later.
# 66 Q: And what kind of effect was this having on you on, let's say, your day-to-day life at this time, your ability to pay for things, the fact that you didn't get the $20,000 back? Was that affecting you?
# 67 A: My life continued. My credit rating was perfect. I had money in my savings. It's something that I certainly anticipated was, added stress to my life, but my life continued.
# 68 Q: Were you feeling insecure about your finances in June of 1994?
# 70 Q: I want to go back through briefly some of the areas you discussed with Mr. Petrocelli. You talked about a conversation that you overheard that Sydney had with Nicole, and you said that was in May of 1993?
# 71 A: It was before leaving to - yes, it was in May of '93.
# 72 Q: Where did that discussion take place?
# 73 A: In Gretna Green, in the den.
# 74 Q: Other than Nicole - well, was Nicole there? Obviously, she was there. She was talking to Sydney, right?
# 76 Q: Okay. Other than Nicole and Sydney, was anyone else present for that?
# 77 A: Not that I can remember.
# 78 Q: Do you remember what time of day it was?
# 80 Q: Do you remember how long - it was before you went to Cabo?
A Yes, it was.
# 82 A: Oh, within a couple of weeks.
# 83 Q: Do you remember the dates that you went to Cabo that year?
# 84 A: We were there over Mother's Day.
# 85 Q: With regard to the intervention, was there any discussion at the intervention of the amount of drugs that you were doing? Did that come up at all?
# 87 Q: It wasn't mentioned at all?
# 88 A: Not that I can remember.
# 89 Q: Was there any discussion at the intervention that you recall about whether you were free-basing cocaine?
# 91 Q: Tell me what you remember about that discussion.
# 92 A: They asked me if I had been.
# 93 Q: And what did you reply?
# 97 Q: You had been free-basing?
# 98 A: I had free-based for - I had relapsed and I admitted it, eventually.
# 99 Q: You had free-based at the Bundy townhouse at some point?
# 101 Q: And you free-based before, shortly before you went on a trip to Cabo? Is that right?
# 102 A: No. That is not true.
# 103 MR. PETROCELLI: What time frame, Mr. Leonard?
# 104 Q: When - how many trips to Cabo did you take in April and May of '94?
# 106 Q: You went the very early part of April, correct, and then you went again at the very early part of May?
# 108 Q: Do you remember the dates of the second trip?
# 109 A: I believe it was the 20 - it was the last, it was the last part.
# 110 Q: It was the weekend before you went to stay with Nicole, correct?
# 111 A: Close to that time, yes, I believe so.
# 112 Q: You went to stay with Nicole, you said, on the 2nd or 3rd of June?
# 114 Q: So it was that weekend before?
# 115 A: Yes. Around that time.
# 117 A: Around that time.
# 118 Q: Well, do you recall going on a weekend in May to Cabo?
# 119 A: I do believe I already said I did.
# 120 Q: And it was that weekend, that last weekend in May, before you went to Nicole's, that you went to Cabo?
# 121 A: I'm not quite sure if it was that weekend before, or the weekend before that. We didn't make reservations, we went on a private jet of my friends.
# 122 Q: Who were your friends?
# 124 Q: Who else went on that trip?
# 125 A: Christian Reichardt. That's when I broke up with him.
# 126 Q: When did you start - when was the first time you free-based cocaine in May or June of 1994?
# 127 A: The very last weekend of May.
# 128 Q: Do you recall where you were when you did that?
# 131 A: I was in my home.
# 132 Q: Was anyone else present?
# 133 A: No, they were not.
# 134 Q: When was the next time you free-based cocaine in either May or June?
# 135 A: It was, I believe, the day after. Not the following day. The day after.
# 136 Q: Again, this is the last weekend in May, you said?
# 138 Q: How are you so sure about the date on that?
# 139 MR. PETROCELLI: The question is argumentative.
Q . You know for sure that it was the last weekend in May?
# 140 A: I know exactly that I relapsed for two weeks.
# 141 Q: And you are sure that you free-based on that last weekend in May?
# 142 A: To my knowledge, to the best of my knowledge. That's my recall of it.
# 143 Q: And on both occasions, you were at your house?
# 145 Q: And by yourself?
# 147 Q: Did you see Nicole that weekend?
# 149 Q: The weekend that you were free-basing.
# 151 Q: Do you recall where you saw her?
# 152 A: I am not quite sure as to - as exactly, that weekend, where Nicole was.
# 153 Q: You had savings, did you say, in 1994?
# 155 Q: How much did you have in your savings?
# 156 MR. PETROCELLI: Vague as to time.
# 157 Q: Let's say in June of 1994.
# 158 A: I had $20,000. And I also had money with my sister.
# 159 Q: And your sister's name?
# 160 A: Patricia Elizabeth Hutchison.
# 161 MR. PETROCELLI: What was the first name?
# 162 FAYE RESNICK: Patricia.
# 163 Q: The incident at the funeral where you say O.J. said to you, out of everyone, she should know that I loved her too much -
