YES, YOUR HONOR. THE COURT CLERK: YOU DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR THE TESTIMONY YOU ARE ABOUT TO 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?
I DO. THE COURT CLERK: PLEASE BE SEATED. STATE AND SPELL YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.
EXACTLY 1:05. Q WHERE DID THE CALL DIRECT YOU TO GO? TO 875 SOUTH BUNDY. DETECTIVE PHILLIPS INFORMED ME WE HAD A DOUBLE HOMICIDE AT THAT LOCATION, TO MEET HIM AT THE STATION, AND WE WOULD GO OUT TOGETHER. Q DID YOU DO THAT?
YES, WE DID. Q WHAT TIME DID YOU ARRIVE AT 875 SOUTH BUNDY? A AT 0210 HOURS. Q CAN YOU TELL US WHAT THE AMBIENT TEMPERATURE WAS THAT NIGHT? A I WOULD APPROXIMATE IT AT ABOUT 60 DEGREES. Q WHEN YOU ARRIVED THERE, DID YOU MAKE CONTACT WITH THE FIRST OFFICER ON THE SCENE? A YES, BOTH DETECTIVE PHILLIPS AND I WERE CONTACTED BY OFFICER RISKE. Q WHAT DID YOU DO WITH OFFICER RISKE WHEN YOU GOT THERE? A WELL, OFFICER RISKE INFORMED US THAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT LED TO THE DISCOVERY OF THE BODIES, VERY - KIND OF AN OVERVIEW. AND THEN HE LED US TO THE FRONT OF THE SCENE. Q WHEN YOU WENT UP TO LOOK AT THE BODIES, SIR, DID YOU DO SO BY WALKING STRAIGHT UP TO THEM, OR DID YOU TAKE A MORE CIRCUITOUS PATH TO AVOID DISTURBING EVIDENCE? A WELL, THERE WAS VEGETATION, FLOWERS, ALONG THE SOUTHERN BORDER OF THE COBBLESTONE PATH. IT WAS A MANUFACTURED COBBLESTONE PATH. WE WALKED UP THROUGH THAT SHRUBBERY AND GOT AS CLOSE AS WE COULD TO THE BODIES. Q AND AFTER YOU MADE THAT OBSERVATION OF THE VICTIMS OUTSIDE, WHAT DID YOU DO NEXT? A WE DIDN'T FEEL THAT WE COULD ACTUALLY SEE THE SCENE WELL ENOUGH WITHOUT DESTROYING EVIDENCE FROM THAT APPROACH. SO WE ASKED OFFICER RISKE IF THERE WAS ANOTHER WAY INTO THE SCENE, AND HE SAID, "YES, AROUND THROUGH THE ALLEY AND THROUGH THE GARAGE" Q AND HOW DID YOU GET TO THE GARAGE AREA? A WE RETRACED OUR FOOTSTEPS INTO THAT SHRUBBERY AREA BACK OUT TO THE SIDEWALK. WE WALKED ONTO THE STREET SOUTHBOUND ON BUNDY TO DOROTHY WHERE WE TURNED WESTBOUND INTO THE NORTH/SOUTH ALLEY LEADING BEHIND THE RESIDENCE. Q SO YOU ACTUALLY WENT BACK OUT TO THE SIDEWALK, AROUND TO THE CORNER AND CAME BACK UP THROUGH THE ALLEY TO GO TO THE GARAGE? A. YES Q AND AT THAT POINT DID YOU GO AND COME TO A WALK-THROUGH IN THE HOUSE WITH OFFICER RISKE? A YES. WE ENTERED THROUGH THAT OPENED GARAGE. Q IT WAS OPEN ALREADY? A YES, IT WAS. Q DID YOU NOTICE ANY SIGNS OF A DISTURBANCE OR STRUGGLE INSIDE THAT HOUSE? A NOT AT ALL. NOT IN THE GARAGE, NOT ON THE STAIRWAY AND NOT IN ANY PORTION OF THE HOUSE THAT WE WALKED THROUGH AT THAT POINT Q AND THE FRONT DOOR OF THE HOUSE, DID YOU NOTICE WHETHER IT WAS OPENED OR CLOSED? A IT WAS WIDE OPEN, YES. Q WERE YOU INFORMED ABOUT -- WHEN YOU GOT THERE, CONCERNING THE OCCUPANTS THAT WERE FOUND IN THE HOUSE AT THE TIME THAT THE HOMICIDE WAS REPORTED? A YES. OFFICER RISKE INFORMED