Is This the Blade That Killed Nicole? Buck Knife Buried at O.J Simpson’s Estate and Found by Construction Worker is 'Rediscovered'
>>After 'It Was Stashed Away by Cop as a PERSONAL TROPHY for 18 Years'
- The knife was recovered at O.J. Simpson's former LA estate, LAPD said
- A construction worker reportedly found the weapon buried on the property
- He handed the knife to a traffic cop who kept it a secret, TMZ reported
- When the cop tried to mount the knife to his wall last month he was reportedly busted by superiors
- The knife is being tested for forensic evidence in the still-open Nicole Brown murder case
- An LAPD official said Simpson would be protected by the double jeopardy clause, which prohibits acquitted suspects from being prosecuted for the same crime twice
Daily Mail UK, 4 March 2016
In the latest twist in the O.J Simpson case, Los Angeles police are now examining a knife that was found at the disgraced athlete's estate and handed over to a traffic cop who kept it hidden at his home for years - only declaring it last month.
The knife was reportedly found by a construction worker years ago, and handed over to an off-duty police officer, who kept the weapon a secret and planned to frame it before being discovered in January.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the discovery of the knife to Daily Mail Online. 'A knife was recovered on the property. We are currently meeting on it,' a spokesperson for the LAPD said Friday.
The folding buck knife was found by a construction worker at the now-razed L.A. home (pictured left), possibly as early as 1998, who handed the weapon over to an off-duty traffic officer who was working security at a nearby movie shoot, according to TMZ , which broke the story Friday, citing anonymous sources.
Instead of handing the knife over to detectives, the traffic cop reportedly took it home and kept it a secret for years.
Simpson (pictured left) was cleared in 1995 of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson (top right), and her friend, Ronald Goldman (bottom right).
In the latest twist in the case, Los Angeles police are now examining a knife that was found at the disgraced athlete's estate and handed over to a traffic cop who kept it hidden at his home for up to 18 years - only declaring it in January this year.
The LAPD has confirmed that it is analyzing the folding Buck knife to determine whether it has any connection to the 1994 double murder of Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.
The knife was reportedly found buried at the property by a construction worker as early as 1998, and handed over to an off-duty traffic cop, who kept the weapon as a trophy and planned to frame it on his wall before it came to the LAPD's attention in January.
Police are 'determining whether or not [the knife] is an actual piece of evidence,' an LAPD spokesperson said at a press conference Friday, warning the story could turn out to be 'bogus.'
Captain Andrew Neiman expressed 'shock' and 'surprise' that a police officer would retain evidence and went on to say that the now-retired traffic cop in question kept the knife because he believed the case was closed.
'The Nicole Brown case... remains open and ongoing, and the investigators will continue to look at this,' and search for forensic evidence, Neiman said at the press conference.
However, Neiman said Simpson, 68, would be protected by the double jeopardy clause, which prohibits acquitted suspects from being prosecuted for the same crime twice.
Crews demolish the former home of O.J. Simpson, July 29, 1998. A knife was reportedly found buried on the property by a construction worker
O.J. Simpson, center, reacts as he is found not guilty of murder, flanked by his defense lawyers F. Lee Bailey, left, and Johnnie Cochran, right.
Simpson's former defense attorney F. Lee Bailey commented on the discovery Friday
'A police officer holding it has destroyed any credibility you might prescribe to it... Any police officer with half a brain would realize this knife could be important,' Bailey said.
The traffic cop that found the knife retired in the late 1990s, according to Neiman.
He said police do not know the identity of the construction worker who reportedly found the knife.
The former traffic cop asked a colleague with the Robbery Homicide Division in January to help him dig up the case number for Simpson's murder investigation, which he wanted engraved in the frame.
The colleague told his superiors about the knife, who demanded the traffic cop surrender the weapon.
According to TMZ, a source familiar with the investigation into the knife's discovery said that although it was rusted and stained, the blade looked like it could have traces of blood residue.
Captain Andrew Neiman comments on the discovery of the knife at a press conference outside police headquarters Friday
Pictured is a folding knife of the Buck brand, similar to the one described by LAPD officials after the discovery at Simpson's estate
On October 3, 1995, Simpson was cleared of killing Brown Simpson and Goldman, after a process that became known as 'the trial of the century.'
A 15-inch stiletto knife owned by Simpson was considered by prosecutors in his criminal trial and compared with the victims' stab wounds.
But when the defense presented the knife in the preliminary hearing, in what became known as 'the mystery envelope,' it was discovered that the blade showed no signs of having been used in the slayings
O.J. Simpson owned a stiletto knife similar to the one shown in this court exhibit
A trail of blood leading to the body of Nicole Brown Simpson is seen on the walkway of her Bundy Drive, Los Angeles condominium in this LAPD evidence photo
Another hotly contested piece of evidence was a blood-soaked glove that was found at the crime scene. A second glove of the same type was discovered near Simpson's estate.
Simpson famously put on a similar pair of gloves in the court room. Whether or not they fit his hands became the subject of a heated debate.
Thirteen years to the day after his 1995 acquittal, Simpson was convicted of committing an armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel-casino.
The Hall of Fame football star is currently serving a 33-year-sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada.
Simpson's 360 North Rockingham Avenue home in Brentwood, Los Angeles was bought by investment banker Kenneth Abdalla for almost $4 million and demolished in 1998.
At the time, a demolition worker joked about searching for murder weapons on the property in an interview
'We haven't found the knife yet,' the man said.
Quote:
TIMELINE OF THE LIFE AND CRIMES OF O.J. SIMPSON
JUNE 12, 1994: Orenthal James Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, 25, a waiter at the restaurant where she had just dined, are found stabbed and slashed to death in front of her home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood
JUNE 17, 1994: Suspicion quickly fell on Simpson, who was arrested after leading police on a freeway pursuit in a white Ford Bronco, broadcast live on U.S. national television.
NOVEMBER 9, 1994 - JANUARY 24, 1995: Simpson's trial on murder charges was televised live gavel-to-gavel and became known as the 'trial of the century.'
Memorable moments included Simpson trying on a pair of gloves matching those found at the crime scene and at his home. During closing arguments, defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran famously quipped 'If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.'
OCTOBER 3, 1995: A jury acquits Simpson almost a year after the trial started.
FEBRUARY 11, 1997: The victims' families bring a wrongful death suit against Simpson, and later in 1997 a civil court jury find him liable for the deaths.
Simpson was ordered to pay the families $33.5 million in damages.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2007: Police question Simpson over a hotel break-in in Las Vegas.
On the same day, Goldman's family seized rights to Simpson's ghost-written book, "If I Did It," which includes a hypothetical first-person account of the 1994 murders.
OCTOBER 3, 2008: After a trial that lasted less than three weeks, a jury unanimously finds Simpson guilty on 12 counts in the Las Vegas break-in, including kidnapping and robbery charges
DECEMBER 5, 2008: Simpson is sentenced to a maximum of 33 years in prison to be served at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2015: Nevada Supreme Court justices deny the latest of O.J. Simpson's appeals of his 2008 sentence.
FEBRUARY 2, 2016:
*** A drama series based on the murder trial, named American Crime Story: The People v. O. J. Simpson, debuts on FX to protests from the families of the victims, who complained they weren't consulted during production.
Simpson reportedly accepted his portrayal in the series, where he is played by actor Cuba Gooding Jr., but was disappointed with the depiction of Cochran, one of his defense lawyers. ***
Source: Reuters, Daily Mail Online
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NB:
That series can be downloaded from our TV Shows in General Downloads section
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