# 164 A: No, that is not -
# 165 MR. PETROCELLI: No, that is not what the witness said. Mischaracterizes her testimony.
# 166 Q: Okay. Just tell me what he said.
# 167 A: "Out of everyone, you know that l loved her too much."
# 168 Q: Okay. And that occurred at the funeral?
# 169 A: Yes. At the gravesite.
# 170 Q: Who was present when O.J. said that?
# 175 A: Sitting across from Nicole's coffin.
# 176 Q: And where you were in relation to him when he said this?
# 177 A: Sitting right next to him across from the closed coffin.
# 178 Q: What did you do immediately after O.J. said this to you?
# 180 Q: You left the area? Where did you go?
# 181 A: I went and I had a cigarette.
# 182 Q: You did nothing in between?
# 184 Q: You don't - you don't recall doing anything in between?
# 185 A: I don't recall anything of importance.
# 186 Q: The telephone call at 9 o'clock on the 12th of June, where did you make that call from?
# 187 A: I made that call from a phone booth in Exodus Recovery Center.
# 188 Q: It was a phone booth?
# 189 A: Yes, it was. Q. Do you remember which one it was or where it was in relation to your room?
# 190 A: I believe it was the middle phone. There was three phones; I believe it was the middle one.
# 191 Q: How long did that telephone conversation last?
# 192 A: Approximately 30 minutes, I would think.
# 193 Q: With regard to O.J. Simpson, Nicole said - you asked Nicole if O.J. had shown up, right?
# 195 Q: And she said yes and then she told him to leave, to leave her alone, correct?
# 197 Q: And that he was not welcome?
# 198 A: In her family any longer.
# 199 Q: In her family. Did she tell you that she said anything else to O.J.?
# 200 MR. MARKS: You mean, apart from what she's already testified about?
# 201 MR. LEONARD: Yes, apart from that.
# 202 MR. PETROCELLI: No, she testified -
# 203 MR. MARKS: She gave more, I think she made some more points on, she said a little bit more, when she was asked the same question by Mr. Petrocelli.
# 204 Q: Tell me again, what did he say?
# 205 A: What did he say?
# 206 Q: What did she say that he said?
# 207 A: She said that - she told me what she said, what she said to him.
# 208 Q: Okay. And what was that?
# 209 A: Which was that he was not welcome in the family, in her family any longer, and that she wanted him to leave her alone. He was not welcome at dinner.
# 210 Q: Did she tell you anything else about the conversation other than that?
# 211 A: She said he was in a dark, deep mood. I'm sure there could have been other things but that was the most important thing.
# 212 Q: Did she tell you where she was when she had this conversation with O.J. ?
# 213 A: No, she did not.
# 214 Q: She gave you no detail on that?
# 216 Q: Did she tell you who else was around when she had this conversation?
# 217 A: I wasn't questioning her.
# 218 Q: Did she tell you that?
# 220 Q: When was it exactly that you say that O.J. came into Starbucks, when Ron Goldman was there?
# 221 A: It was when he returned from Mexico. Pardon me, when he returned from Puerto Rico.
# 222 Q: And you say he was driving the Bentley?
# 224 Q: Who else was there when this exchange took place, other than Ron Goldman?
# 225 A: I have already answered that question.
# 226 MR. PETROCELLI: She answered that.
# 227 MR. MARKS: It's already been asked. She set out the names of the people that she recalled.
# 228 Q: Can you give me the names, please?
# 229 A: I have done that, sir.
# 230 Q: Can you provide them to me again, please?
# 231 A: Is that necessary?
# 233 MR. MARKS: I am going to allow her to do this, but please, don't ask her the same questions again, with the same information. You can follow up and ask follow-up questions, no problem. Please answer the question.
# 234 A: It was Ron's friends.
# 235 Q: Do you know their names?
# 236 A: I think there was Doug and I am not sure if Mike was there or not.
# 237 Q: Do you know their last names?
# 238 A: No, I don't. I didn't really know them.
# 239 Q: What did you do to prepare to testify today and yesterday?
# 240 MR. MARKS: With respect to any conversations that Ms. Resnick had with me or Mark Lafayette, her attorneys, I am going to object and instruct the witness not to answer any conversations that she had with her attorneys. If there is some other question you have for her, please do so.
# 241 Q: Other than that, what did you do to prepare, other than speaking with your attorneys?
# 242 A: Yoga. A lot of yoga.
# 243 Q: Did you have any discussions with Mr. Petrocelli?
# 245 Q: Did you review any documents?
# 246 A: I went over my books.
# 247 Q: And you are referring to the two exhibits that have been put into evidence so far?
# 250 A: I had a conversation with John Kelly.
# 252 A: This had nothing to do with it, I guess, but I was interviewed by John Kelly in Los Angeles.
# 253 Q: When did that interview take place?
# 254 A: Three weeks ago, I would think. I believe.
# 255 Q: Were you - you weren't a witness at the criminal trial; is that correct?
# 257 Q: When was the first time that you spoke to the police about any information that you had about O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown?
# 258 A: I spoke with the DA. I didn't speak with the police.
# 259 Q: When was that, the first time?
# 260 A: After I had gotten out of the recovery center.
# 261 Q: Did you tell the district attorney essentially what you've been testifying to here today?
# 262 MR. PETROCELLI: I object. The question is vague, ambiguous, overbroad, lacks foundation. We don't know what the district attorney asked her.
# 263 Q: Did you tell the district attorney anything about the relationship between Nicole Brown and O.J. Simpson?
# 264 MR. PETROCELLI: Objection. Vague, ambiguous, overbroad. You have the interviews; why don't you show them to her?
# 265 Q: When was the first interview? What was the date?
# 266 A: I don't know the date.
# 267 Q: Was it in July of 1994?
# 268 A: I am not sure, sir. If you have the date, I would like to see it.
# 269 Q: When did you leave for Vermont?
# 270 A: Sometime in August.
# 271 MR. PETROCELLI: You are skipping around.
# 272 A: That, I am a little unclear on also.
# 273 MR. PETROCELLI: I don't know how you are doing this, because it is very difficult for me to keep track of going from one topic to another in random order. I am having trouble.
# 274 FAYE RESNICK: It's difficult.
# 275 MR. PETROCELLI: Wait a second before answering so I can have a chance to think where he is going and can object accordingly.