DETECTIVE PHILLIPS AND MYSELF THAT THE TWO CHILDREN THAT WERE FOUND UPSTAIRS WERE TAKEN TO THE POLICE STATION BECAUSE HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE TO DO AT THAT POINT. SO HE HAD THEM TRANSPORTED TO THE STATION. Q SO THESE WERE TWO SMALL CHILDREN? A YES. Q AND AT THE POINT IN TIME THAT YOU SPOKE TO OFFICER RISKE, NO ONE KNEW WHERE TO PUT THEM, WHOSE CARE TO GIVE THEM INTO? A NO, NOT AT THAT TIME. I THINK HE JUST WANTED TO GET THEM OUT OF THE SCENE AND GET THEM TO A PLACE OF SAFEKEEPING. 027 Q WHEN YOU HAD WALKED THROUGH THE HOUSE, DID YOU COME OUT ONTO THE LANDING, LOOKING DOWN ON THE CRIME SCENE? A YES, I DID. Q FROM THAT VANTAGE POINT, LOOKING DOWN ON THE VICTIMS, WERE YOU ABLE TO SEE ANY ITEMS OF EVIDENCE? A YES, LOOKING DOWN, DIRECTLY BELOW THE LANDING, THERE -- I BELIEVE AT THAT POINT THERE WAS A HEEL PRINT WHICH APPEARED TO BE GOING IN A WESTBOUND DIRECTION, AWAY FROM THE BODIES, TOWARDS THE ALLEY. THERE WAS ALSO A KNIT CAP OR WHAT APPEARED TO BE A KNIT CAP, DARK CAP-TYPE OBJECT, AND WHAT LOOKED LIKE A GLOVE AT THE FEET OF THE MALE VICTIM IN THE SHRUBBERY AREA JUST TO THE NORTH OF THE FEMALE VICTIM. Q CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE GLOVE ANY BETTER? A AT THAT TIME, IT WAS DIFFICULT TO SEE IT. THERE WAS ANOTHER LOCATION FROM THE NORTH RESIDENCE THAT I GOT A BETTER VIEW OF IT, A LITTLE LATER. AND THEN I NOTICED THAT IT WAS A DARK BROWN -- OR IT COULD HAVE BEEN EVEN BLACK IN THE LIGHT THAT I WAS LOOKING AT IT -- AND IT DID APPEAR TO BE A STOCKING CAP WHEN I GOT A CLOSER LOOK. Q SO IT WAS A -- IT LOOKED TO YOU TO BE A DARK BROWN OR EVEN BLACK LEATHER GLOVE, AND A -- DID YOU SAY WHAT COLOR THE HAT WAS? A IT WAS VERY DARK. MAYBE DARK BLUE OR BLACK. Q KNIT CAP? A IT APPEARED TO BE KNIT, YES. Q NOW, AFTER YOU STOOD OUT ON THE LANDING AND MADE THOSE OBSERVATIONS. DID YOU -- HOW DID YOU LEAVE THE. AREA? 028 HOW DID YOU WALK AWAY FROM THE RESIDENCE? A WELL, FROM THAT LOCATION OFFICER RISKE POINTED OUT FOOTPRINTS THAT LED AWAY FROM THE STAIRS, GOING WEST. WE FOLLOWED TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THOSE PRINTS, SAW A FEW FOOTPRINTS LEADING WESTBOUND AND DROPS OF WHAT APPEARED TO BE BLOOD TO THE LEFT OF THOSE PRINTS. Q SO YOU SAW A HEEL MARK DOWN BY WHERE THE VICTIMS WERE THAT APPEARED TO BE POINTING AWAY FROM THE VICTIMS IN A WESTERLY DIRECTION THAT WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE PATH UP OVER THE LANDING AND TOWARDS THE ALLEY? A YES.
YOUR HONOR, I AM GOING TO OBJECT TO THE PROSECUTOR CONTINUING TO ASK A QUESTION, GET A RESPONSE, AND THEN SUMMARIZE THAT RESPONSE BACK TO THE WITNESS. SHE JUST VIRTUALLY REPEATS EVERYTHING HE TESTIFIES TO.
BASICALLY, IT SOUNDS -- IT IS BASICALLY ASKED AND ANSWERED, MISS CLARK. IF THE WITNESS HAS GIVEN THAT RESPONSE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO ASK AGAIN FOR A RESPONSE THE SECOND TIME.
THERE WAS DROPS UP UNTIL THERE WAS STEPS GOING INTO A TROUGH AREA THAT WAS A FEW FEET WIDE, AND THEN STEPS THAT CAME BACK OUT OF THAT TROUGH AREA UP INTO THE SIDEWALK AT THE SAME LEVEL AS THE FRONT OF THE RESIDENCE. AND THEN THERE WAS MORE DROPS SEEN BUT NO FOOTPRINTS Q NOW, THESE FOOTPRINTS, ARE THESE BARE FEET THAT YOU ARE SEEING? A NO. Q WHAT ARE THEY? A IT APPEARED TO BE A SHOE WITH A SOLE AND A HEEL, NOT ONE CONTINUOUS SHOE PRINT. Q AND HOW IS IT THAT YOU WERE ABLE TO SEE THESE PRINTS? A THEY WERE IMPRINTED IN RED ONTO THE PAVEMENT OF THE SIDEWALK. Q DID IT APPEAR TO BE IN BLOOD? A IT APPEARED TO BE, YES. IT WAS IN BLOOD. Q AFTER YOU MADE THOSE OBSERVATIONS WALKING TO THE RIGHT OF THE PRINTS AS YOU INDICATED, WHAT DID YOU DO NEXT? A CONTINUED INTO THE -- CONTINUED WEST ON THE WALKWAY TO A GATE. IT APPEARED TO BE ABOUT FIVE - FIVE-AND-A-HALF-FOOT GATE THAT WAS VERY SIMILAR TO THE FRONT GATE THAT LED INTO THE RESIDENCE. I OBSERVED BLOOD ON THE TOP OF THE GATE, RED 030 STAINS THAT I THOUGHT WAS BLOOD. IT LOOKED LIKE A SMALL SPEC OF BLOOD ON THE TURNSTILE OF THE LOCK, AND AT THE BOTTOM RAIL OF THE GATE. WALKING FURTHER WEST, I SAW CHANGE THAT OFFICER RISKE POINTED OUT TO ME THAT WAS STREWN ON THE DRIVEWAY AND DROPS OF RED STAINS THAT I BELIEVED TO BE BLOOD. Q NEAR THE CHANGE? A YES. Q AFTER MAKING THOSE OBSERVATIONS, SIR, DID YOU MAKE CONTACT WITH ANY OTHER DETECTIVE?
DETECTIVE PHILLIPS AND I WERE IN COMMUNICATION. WE WERE -- WALKED THROUGH THE SCENE AT THE SAME TIME. HE MADE SIMILAR OBSERVATIONS, AND THEN WE RETURNED INSIDE THE RESIDENCE. Q DID YOU DO SO THROUGH THE GARAGE? A YES. Q AT SOME POINT DID YOU MAKE CONTACT WITH DETECTIVE PHILIP VANNATTER? A SHORTLY THEREAFTER, DETECTIVE PHILLIPS NOTIFIED ME THAT ROBBERY HOMICIDE HAD ARRIVED AND THEY WOULD BE TAKING OVER THE CASE Q AND DID YOU WAIT FOR HIM? A YES, WE WENT OUT ONTO THE STREET, AND WE WAITED WHAT SEEMED LIKE MORE THAN AN HOUR. Q WHEN HE ARRIVED, WHAT DID YOU DO? A WE EXPLAINED THE SITUATION AS WE KNEW IT THUS FAR. I BELIEVE RON PHILLIPS INFORMED HIM WHERE THE CHILDREN WERE. I WAS STANDING THERE, LISTENING TO THE CONVERSATION, 031 AND RON PHILLIPS TOOK DETECTIVE VANNATTER INTO THE SCENE, AND SHOWED HIM WHAT WE HAD OBSERVED AND WHAT OFFICER RISKE HAD POINTED OUT. Q AT SOME POINT -- EXCUSE ME, STRIKE THAT. WERE YOU AWARE OF WHO ONE OF THE -- AT LEAST THE FEMALE VICTIM WAS AT THAT TIME? A I WAS NOTIFIED THAT -- WHEN I WAS NOTIFIED AT MY RESIDENCE AT 1:05 THAT MORNING. I WAS TOLD THAT ONE OF THE VICTIMS WAS THE EX-WIFE OF O.J. SIMPSON.
AT THE DIRECTION OF DETECTIVE LANG AND VANNATTER, THEY ASKED DETECTIVE PHILLIPS AND MYSELF TO TAKE THEM TO 360 NORTH ROCKINGHAM, TO O.J. SIMPSON'S HOUSE, TO MAKE A NOTIFICATION AND TO GET HIM TO COME TO THE POLICE STATION AND TAKE CUSTODY OF HIS CHILDREN. Q SO THE PURPOSE OF GOING TO 360 NORTH ROCKINGHAM WAS --
YOUR HONOR, I AM GOING TO OBJECT AGAIN. SHE IS DOING THE SAME THING WE OBJECTED TO BEFORE. SHE HAS ASKED THE QUESTION. HE SAID WHAT THE PURPOSE WAS.
DO YOU RECALL WHAT PORTION OF THE PROPERTY YOU WENT TO FIRST? A WE WENT TO THE ASHFORD GATE. THERE IS AN INTERCOM BUZZER THERE AND SPEAKER. AND WE STARTED BUZZING THE INTERCOM. Q I AM GOING TO SHOW YOU A DIAGRAM THAT HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN MARKED AS PEOPLE'S 7. CAN YOU SEE THAT? A YES, I DO. Q DO YOU SEE THE AREA ON THAT DIAGRAM THAT YOU WENT TO WITH THE OTHER DETECTIVES --
THE SPEAKER BOX IS RIGHT HERE ON THIS PILLAR. AND I BELIEVE WE PARKED JUST WEST OF THE GATE. Q NOW, WHEN YOU PULLED UP TO THAT LOCATION, CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE ROUTE THAT YOU TOOK? WHICH STREET DID YOU DRIVE UP TO GET TO ASHFORD?. A ROCKINGHAM. Q WHEN YOU DROVE UP ROCKINGHAM, DID YOU OBSERVE ANY VEHICLES PARKED NEAR THE GATE, THE ROCKINGHAM GATE?