# 276 Q: When did you first give a recorded statement to the police or to the district attorney?
# 277 MR. MARKS: I am sorry, when you mean recorded, you mean tape recorded?
# 279 MR. PETROCELLI: I guess we are back from Vermont.
# 280 A: I don't know if they tape recorded my first interview, so I can't quite answer that question. Recorded, meaning swearing under oath ?
# 281 Q: No, not swearing under oath, but where you knew there was a tape-recording being made.
# 282 A: I didn't ask him if they were making a tape-recording of the first interview, so I can't say that for sure.
# 283 Q: Was it before or after your first book was published?
MR . KELLY: Objection.
# 284 MR. PETROCELLI: The first -
# 285 MR. KELLY: What was before or after her first book?
# 286 MR. LEONARD: Her first interview.
# 287 MR. KELLY: With the tape-recorded aspect of that thrown in there too, or not?
# 288 Q: The first tape-recorded interview.
# 289 A: As I said, I don't know if they recorded the first interview, so -
# 290 MR. MARKS: Just to be clear, is your question was her first interview with the prosecution before or after her book?
# 291 MR. LEONARD: Yes.
MR MARKS: Okay.
# 293 MR. KELLY: And will you just ask her once and for all whether she knows whether or not any of her interviews were tape-recorded or not?
# 294 Q: Do you know that?
A . No, I don't. That's what I am trying to say.
# 295 Q: You have never seen a transcript of any interview?
# 296 A: No. Tape-recorded, no.
# 297 Q: You decided to write a book when? When did you make that decision?
# 298 A: I made that decision in my - it's hard to say when the decision was made. It was brought up to me by my attorney when I went to him for protection. Right after I got out of Exodus, I went straight to my attorney's office.
# 299 Q: You decided you would write a book for protection? Is that your testimony?
# 300 MR. KELLY: Objection. That is mischaracterization.
# 301 MR. PETROCELLI: That is argumentative. That's not what she said.
# 302 A: I - I am sorry, I will let you -
# 303 Q: Let me just be sure I get the sequence here. You got out of rehab and then you went to see your attorney?
# 305 Q: And did you make any recordings at your attorney's office?
# 306 A: Yes, I - I handed him a tape that I had made and, of what had happened, just in case I was killed by somebody from O.J.'s side.
# 307 Q: You said that you made the tape because you thought you were going to be killed by somebody from O.J.'s side?
# 308 MR. MARKS: She didn't say that. That wasn't her testimony.
# 309 Q: Do you have that tape-recording?
# 311 Q: Does your attorney have that?
# 312 A: I'm not aware of that. I haven't asked him.
# 313 Q: What did the - how did you make that tape-recording? Did you utilize any documents in order to make that?
# 314 A: No. The documents that I had were stolen from my home.
# 315 Q: So you didn't use any diaries to make that tape-recording?
# 316 A: I didn't have diaries left. They were taken from my home.
# 317 Q: How many diaries did you have at your home?
# 318 MR. KELLY: Objection. Do you have a time frame?
# 319 Q: At the time that they were stolen, how many diaries did you have?
# 320 A: I have diaries from when I was pretty young, so, a lot.
# 321 Q: Were you someone that kept - were you keeping a diary in 1994?
# 323 Q: Would you keep that on a daily basis?
# 324 A: My diary was my calendar also, so, yes, I went through and when times were important, I would enter the important times. I am not saying it was daily. It was importance.
# 325 Q: When you say they were your calendar, can you describe that for me?
# 326 A: I use a calendar on a daily basis to tell me where I am going and I just always buy enough where there is a lot of room every day so that it's my form of therapy, and I write down things that I am supposed to do and I write down things that are, that have affected me.
# 327 Q: And the calendar was something that you would make notations in pretty much every day? Is that right?
# 328 A: Yes. Notations of what I was doing on a daily basis, notations of stressful situations at stressful times, or good situations at good times.
# 329 Q: Was this something that you were trying to keep a secret or was this well known to your friends and family, that you were keeping a diary?
# 330 MR. KELLY: Objection. Time frame.
# 331 MR. LEONARD: Let's get - yes.
# 334 Q: - were you keeping this calendar diary openly?
# 335 A: Yes, I didn't - no, I didn't hide it. There was nothing secretive about, about my calendars, my diaries.
# 336 Q: When did you notice the diaries were missing?
# 337 A: After - between the time - well, after I left treatment, and I really didn't go to the calendars and notice it until shortly after, after I got out of treatment. I believe it was when Christian Reichardt had left for some motorcycle trip with his motorcycle gang.
# 338 Q: Christian Reichardt was in a motorcycle gang?
# 340 Q: How long had he been in a motorcycle gang?
# 341 A: I think five or six years - I, for a long time.
# 342 Q: Was that something that bothered you, that he was in a motorcycle gang?
# 344 Q: Where did you keep the diaries?
# 346 Q: Did you utilize information from the diaries in making the tape-recording that you have talked about?
# 347 A: I just took a recording and made the information - put the information very briefly, it was very short: the major information, the death threats, the fear of Nicole. I briefly gave this information that I was in fear for my life, a very short recording, to my attorney so there wasn't -
# 348 Q: But you didn't use the diaries because they weren't - you didn't have them, right?
# 349 A: I at that point didn't even go to look for them. But eventually, when I went to find them, I didn't have them. They were gone.
# 350 Q: So you didn't use the diaries?
# 351 A: The diaries were from my calendar. I didn't need to use the diaries, you know, the memory was very short.
# 352 Q: My question is, you did not use the diaries to create the recording?
# 353 MR. PETROCELLI: She has answered that several times.
# 355 MR. KELLY: I don't think she can answer that yes or no.
# 356 MR. LEONARD: Really?
# 357 A: I don't think I can.
# 358 MR. KELLY: She agrees. I think it is two different issues here. Is she using the subject matter she said was contained in the diary to make the tape-recording or did she physically use the diaries in making the recordings?