THERE WAS A WHITE VEHICLE PARKED JUST NORTH OF 033 THE ROCKINGHAM GATE ON THE EAST SIDE OF ROCKINGHAM NEXT TO THE PARKWAY, ADJACENT TO THE PROPERTY. Q WHAT KIND OF VEHICLE WAS THAT? A IT WAS A SPORT UTILITY TRUCK THAT WE LATER RECOGNIZED AS A FORD BRONCO. Q NOW, WHEN YOU WERE AT THE ASHFORD GATE, YOU INDICATED THAT YOU RANG THE INTERCOM BELL? A YES. Q WHEN YOU -- DID YOU PUSH THE BUTTON? A I BELIEVE THREE OF THE FOUR OF US PUSHED THE BUTTON. AND WE COULD HEAR THE RINGING INSIDE THE RESIDENCE, BUT NO ONE ANSWERED THE INTERCOM. Q FOR HOW LONG DID YOU CONTINUE TO DO THAT? A IT WAS AT LEAST 10 OR 15 MINUTES. Q DID YOU OBSERVE WHETHER THERE WERE ANY LIGHTS IN THE HOUSE? A YES. I PERSONALLY OBSERVED THAT THERE WAS A LIGHT UPSTAIRS, FRONT OF THE RESIDENCE. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE MOST WESTERLY UPSTAIRS BEDROOM OR WHATEVER ROOM IT WAS; I LATER KNEW IT TO BE A BEDROOM. AND IN THE LOWER LEVEL IN THE SOUTHWEST CORNER, THERE WAS A LIGHT ON. Q AFTER YOU RECEIVED NO RESPONSE FOR 10 TO 15 MINUTES, WHAT DID YOU DO NEXT? A WELL, DETECTIVE PHILLIPS WAS ON A CELLULAR PHONE, ATTEMPTING TO CONTACT WESTEC TO FIND OUT IF MR. SIMPSON WAS IN TOWN OR NOT. Q WHAT IS WESTEC, SIR? A IT IS A PRIVATE SECURITY FIRM THAT HAS CONTRACTS 034 THROUGHOUT THAT PART OF BRENTWOOD AND BEL-AIR. Q AND WHY WAS IT THAT YOU CALLED WESTEC? A WELL, A LOT OF TIMES WHEN PEOPLE LEAVE ON VACATION OR BUSINESS, THEY NOTIFY WESTEC THAT THEY ARE NOT GOING TO BE ON THE PROPERTY. AND IF THERE IS AN ALARM, THEY ARE NOT HOME AND TO SOMETIMES USE A PASS KEY TO MAKE ENTRY OR WHATEVER IS NECESSARY, BASICALLY, IF THEY ARE NOT HOME. Q SO WERE YOU CALLING TO FIND OUT IF THEY KNEW THERE HAD BEEN PLANS MADE FOR THE OCCUPANTS OF THAT LOCATION TO GO SOMEWHERE? A WE WERE HOPING THAT WE COULD FIND THAT OUT, YES. O WAS THERE A SIGN ON THE PROPERTY SOMEWHERE TO INDICATE THAT IT WAS PROTECTED BY WESTEC? IS THAT WHY YOU CHOSE THAT PARTICULAR COMPANY? A I AM NOT SURE IF I SAW THAT SIGN. WE HAVE KNOWLEDGE THAT WESTEC HANDLES THAT AREA NOT TO .SAY THAT ANOTHER ONE COULDN'T, BUT PREDOMINANTLY, THAT IS THE SERVICE THAT IS CONTRACTED IN THAT AREA Q WHAT INFORMATION DID WESTEC GIVE YOU, IF YOU KNOW, OVER THE PHONE WHEN DETECTIVE PHILLIPS CALLED? A WELL, I REMEMBER A UNIT BEING THERE. I BELIEVE -- Q A UNIT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN -- A A WESTEC UNIT ARRIVED AT THE SCENE. I AM NOT SURE IF IT WAS DETECTIVE PHILLIPS' RESPONSE OR -- EXCUSE ME -- FROM DETECTIVE PHILLIPS' PHONE CALL. DETECTIVE PHILLIPS WAS CONTACTING THE STATION WHO, IN TURN, WAS CALLING WESTEC. AT .SOME POINT WESTEC ARRIVED WITHIN A FEW 035 MINUTES WHILE WE WERE STILL RUNNING -- RINGING THE INTERCOM. THEY INFORMED US, TO THEIR KNOWLEDGE, THAT MR. SIMPSON WAS NOT OUT OF TOWN. WHILE WE ARE STILL ATTEMPTING TO MAKE SOME KIND OF CONTACT WITH ANYBODY INSIDE THE HOME, DETECTIVE PHILLIPS IS ATTEMPTING TO GET A PHONE NUMBER FROM WESTEC SO WE MIGHT CALL DIRECTLY INTO THE RESIDENCE. Q SO A UNIT FROM WESTEC CAME OUT TO THE PROPERTY? A AS THEY WERE ON THE STREET, THEY WERE PARKED SOUTHBOUND ROCKINGHAM AT ASHFORD. AND THEY STAYED AT THAT LOCATION. HE DID NOT GET OUT OF THE VEHICLE. Q DID YOU HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH HIM? A NOT THAT WESTEC OFFICER. DETECTIVE PHILLIPS APPROACHED HIM AND ASKED HIM ABOUT GETTING A NUMBER FOR THE INSIDE. BUT HE SAID HE COULDN'T DO THAT WITHOUT A SUPERVISOR'S APPROVAL. AND A SUPERVISOR WAS REQUESTED. A SUPERVISOR DID ARRIVE A FEW MINUTES LATER, AND I APPROACHED THAT MAN. Q DID WESTEC SECURITY INFORM YOU THAT THEY HAD NO -- DID YOU ASK THEM WHETHER THE OCCUPANTS HAD TRAVEL PLANS? A THEY HAD NO KNOWLEDGE THAT HE WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HOME. I DON'T THINK IT WAS CARRIED ANY FARTHER THAN THAT.
NO, I DON'T. Q DID THEY EVER GIVE YOU INFORMATION THAT A FULL-TIME MAID LIVED THERE? A THEY DID NOT, BUT THE SERGEANT THAT DID RESPOND TO THE SCENE WHO PULLED UP -- HE WAS GOING NORTHBOUND ON ROCKINGHAM; I STOPPED HIM JUST BEFORE HE GOT TO ASHFORD. HE GOT OUT OF HIS VEHICLE AND WAS WALKING TOWARDS ME, AND I ASKED HIM -- I INFORMED HIM OF THE SITUATION, THAT WE WERE TRYING TO ASCERTAIN IF THERE WAS ANYBODY AT THE RESIDENCE HE SAYS, "WELL, THERE IS A FULL-TIME MAID THAT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE ALL THE TIME Q WHEN YOU SAY, "THE SERGEANT,'' SEREGANT OF WEST L.A.P.D.? A. NO WESTEC. IT WAS A WESTEC SUPERVISOR THAT THE WESTEC OFFICER WHO HAS ALREADY AT THE SCENE NOTIFIED. Q. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? A. WHILE DETECTIVE PHILLIPS WAS ON THE CELLULAR PHONE AND HE WAS TRYING TO CALL INSIDE THE RESIDENCE -- HE DID OBTAIN THE NUMBER -- DETECTIVE LANG AND VANNATTER WERE STILL ATTEMPTING TO RAISE SOMEBODY ON THE INTERCOM. THEY WERE STANDING BY THE GATE. I WALKED AROUND TO THE ROCKINGHAM SIDE AND WENT TOWARDS THE WHITE VEHICLE THAT WE PREVIOUSLY SAW WHEN WE DROVE UP ROCKINGHAM. I WAS WALKING TOWARDS THE VEHICLE, THE BRONCO, AND I NOTICED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS PARKED RATHER STRANGELY, IT WAS -- IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS PARKED IN A VERY HAPHAZARD MANNER THE REAR END WAS KICKED OUT A LITTLE BIT TOWARDS 0037 THE STREET. THE FRONT END WAS REAL CLOSE TO THE CURB WITH THE TIRES TURNED INTO THE CURB. IT JUST -- WHEN I WAS WALKING TOWARDS IT, IT LOOKED A LITTLE STRANGE FOR THE AREA, SINCE THERE IS NO PARALLEL PARKING AS I WALKED CLOSER, I NOTICED A PIECE OF WOOD LYING ON THE PARKWAY, WHICH IS VERY WELL MANICURED. IT LOOKED LIKE IT CAME FROM A PICKET FENCE. I LOOKED AT IT CLOSER, AND IT WAS -- IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS FRESHLY BROKEN; THE WOOD HADN'T BEEN WEATHERIZED, THE EXPOSED PART I WALKED AROUND THE VEHICLE, AND I HAD A SMALL FLASHLIGHT, THE TYPE YOU JUST PUT ON YOUR BELT, VERY SMALL. I WAS LOOKING OVER THE VEHICLE FROM THE FRONT, AND I CAME TO THE DRIVER'S DOOR THAT WAS ABOUT AN EIGHTH OF AN INCH TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH SQUARE, ROUND. AND I BELIEVED THAT TO BE BLOOD
IT WAS PARKED NORTHBOUND ON ROCKINGHAM, JUST NORTH OF THE ROCKINGHAM GATE TO 360 NORTH ROCKINGHAM, ADJACENT TO THE EAST CURB OF ROCKINGHAM
SHOWING YOU A SERIES OF PHOTOGRAPHS THAT HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN MARKED AS PEOPLE'S 8, I ASK YOU IF YOU RECOGNIZE THE VEHICLE BEING SHOWN IN THE PHOTOGRAPH LABELED 'A' AND 'B'
IN PHOTOGRAPH B, THE SMALL RED STAIN HERE IS THE STAIN THAT I SAW I BELIEVED WAS BLOOD. AND THIS IS RIGHT ABOVE THE DRIVER'S SIDE DOOR HANDLE
AT THAT TIME THERE WAS -- I INSPECTED THE DOOR MORE CLOSELY. I GOT DOWN ON THE GROUND AND LOOKED AT THE DOORJAMB AREA, WHICH WOULD BE IN PHOTO A. THIS AREA, THE SEAM OF THE LOWER DOOR WHERE IT OPENS