# 359 Q: You didn't physically use the diaries?
# 360 A: I physically used my diaries on a daily basis, and I can say that.
Q . How did you - where were you -
# 361 MR. LEONARD: I will strike the question.
# 362 Q: Where were you when you made the tape-recording?
# 363 A: I'm not sure if my attorney recorded our conversation the night that I went to his house, but part of my tape, the tape that I made, I was driving in my car, the initial brief tape with the death threats on it. I was driving in my car to my attorney's office.
# 364 Q: So on that tape you described these death threats that you claim O.J. made, right?
# 365 A: On the tape I described the death threats that O.J. made.
# 366 Q: Okay. Anything else on the tape that you recall?
# 367 A: That was the most important.
# 368 Q: Anything else that related to the events that transpired, let's say, from January 1st until Nicole's death between O.J. and Nicole? Anything else on the tape that you can remember?
# 369 MR. PETROCELLI: Are you talking about the initial tape in the car on the way to the attorney's office?
# 371 A: That I was in fear for my life, that I had told my counselors that he had threatened, that I had told Christian I wanted the tape to be known that there were people that knew of this. That was the substance - that was the information that was, that my attorney needed to know.
# 372 Q: So one of the things you said on the tape-recording was that you had told your counselors in - and do you mean the counselors at the rehab center? Is that what you are talking about?
# 374 Q: Okay. You told them about the death threats?
# 376 Q: No question about that in your mind?
# 377 A: No question at all.
# 378 Q: Which counselor?
# 379 MR. KELLY: Well, objection. Can we put this, once again, in a time frame?
# 380 MR. MARKS: I think that's not an unreasonable question. Please answer the question. Fair question .
# 381 A: Can I answer the question?
# 383 A: I had told the two counselors and one of the administrative staff at the time that they had told me that Nicole was murdered, I just - it just came out of my mouth that he had said that he would murder them, murder him - her. God. At the time that I was told that Nicole was killed, I had no control over what came out of my mouth. I had immediately uttered that he said he would kill her.
# 384 Q: And who was it that you uttered that to?
# 385 A: There was Lori, I am not quite sure of her name, she is one of the head counselors at Exodus; Albert Torres, who was the administrator of Exodus. The two of them were the people who told me that Nicole was murdered. And there was Leslie Mirsch, who was also -
# 386 MR. KELLY: I am sorry, what was the name?
# 387 FAYE RESNICK: Mirsch.
# 388 MR. KELLY: No, the first name.
# 389 FAYE RESNICK: Leslie.
# 390 A: - who was also in the room.
# 391 Q: Do you know how to spell her last name?
# 392 A: No, I am sorry, I do not.
# 393 Q: And this is something you said to these three individuals, they were all in the same room with you?
# 394 A: I said it to the two counselors who told me that Nicole died, but Leslie was also right there and I remember feeling nervous that somebody would tell somebody and I would be killed next.
# 395 Q: Now, was that the first time that you told anyone at the rehab of the situation, that you felt fearful of O.J.?
# 397 Q: You didn't tell them, when you were admitted, that that was one of the problems that you were having, one of the reasons that you relapsed?
# 398 A: I had promised Nicole I wouldn't tell anyone .
# 399 Q: So you didn't tell them?
# 401 Q: In fact, what you told them was that you were broke, right?
# 402 A: I don't recall what I told them at the time.
# 403 Q: You have no memory of what you told them the reason was that you relapsed into cocaine? Is that your testimony?
# 404 A: My testimony is that when I checked in to Exodus, I wasn't in a very good mood and I certainly, you know, I told them that I had been to Betty Ford and that I don't deal with stress very well and - I am not sure. You tell me.
# 405 Q: Well, I am trying to get your best memory at this point.
# 407 Q: You had been in a rehab center before?
# 409 Q: And one of the things they do is they - there is an initial interview when you first arrive, right?
# 411 Q: And they ask you at that initial interview, the counselor or somebody like that, they ask you why, why do you think that you relapsed, right?
# 413 Q: Right? Isn't that right?
# 415 Q: Did you tell them that one of the reasons you relapsed is that you were fearful for your life?
# 417 Q: Did you tell them that at that time?
# 418 A: I am sure I did not.
# 421 Q: Did you tell them, even in general terms, that you were fearful of something happening to you?
# 422 A: I don't believe so. You need to ask the counselor.
# 423 Q: But you don't have any memory of that?
# 425 Q: Did you, on the other hand, tell them that you were having financial difficulties?
# 427 Q: Did you tell them that that was the reason that you went into relapse?
# 428 A: I think, if anything, I probably told them that I had broken up with my fiance and that I was having financial difficulties.
# 429 Q: And of course, you were having financial difficulties?
# 430 A: I believe we have already covered that.
# 431 Q: You had been receiving alimony up until, what, June of '93, from Paul Resnick?
# 433 Q: And you were getting $12,000 a month?
# 434 A: I was getting - it depended on the time frame. It was sometimes less than that, yes. And also lump settlements.
# 435 Q: And that alimony stopped in June of '93?
# 437 Q: Other than the $2,500 that you say Christian paid you for, what, 1994, for all of 1994, what other source of income did you have in 1994?
# 438 A: I had a business with a friend and we used to sell accessories.
# 439 Q: Who was that friend?
# 441 Q: How much money did you make in 1994 from that business?
# 442 A: I am not exactly sure. I invested the monies in the inventory and I certainly made back my investment. I believe I invested $20,000 into it and I'm not exactly sure how much money there was made out of it.