I SAW FOUR -- THREE OR FOUR LITTLE LINES, RED-STAINED LINES, THAT LOOKED LIKE A BRUSH MARK WHICH ALSO LOOKED LIKE BLOOD. THEY WERE VERY SMALL, ABOUT A QUARTER OF AN INCH LONG
WAS THERE ANYWAY OF DETERMINING WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN POSSESSION OF IT AT THE TIME THAT YOU WERE SEEING IT?
WELL, AFTER I OBSERVED THIS STAIN ON THE DRIVER'S DOOR, I LOOKED IN THE INTERIOR OF THE VEHICLE -- I LOOKED CLOSELY IN THIS AREA RIGHT HERE. IT IS TINTED AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE -- I PRESSED MY FLASHLIGHT AGAINST IT, AND I OBSERVED A PACKAGE IN THE REAR CARGO AREA, ALL THE WAY IN THE REAR. IT WAS A PACKAGE THAT WAS ADDRESSED IN HANDWRITING TO O.J. SIMPSON. I BELIEVE IT WAS CARE OF HIS --OF KATHY.
I COULD NOT TELL YOU THE ADDRESS. I DID SEE IT JUST SAID "O.J. SIMPSON." I AM NOT SURE IF IT WAS ENTERPRISES OR O.J. SIMPSON. I NOTICED THE NAME.
YES. IN THE REAR CARGO AREA IN THE SAME PLACE AS THE PACKAGE -- THE PACKAGE WAS ALL THE WAY AGAINST THE REAR SEAT AREA IN THE BRONCO. AND LYING IN THE REAR CARGO AREA, THERE WAS A SHOVEL. I WOULD APPROXIMATE A FOUR-AND-A-HALF TO FIVE-FOOT SHOVEL. THERE WAS ALSO WHAT APPEARED TO BE, FROM LOOKING THROUGH THE WINDOW, A HEAVY GAUGED PLASTIC THAT WAS 0040 TUCKED IN THE RIGHT STORAGE AREA OF THAT REAR CARGO AREA.
I am not positive if he got that from the watch commander or Westec directly, but I was told that he obtained it and that's what he was in the process of doing.
So at that point, after the observations you made and failure to raise anybody in the house, did you have a conversation with Detective Vannatter?
I told Detective Vannatter, I said, "we got a real -- we got an emergency. We got a problem. We got -- we don't know if we have people inside that are in danger, dying, bleeding to death. We have to do something, I don't care whose house this is. We have to do something. We don't know if we have a murder/suicide, a kidnapping, another victim." And Phil agreed and we took our opinions to Detective Lange and Phillips and we discussed the possibilities.
Well, I believed that we had to find out if there's anybody in the residence that was injured, to save their life, save other people's lives. We didn't know what the situation was, and from what we knew and where we just came from, I think it was imperative that we contact someone and make sure everything was okay.
I believe we were out there for at least 30 minutes attempting to get somebody on the phone, attempting to have somebody open the gate. While they're continuing to do that, I walked over and made the observations on the Bronco. And I would say 30 to 40 minutes.
Were you aware of approximately what time it was that the small children were taken out of 875 south Bundy?
So at the time that you were at the Rockingham address, to your knowledge, had anything been done to arrange for the care and custody of the children?
Did that play any part in your determination to go into the -- as to what to do at that point?
Well, I believed immensely we had to find out if anything was wrong inside the residence. We had children at the station, we had the possibility of somebody being injured. We had to go in, but I don't think that was the most -- the paramount reason. It was preservation of life from what we knew at that point.