# 443 Q: Do you think you -
# 444 A: I am not the best businesswoman.
# 445 Q: Do you think you got significantly more than your investment back, let's put it that way, or did you sort of break even?
# 446 A: I am not quite sure, to be honest with you. I would like to know that answer.
# 447 Q: Other than that, what other source of income - other than that and the $2,500, what other source of income did you have in 1994?
# 448 A: Child support from my ex-husband.
# 450 A: With the private school, it totaled up to, I guess, $1,000 a month.
# 451 Q: You said earlier that you had some type of operation in, you said, March of '93 - or February of '93?
# 452 A: I said March, I believe.
# 453 Q: Of '93? Well, that's what you testified to. That actually occurred in March of '94, correct?
# 454 MR. PETROCELLI: Excuse me, excuse me, she said March of '94 in her testimony.
# 456 MR. LEONARD: She did?
# 457 MR. PETROCELLI: Yes.
# 458 MR. MARKS: Let's get it straight. When is the correct date?
# 459 FAYE RESNICK: The correct date is March of 1994.
# 460 MR. PETROCELLI: That's the way I remembered it.
# 461 A: There was a lot of dates yesterday.
# 462 Q: So if you did say 1993, that was a mistake and it was March of 1994?
# 463 A: I don't believe I said March of '93. If I did, it was a mistake.
# 464 Q: And that was a woman's operation, right?
# 466 Q: How did you pay for that?
# 467 A: I paid for it with monies that I had.
# 468 Q: Did you sell a fur coat to Kathy Harouche to pay for that?
# 469 A: I did not sell a fur coat to Kathy Harouche to pay for it.
# 470 Q: You did not. Did you own a black mink coat?
# 472 Q: You never sold that to Kathy Harouche?
# 474 Q: And when was that?
# 475 A: It was a month prior. I didn't use it anymore.
# 476 Q: A month prior to the operation?
# 478 Q: And how much did you get for it?
# 479 A: I don't know, $6,500, something like that.
# 480 Q: And so you paid for - you didn't have health insurance, right, at that time?
# 481 A: I am not sure if my COBRA, my insurance policy was still there. But it didn't cover this type of operation.
# 482 Q: So you used funds that you had available from some other source?
# 484 Q: And you didn't finance it through the sale of the coat?
# 485 MR. KELLY: Well, objection. I don't think she can characterize the commingling of the funds there that paid for it.
# 486 MR. PETROCELLI: I think she's already testified that she did not sell the coat to pay for the operation. In any event, I must at this point object that this is entirely irrelevant. -
# 487 FAYE RESNICK: Irrelevant.
# 488 MR. PETROCELLI: - to the issues at hand, which are the murders are Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown. I can't see how this conceivably relates and I think this is harassing. I would ask that you move on to a topic of relevance.
# 489 MR. MARKS: Again, as I said in the beginning of this deposition to counsel of both sides, questions have to be material, necessary, relate to the allegations of both sides in their pleadings and not be argumentative. Please follow those rules, because those are the rules that govern here. I don't know what they govern in California.
# 490 MR. BREWER: Something like that.
# 491 Q: Did you pay for your treatment at Exodus?
# 492 A: I paid for part of my treatment at Exodus, yes.
# 493 Q: And what part - first of all, do you know what was the entire amount, how much it cost?
# 494 A: I believe it was $5,700 in total, because I paid cash.
# 495 Q: And which portion - how much did you pay?
# 496 A: I paid, I believe, 2,500 of that.
# 497 Q: Who paid the rest?
# 498 A: Christian Reichardt paid from the money that he owed me.
# 499 MR. PETROCELLI: So you in effect paid for all of it, then.
# 500 FAYE RESNICK: I paid for all of it. Thank you.
# 501 Q: At what point did you decide to write a book about your experience with O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson?
# 502 A: I - the point - at what point? When I was told that my testimony would be given to the defense team immediately after I gave it to the prosecution, I had decided - I had been told also that I would more than likely not be able to testify due to my drug treatment, and that's when I decided to get the book to the public, just in case I was not able to live long enough to talk about it.
# 503 Q: So your - are you saying that your only motivation in writing the book was to get the story out in time, something like that?
# 504 A: I'm saying that I wanted to save my life. I am a mother. And that I was afraid that the public would not get to the public due to that.
# 505 Q: So you weren't interested in the financial aspect of the book? You didn't -
# 506 MR. MARKS: She didn't say that.
# 508 Q: Did you think that you were going to make some money out of the book?
# 509 A: I think that whenever you write a book, there is money to be made, yes.
# 510 Q: And you were interested in making money?
# 512 MR. KELLY: I object. Can we put that in a time frame also?
# 513 A: I was interested in getting the information to the public and I was interested in saving my life.
# 514 Q: Did you think that, at least as a residual effect, if you will, that you would make some money in the process of writing the book?
# 516 MR. PETROCELLI: I think she has already answered that.
# 517 MR. LEONARD: I don't think she has.
# 518 MR. PETROCELLI: She said she understood she would make money.
# 519 Q: Did you have any idea of how much money you would make?
# 520 A: I didn't have any idea.
# 521 Q: Did you consult with any - other than attorneys, did you consult with anyone else about how to go about writing this book?
# 522 A: No, I did not. And I only consulted with my one attorney, my private - my PI attorney.
# 525 MR. MARKS: Obviously, no questions with respect to conversations she had with her attorney.
# 526 MR. LEONARD: Other than those that have been waived in the book here?
# 527 MR. MARKS: If it is specific questions with respect to aspects in the book, that would be different.
# 528 MR. KELLY: It would also be improper, if she consulted with her current attorneys, whether that constitutes as a waiver also.
# 529 Q: How did you find your way to Mr. Walker, who co-authored the book? How did that happen?
# 530 A: I didn't find my way to Mr. Walker. My publisher, once I was in Vermont, brought him to Vermont to co-write the book with me. Excuse me, can we take a break?
# 531 MR. MARKS: Let's take a break, because I gather we are going to go off, the video is about to go off in a few minutes, so let's take a short break.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: The time is 4:17, and this is the end of tape number 4 of the deposition.
# 534 Q: Let me just ask you another question about the diaries. Did you file a police report when you discovered that they were missing?
# 535 A: No. I was too afraid to.
# 536 Q: Did you report that they were stolen, to anyone else?
# 537 A: Yes. I told my friends.
# 538 Q: Who did you tell?
# 539 A: I told Kris Jenner. She was who I was staying with at the time.
# 541 A: I told the prosecution.
# 542 Q: Who in particular on the prosecution?
# 543 A: Marcia Clark. Oh, pardon me, Patty Fairbanks.
# 544 MR. PETROCELLI: Instead of Marcia?
# 545 FAYE RESNICK: Every time I talked to Patty, I felt I was talking to Marcia, because she relayed everything.
# 546 Q: Other than Kris Jenner and Patty Fairbanks, did you report this to anyone else, the fact that the diaries were missing?
# 548 Q: Was that Arthur Barens?
# 550 Q: Anyone else that you can think of?
# 551 A: Not that I can recall.
# 552 Q: When you went about actually writing the book, tell me how you did that. First tell me in general terms how you wrote the book, and I am talking about the first book you wrote, the private diary.
# 553 A: Mike Walker and I sat down with transcribers and transcribed the information that I gave him and then we would sit down and write the chapters from that.
# 554 Q: So you would sit with Mike Walker while you were dictating? Is that what was going on?
# 555 A: While the transcribers and the - yeah.
# 556 Q: Was there ever a time when Mike Walker wasn't present when you were with the transcribers and actually dictating portions of the book? Was he always present?
# 557 A: Mike was always present - I would say he was always present.
# 558 Q: Then the transcribers would create some type of a manuscript or draft? Would you then review it?
# 559 A: No. We would refer back to it if there was any questions.
# 560 Q: Did you have questions?
# 561 A: I questioned - I wanted to make sure everything was as accurate as possible.
# 562 Q: You wanted to make sure that The Private Diary was basically a full and complete and accurate record of what you had experienced, right?
# 563 MR. MARKS: I don't think that's what her testimony was.
# 564 Q: You wanted it to be as accurate as possible?
# 565 A: I wanted The Private Diary to reflect what was happening during the last two years of Nicole's life.
KEY QUOTE # 566 Q: And you wanted it to be as accurate as possible?
# 567 A: I would say that, yes.
# 568 Q: And were you trying to describe as accurately as you could the important incidents that occurred in that period?
# 569 A: Under the stressful circumstance that it was, yes, I was.
# 570 Q: And do you feel that you succeeded in doing that?
# 571 A: I feel that The Private Diary -
# 572 MR. KELLY: Objection.
# 574 MR. KELLY: I am going to ask -
# 575 MR. LEONARD: I will withdraw the question.
# 576 MR. KELLY: I would ask the witness to give yes or no answers to the questions that call for yes or no answers, rather than injecting feelings and thoughts and things.
# 577 Q: Did you ever have to get help with some details on, in writing the book? Did you ever have to consult with other people who had been involved in some of these events?
# 579 Q: You did not? Did you ever call Christian Reichardt during, while you were writing the book, to find out any information about anything that happened, that you were writing about in the book?
# 580 A: Not to my recollection.
# 581 Q: Did you ever call Cora Fishman to ask her about any information that you were writing about in the book?
# 583 Q: You did not. Do you recall -
# 584 MR. BREWER: Can we get a verbal response? You were just shaking her head like this. It has to be yes or no.
# 585 MR. MARKS: I thought she said "absolutely not."
# 586 MR. BREWER: Well, I didn't hear it. Okay.
# 587 Q: So your testimony is you didn't consult with anyone else that was involved with any of these incidents while you were writing the book in order to check the accuracy of what you were writing?
# 588 MR. KELLY: Objection. I think that that is a mischaracterization. You asked her just about a couple of specific people. You didn't ask her if she consulted with anybody. You just asked her-
# 589 Q: Did you consult with anybody else?
# 590 A: The question "consulting," no.
# 591 MR. LEONARD: Okay, I will withdraw that.
# 592 Q: Did you - did you have any questions about any of the information that you were writing about; for instance, dates or events that occurred or how the events occurred, while you were writing? Did you have questions?
# 593 A: No, I did not have any questions about the, what I was writing. I talked to friends to authenticate the book after it was written .
# 594 Q: After it was written?
# 596 Q: But not before, not during?
# 597 A: Not to my best recollection.
# 598 Q: And who were those friends?
# 599 A: Robin Greer, Cynthia Shahian, Kris Jenner and Candace Garvey.
# 600 Q: Do you recall specifically any of the areas that you had questions about or that you - excuse me, that you wanted to get authentication from, from any of these people? Do you recall any of the areas that you needed to get authenticated?
# 601 MR. PETROCELLI: Mischaracterizes the testimony.
# 602 Q: Did you call these people for, to authenticate certain information that you had already written about in the book? Is that what you said?
# 604 Q: Okay. Do you recall, for instance, what you were seeking to get authenticated by Robin Greer?
# 605 A: Not one particular event that I was - nothing in particular. Just wanted her to authenticate the book, anything she recalled.
# 606 MR. MARKS: Can you just define your reference to say authentication? Did she just get information about it, is that what you mean?