We decided -- Detective Vannatter decided that we will go in and how are we going to do that. And I said, "I'll go over the wall." So I jumped the wall and went over and opened up the hydraulic gate.
There is a walkway that leads on the north side of the residence back towards the pool area. We walked on that stone path, passed the rear of the residence adjacent to the pool, and there appeared to be pool houses or guest houses, and we went down to one of those.
I'm going to show you defendant's exhibit -- if there's no objection. Can you point to the pool area on this exhibit?
And just north of the residence this curving path that's designated on this drawing, it arches and comes down through a patio area directly to the rear of the main house at 360 Rockingham. You walk past this and there's bungalows or pool houses to the southern -- that would be the southeastern corner of the property.
I was not leading the group. Detective Phillips was in front, and he knocked on the first bungalow door. Prior to him knocking, there was louvers on the front door. He looked inside and saw a male white lying on the bed. I remember him looking back saying, "there's a guy laying on the bed." He knocked on the door and the male got up and answered the door.
Detective Phillips explained the situation, that there was a possible emergency and we needed to find out if anybody was in the house, and if everybody was okay if they were.
"I don't know if anybody's in the house." And then he referred to the next bungalow where O.J.'s daughter, "Arnelle is in the next bungalow."
So that's what he said. What you're reporting is, "I don't know if anybody's in the house," that's what he said?
Well, I stayed with -- we call him Kato, Mr. Kaelin. I stayed with him and the other three detectives went to Arnelle Simpson's.
You eventually found out his name, of this person you have been referring to, as Mr. Kaelin?
When he referred -- when he referred you all to Arnelle's room, did the others then leave and go in that direction?
Well, I didn't know who Mr. Kaelin was and I wasn't sure if he was even supposed to be there. I stayed with him and engaged him in a conversation about who he was and what he was doing there and a few other things.
Well, I think there was on officer's safety issue for myself and the detectives. We really couldn't leave somebody just standing there. We didn't really know much about the crime scene at Bundy and we didn't know anything what was going on at Rockingham, so, no, I couldn't.
Well, he was disheveled, he was just woken up. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair was mussed. He seemed disoriented, as I suppose anybody would be if they were woken up at that time of the morning.
Yes. Simultaneous with -- I was walking -- I walked to the bathroom, which I couldn't see into from where I was standing at the doorway. I walked in just to make sure nobody was in there, and I opened up the closets to make sure no one was standing in the closets. I engaged him in conversation while I was doing that. I noticed a pile of clothes to the -- if you were lying in the bed, it would be the right side -- next to the right side of the bed, and a pair of shoes. I asked him if those were the clothes he wore, and he said -- last night, and he said "yes." I said, "mind if I look at them?" He said, "no." I picked up the shoes, I looked at the soles. I picked up the clothes and I looked at the clothes. There didn't appear to be anything unusual about them. I put them back where they were. And I was still talking to Mr. Kaelin. I asked him if there's anything unusual that happened that night. Before he answered, before I let him answer, I asked, "who drives the Bronco?" He says, "well, that's O.J.'s." I said, "is that all? Is that the only person that drives it?" And he goes, "yeah." I asked him if there was anything unusual that happened the previous night. And he said, "well, about quarter to 11:00, I heard some crashing on my wall. And I thought there was going to be a earthquake, but that was only noise, just one time, and my picture shook." And he pointed to a picture, which was just to the west of his bed, which would be the far right of his room, looking into his room from the doorway. And then he said, "I went outside to see what was going on with the noise and I saw a limo at the gate." At that point I interrupted him and I took him into the house where now Mr. Simpson's daughter and the three detectives had already entered the rear of the residence, and the door was open.
Did you ask him whether he -- whether or not he knew if the defendant had driven the Ford Bronco that night?
I believe I asked him, but I don't believe he answered. I think he said he didn't know or didn't -- he didn't remember.
There's a bar inside that looks like a recreation room, a billiard room, and just to the right of that as you're entering the rear of the residence, there's four or five bar stools. I said, "why don't you just sit here for a second. One of the detectives is going to talk to you for a few minutes. Just sit here and relax." I continued towards the front of the residence and right by the kitchen I saw Detective Vannatter, and I told him, I says, "talk to the man that was in the bungalow. He's seated at the bar." And I continued out the front of the residence.
Well, I was -- from the statement he made, the crashing sound and the time that he heard it, combined with the blood in the Bronco, the way I was feeling is there is a possibility there could be another victim or a suspect that had collapsed or escaped via that route on the southern border of the house.
There was a -- right behind the head of his bed there's a space in the wall. Right at the edge of his bed there's an air conditioner, and to the far left of his bed there would be the picture. He heard the crash right in that area.
Between the air conditioner and this picture, right behind his head, which would have been probably two feet to the west of the air conditioner.