# 607 Q: What did you mean by that, when you used that term?
# 608 A: Authenticate meant to corroborate the information after it was already written .
# 609 Q: And again, this was after the book was already written?
# 611 Q: At some point after the book was written, did you or did someone at your request create a correction sheet?
# 615 Q: Was there - were those changes ever actually made into any publication of the book?
# 616 A: Minor - the corrections of - some of them were, yes. There was some that were not able to.
# 617 Q: And were these - these edit - did you call them editing corrections? Is that what you called them?
# 619 Q: Did you make those as a result of discussions you had with other individuals, when you went to get the authentication?
# 623 Q: Do you recall one of the editing corrections was changing the name Marcello to Alessandro? Do you remember that?
# 625 Q: Was that a mistake that you made?
# 627 Q: Why did you change the name?
# 628 A: I was told by the publisher that we should call him Marcello.
# 629 MR. PETROCELLI: You said change Marcello to Alessandro; is that what you said?
# 631 MR. PETROCELLI: She is talking about changing Alessandro to Marcello, so you have it reversed.
# 632 Q: There was an editing change from Marcello to Alessandro, wasn't there?
# 635 MR. PETROCELLI: But it - okay.
# 636 Q: But that never found its way into the book?
# 637 A: I don't know if that, if in the second printing it was changed, to be quite honest with you. I know that in Shattered, in the audio version I used Alessandro.
# 638 Q: Explain to me again, why did you use Marcello in the first edition?
# 639 A: Alessandro was going around telling people he was being deported or something like that and he wasn't supposed to be in this country or whatever, and I was just trying to protect the innocent, that's all, and the publisher felt that that was the best thing to do.
KEY QUOTE # 640 Q: Did you indicate in the book at any point that you were using names that were inaccurate?
# 641 MR. PETROCELLI: The book speaks for itself.
# 642 Q: Do you recall doing that in the book anywhere, having anyone do that in the book?
# 643 A: I'm not quite sure. I think we did say that Marcello wasn't his real name in the book.
# 646 Q: When was the last time you spoke to Alessandro?
# 647 A: I saw - I was walking, like, two weeks ago, said hello on the street briefly. No conversation, really.
# 648 Q: Have you ever discussed with Alessandro the events that you described involving him in this book?
# 650 Q: Let me go back to April of 1993. You testified that before April of 1993, you had a discussion with Nicole Brown Simpson where she described in some detail beatings or a beating that she had. Is that right?
MR PETROCELLI: May I hear the question back, please? Hold on. (Record read.)
# 651 A: I had a dis - yes.
# 652 Q: When was that discussion?
# 653 A: I believe we have already gone over that.
# 654 Q: Do you have a date that it occurred?
# 655 A: It was at Toscana restaurant and it was during the year of 1993.
# 656 Q: And other than Nicole, was anyone else present?
# 657 A: I believe it was just the two of us. It was definitely the two of us.
# 658 Q: And she described in detail the beating that you say that she told you about, right?
# 659 A: What I recall of my testimony was that she was very vague and it was over the pregnancies.
# 660 Q: So your testimony is that she didn't describe in any detail the 19 -
# 661 MR. LEONARD: Let me strike that.
# 662 Q: Did she describe in detail the 1989 911 alleged beating?
# 663 MR. PETROCELLI: You are saying in detail?
# 665 MR. PETROCELLI: As opposed to generally?
# 667 MR. PETROCELLI: Because the witness already testified about the 1989 and the pregnancy beatings in this conversation. I guess the question is in detail.
# 668 A: Are you asking me the question -
# 669 Q: You testified that she told you that Nicole was kicked, right, and punched, right? She told you -
# 670 MR. PETROCELLI: Excuse me - hold on, Mr. Leonard. She testified that before April of '93, Nicole told her about two beatings, one the '89 beating and the other the pregnancy beatings.
# 671 MR. LEONARD: Right.
# 672 MR. PETROCELLI: That's what her prior testimony is. Now which beating are you talking about?
# 673 MR. LEONARD: I am talking about the alleged beating in 1989.
# 674 MR. PETROCELLI: Okay.
# 675 A: The alleged beating in 1989, Nicole did not go into the detail at that time that she went into in the latter part.
# 677 A: She went into some detail but she did not go into the detail that she had in the latter conversation in May of '94.
# 678 Q: Did she - but she told you, she gave you some details about that she was kicked, punched and all that, right?
# 679 A: She gave me details, vague details of the nature of it, yes.
# 680 Q: You next had a discussion with her - and that wasn't until, in Cabo, right, in 1993 - or 1994, correct?
# 682 MR. PETROCELLI: About beatings?
# 684 Q: You first met Nicole, though, in July of '92, right?
# 685 MR. MARKS: I think her testimony was, if I am correct, she may have met her earlier but it wasn't until July of '92 that they became friends and started spending more time together.
# 686 Q: You became close to her from July 4th, 1992, right?
# 688 Q: And prior to that, you hadn't had any discussions with her about personal matters, correct?
# 690 Q: And you weren't privy to any of her private affairs, right?
# 691 A: That's not true.
# 692 Q: Did you - had you had any discussions with O.J. Simpson prior to July of 1992?
# 694 Q: And when was that?
# 695 A: That was when I first met him and we were introduced by Susannah and it was brief. Strictly introduction.
# 696 Q: When did you - when did you first meet Keith Zlomsowich?
# 697 A: I first met Keith very early on in my friendship with Nicole, right around July or August.
# 698 Q: Did you - were you friendly with Nicole when the incidents allegedly occurred where O.J. was hiding in the bushes and peering in the window? Were you friendly with her then?
# 699 MR. PETROCELLI: Referring to when O.J. saw Nicole and Keith having sex?
# 701 Q: Were you friendly with Nicole then?
# 702 MR. PETROCELLI: I think that is asked and answered already.
# 703 MR. MARKS: Well, she can answer the question.
# 704 A: Yes, I was a friend of hers.
# 705 Q: Did you attempt to intercede at any point with O.J. about this incident ?
# 708 A: When we were having - when I had a conversation with him about his behavior the night of the - that he knocked down the door, that he mentioned to me he had seen Keith's picture.
# 709 Q: I want to go back to the incident that-
# 710 MR. LEONARD: Let me strike that.
# 711 Q: Let me ask you about the instances where you say O.J. was using cocaine.
# 713 Q: He was - you described an incident on December 23rd, 1993?
# 715 Q: And you said that he was - when he did the cocaine, he had some very obvious reaction?
# 717 Q: Was Nicole there?
# 719 Q: How did she react?
# 720 A: She thought it was normal.
# 721 Q: She thought that was normal?
# 722 A: She had been married to him forever.
# 723 Q: Did she disapprove of his using cocaine?
# 724 A: She didn't like it.
# 725 Q: She didn't react to that?
# 726 A: She just - not really.
# 727 Q: Was she looking adoringly at him at that time?
# 728 MR. KELLY: Objection as to the form of the question. I don't think she can answer as to Nicole's state of mind or appearances. Nicole was looking at someone.
# 729 Q: Do you recall writing in your book that Nicole was looking at O.J. adoringly that night? Do you recall that?
# 730 A: I recall that she was very much in love with him that night.
# 731 Q: When you were at the Hermosa Beach sushi bar - was it the California Sushi Bar?
# 733 Q: O.J. was acting in what, I believe you said, was an animalistic rage; is that right?
# 735 Q: Were there a lot of people around?
# 737 Q: And at the table - actually, you were at a sushi bar?
# 739 Q: And Christian was there and Nicole was there?
# 741 Q: How many other people were right in that area, can you tell me, approximately?
# 742 A: We were sitting at the very end of the bar and we had taken up the entire, this part of the bar, so we were somewhat secluded from the rest of the bar. The other bar went this way and the wall was this way. O.J. was exactly against the wall.
# 743 Q: Then he at some point - you went down to the ladies room?
# 745 Q: And he went down and you say crashed the door in?
# 747 Q: How many people were outside when that happened? You said there were three women waiting in line?
# 749 Q: Was there anyone else in that area?
# 750 A: It was a lower bar area that was essentially empty.
# 751 Q: And when he came back up, there was a - the manager was there, is that right?
# 753 Q: Do you remember the manager's name?
# 754 A: No, I do not. I didn't talk with him.
# 755 Q: The manager - could you see whether the manager observed what O.J. was doing?
# 756 A: Yes. The person that was standing at the maitre d' station, which I assume was the manager, observed O.J.'s behavior.
# 757 Q: Did you see the manager react in any way?
# 758 A: He just looked strange, he looked at O.J. and us very strangely.
# 759 Q: Did the manager say anything?
# 761 MR. MARKS: Excuse me, it's 5 o'clock, so if it's acceptable -
# 762 MR. KELLY: Can we keep going for a little bit, maybe?
# 763 MR. MARKS: Maybe for a little bit -
# 764 MR. KELLY: As long as we could today.
# 765 MR. MARKS: Only for a few minutes. It is a long tiring day, obviously.
# 766 Q: At Toscana, you testified that O.J. was in an animal rage for 10 minutes; is that right?
# 767 A: I didn't say he was in an animal rage. I said that he was perspiring, I said that he was threatening Alessandro and I said that he was being aggressive.
# 768 Q: And he was - you said he was leaning over the table and he was hunched up; is that right?
# 769 A: Yes. He was like this.
# 770 Q: And Christian was there with you?
# 772 Q: Who else was present?
# 773 A: As I testified yesterday, Cynthia Shahian, Cora Fishman, Ron Fishman, Nicole and O.J.
# 774 Q: Did the others in the party discuss O.J.'s behavior?
# 775 MR. PETROCELLI: You mean, to her knowledge?
MR. LEONARD Yes.
# 776 MR. KELLY: And at what time, if at all?
# 777 A: I would assume while I was in -
# 778 MR. KELLY: Objection. I will ask the witness not to assume anything.
# 779 A: I'm not sure. I went to the restroom. I had a conversation with Nicole about it.
# 780 Q: Okay. Did you - are you aware of - so you are not aware of any discussion that occurred after that, amongst the parties there?
# 781 A: My discussion - no, I am not aware of any other discussion at the table about it. It was kind of natural at that point for us to see him do things like that.
# 782 MR. MARKS: Mr. Leonard, I don't want to interrupt you but if you would like to finish any more questions about that particular incident, I think that will close for today.
# 783 MR. LEONARD: No, I am finished with that area.
# 784 MR. MARKS: Thank you.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER: It is 5:05 p.m. This is the end of tape number 5 of the deposition of Faye Resnick. (Time noted: 5:05 p.m.)
FAYE RESNICK Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of ,1996.
(Notary Public) My Commission Expires:
CERTIFICATE STATE OF NEW YORK ss. COUNTY OF NEW YORK
I, CARY N. BIGELOW, a Shorthand Reporter and a Notary Public within and for the State of New York, do hereby certify that the foregoing continued deposition of FAYE RESNICK was taken before me on the 11th day of February, 1996; That the said witness was previously sworn and that the said testimony was taken stenographically by me and then transcribed.
I further certify that I am not related by blood or marriage to any of the parties to this action nor interested directly or indirectly in the matter in controversy; nor am I in the employ of any of the counsel in this action.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 13th day of February, 1996. CARY BIGELOW February 11, 1996
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