Now, that wall that he pointed out to you as being the wall that -- where the thump came from, could you tell where the exterior of that wall faced in terms of the property?
Well, I couldn't at that point. I had to go outside and become a little oriented with the layout of the house. I've never been at the southern border of that house, so I exited the front of the residence and I went to the southern border of the house and I looked down and I saw a cement path a couple of feet wide with a three and a half, four foot cyclone fence running on the property line between the house to the south and the Simpson residence.
If you come out of the front of the entrance of the home, you're going directly west. As soon as you get to the driveway, you go directly south. You walk past the garage. I guess you'd have to swing out. You pass the garage. Then you reach the cyclone fence. It's the southern portion of the property, and then you go east and then you're running along the garage. There's a little indentation for the maid's quarters. And then you get into another structure. It looks like the beginning of the bungalows, but it's not. You go a little farther and there's another indentation. Then you can see a connecting corridor which is an office, stairway area, and then there's Kato's room. \ \
Yes. And there's another way that you can tell. As the bungalows start, they have a sheer wall on the southern border that goes up, I would probably say 20 feet -- 15, 20 feet -- and it has a single pitched roof that slants in towards the pool, and the rest of the structure doesn't have that type of architecture. So at that point I knew that that was approximately that wall, and there was also an air-conditioning unit that was sticking out.
And did that appear to be the air conditioning unit that you'd seen on the inside of Kato's guest house?
Well, to the best of my estimations on where it would be, yes. And I didn't see any other air conditioning duct in that general area.
Yes. There's -- as I walked closer and I got oriented to where this noise probably came from, I looked down and I saw a dark object. I was probably still 15, 20 feet away, and I kept walking closer, and then I saw when I was a few feet away that it was a glove.
Now, when you went back there, what were you actually looking for? What were you expecting to find?
Showing you the series of photographs, sir, that have been marked as People's 9. Do you recognize the location shown in photographs 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D'?
This is the walkway. I would be looking east from the front of the residence. I don't know how deep this lens makes it appear you, but this is what I would be viewing from the front of the residence looking directly east, down the south border path of the residence.
I looked at it a little closer. I noted that it did not match the terrain. As you can see, there's a lot of dirt and leaves. This glove was not dirty in the least. It looked a little sticky and moist. Two fingers were stuck to the glove. It looked like it was stuck there with some type of a liquid. I didn't touch it. I went past the air conditioning duct that you can see in photo 'A', and as soon as I went past that air conditioning duct, looking for the person that might have dropped this glove, thinking that they were farther down the walkway, I ran into spider webs immediately.
I would say nobody had walked on that path lately or recently, especially within hours, where I encountered no spider webs going up to the glove.
I continued all the way east on this path and then there was a probably 25 square foot area that looked -- it looked like a plant potting area or maybe a place where they make -- they start plants to put on the property. And I looked for any evidence of blood or a victim that had collapsed. I found that there was none, and I returned to the location and notified detective Phillips of the find.
Did then Ron Phillips, Detective Phillips and Detective Lange and Detective Vannatter go out to look at the glove as well?
Individually I took each one of them down to where I found the glove, indicating what I saw as I went and what I did. I took detective Phillips first, Detective Vannatter second, and Detective Lange third.
If you know, sir, do you recall at what point a criminalist was called for, to come to 360 Rockingham?
At some point after the glove was located, were you requested to secure the house for the purpose of getting a search warrant?
Yes. Almost immediately after the discovery of the glove, within minutes, Detective Vannatter said, "this is now a crime scene. Seal it. I'm going to go write a warrant."
Protect the evidence that has already been discovered, keep everybody out of the house, ask the people that are in the house to please leave if they're not necessary personnel, and to protect the premises.
I can remember Mr. Cowlings was there, but I can't remember exactly what time he was asked to leave. I believe -- it was shortly after we decided that we had to write a search warrant for this residence, so I don't know specifically when he was asked to leave. Arnelle was asked to leave the property. I believe Arnelle contacted Mr. Cowlings, but I'm not sure on that. I have no knowledge of that.
So to the best of your knowledge, by the time the decision was made to secure the house and get a search warrant, Arnelle was there, A.C. Cowlings was there?
Yes, and I don't know how that -- I don't know whose children they were and I don't know how that transpired.
WE GOT A REAL -- WE GOT AN EMERGENCY. WE GOT A PROBLEM. WE GOT -- WE DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE PEOPLE INSIDE THAT ARE IN DANGER, DYING, BLEEDING TO DEATH. WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING, I DON'T CARE WHOSE HOUSE THIS IS.
I said, "I'll go over the wall." So I jumped the wall and went over and opened up the hydraulic gate.
I kept walking closer, and then I saw when I was a few feet away that it was a glove.
It looked very similar to the glove that I observed on Bundy hours before.
this is now a crime scene. Seal it. I'm going to go write a warrant.