The Case Of The Brentwood Murders Quiz

Answer: Kato

On the foggy evening of June 12, 1994, a screenwriter, by the name of Pablo Fenjves, heard a dog barking furiously. Fenjves timed the barking around 10:15pm. A neighbor, by the name of Elsie Tistaert, looked out her window when she heard the dog barking. Tistaert saw a white Akita pacing back and forth in front of 875 South Bundy Drive.

Another neighbor, Louis Kaupf, who lived next door, had just returned from the airport and went to get his mail from the mailbox at 10:50pm. He saw the dog, very agitated and pacing nervously. Just before 11:00pm, Steven Schwab decided to take his dog for a walk, and happened to come across the Akita. Schwab didn't know where the dog lived, so he decided to take the dog home with him.

When he brought the dog in the house, he noticed the dog's paws and underbelly had blood on them.

This made Schwab very apprehensive, so he asked his neighbor, Suka Boztepe, to keep the dog overnight. Boztepe agreed, but a short while later the dog became very agitated and started pacing back and forth. So Boztepe asked his friend, Bettina Rasmussen, to go with him to walk the dog. Razmussen agreed.

They no sooner started on the walk when the dog started pulling them to 875 South Bundy Drive. The dog immediately stopped and gazed longingly down the footpath. Boztepe and Rasmussen followed the dog's stare, and that's when they saw a shape of someone lying at the foot of some steps, part of the body sprawled under an iron fence. The time was about midnight. The investigators and prosecutors believed the murder happened around the time the dog began his barking, but the fact was no one was entirely sure when the dog started barking. This led the investigators and prosecutors to say that the murders happend about 10:15pm. One wonders if it weren't for the dog, Kato, barking until someone finally listened, when would the bodies have been discovered? Several months after the murders, Kato the dog went to live with Nicole's parents in Orange County, California.

Answer: Officer Robert Riske and Officer Miguel Terrazas

At 12:13am, Officer Robert Riske and Officer Miguel Terrazas, arrived at 875 South Bundy Drive. They walked up the footpath of the condominium. They noticed a small pool of blood, and being careful not to step in it, approached the body of a female. She was laying face down on the ground, with one of her legs jack-knifed under the perimeter gate.

She was wearing a short black dress, which was pushed up above her buttocks. The woman was drenched in blood, with more blood still seeping out onto the ground. Riske and Terrazas then noticed the figure of a man, laying on his side with his eyes wide open.

He was wearing a light brown shirt and blue jeans, which were now soaked in blood. Riske and Terrazas confirmed that both victims were indeed dead and then radioed for backup.

A few minutes later, the backup arrived on the scene. Sergeant Martin Coon and officers Edward McGowan and Richard Walker secured the crime scene and then went about controlling traffic. They were under orders to keep the crime scene the way it was found.

Answer: Sydney and Justin

At 12:45 am, the paramedics arrived at the scene. They, too, confirmed that both victims were dead. By this time, Riske and Terrazas had assumed that the woman was Nicole Brown Simpson, owner of the building, but they had no idea who the man was. Riske and Terrazas then entered the house and discovered Nicole's two children, 9 year old Sydney and 6 year old Justin.

They were upstairs asleep. Riske and Terrazas woke them up and helped them get dressed. The children were then taken to the West Los Angeles Division to await formal identification by a family member. Kato, the Akita, was taken by an animal control officer to a shelter in West Los Angeles.

The shelter was under strict orders not to euthanize the dog because he was both a witness and evidence in a murder.

Answer: Mark Fuhrman

At 2:10am, the West Los Angeles Division Homicide Detective Supervisor Ron Phillips, and his lead detective, Mark Fuhrman, arrived at the crime scene. They surveyed the area, but did not approach the bodies. The closest they were to the victims were approximately 8 feet. Shortly after arriving, Phillips was notified that the investigation was now in the hands of the Homicide Special Section of the LAPD's Robbery and Homicide Division.

The Homicide Special Section was considered the best murder squad in Los Angeles' law enforcement. Captain William Gartland, head of the Homicide Special Section, assigned Third Level Detectives, Tom Lange and Phil Vannatter, as the lead investigators. Lange arrived at the scene at 4:05am and Vannatter arrived at 4:25am.

Answer: A set of keys, a dark blue knit cap, a beeper, a blood-spattered white envelope, a bloodstained left hand leather glove

At 3:25am, Phillips had a police photographer brought in, but because the policy of the police department restricted him from taking pictures of the bodies, the photographer was resorted to taking pictures of the perimeter. One area of the crime scene that he had photographed was the area next to the dead man.

He mentioned what he photographed to Detective Phillips, and when Detective Vannatter arrived at 4:25am, he and Phillips walked through the crime scene. Neither Vannatter or Phillips were closer than 6 feet from the bodies.

They did see, however, the objects that were photographed. The objects were: a set of keys, a dark blue knit cap, a beeper, a blood-spattered white envelope, and a bloodstained left hand leather glove. The leather glove was only a few inches away from Nicole. Phillips and Vannatter then noticed a trail of bloody footprints leading to the back of the property.

They also noticed drops of blood alongside the footprints. The officers surmised that the drops of blood more than likely came from the murderer, who was probably injured in some way. Considering the fact that the drops of blood along side the bloody footprints were there from the beginning, one wonders how they could have been possibly planted there by the attending detectives.

This was one question that the prosecution failed to ask.

Answer: Rockingham Avenue

Detectives Vannatter, Phillips, Lange, and Fuhrman decided to go to O.J.'s residence on Rockingham Avenue. This was decided after the body of Nicole was positively identified. Fuhrman said that when he was a patrol officer, he was summoned to the Rockingham residence numerous times.

It was agreed that all four detectives go to Rockingham so O.J. could collect his children at the West Los Angeles Division. Lieutenant John Rogers, who was the supervisor of Lange and Vannatter, stayed behind to guard the crime scene.

Answer: Orenthal Products

When Detective Fuhrman looked through the window into the Bronco, he saw a package that was labeled 'Orenthal Products'. Even though they knew that Orenthal was O.J.'s first name, they ran the plate number from the car radio. The information came back saying that the Bronco was owned by the Hertz Corporation, and that O.J. was their spokesperson.

After they confirmed that the Bronco was O.J.'s, Fuhrman noticed a blood smear near the driver's door handle and alerted the other detectives. After seeing the blood on the Bronco, the detectives obtained O.J.'s telephone number and began calling the Rockingham house non-stop. Because the detectives thought that perhaps another murder had been committed, they didn't need a search warrant to enter the property or the house.

This is part of California's State Law. As the detectives were trying to wake someone up, a private security guard from Westec had arrived and confirmed that O.J. did indeed live there. The security guard told them that there should be a maid in the house. Because the dectives felt that this was probably another murder scene, they employed Fuhrman to climb over the fence to unlock the gate.

Answer: Kato Kaelin

At 5:45 am, the detectives rang the doorbell. When they didn't get a response, they went to the three smaller houses, located on the Rockingham property. When they knocked on one of the doors, a young man identified himself as Kato Kaelin, a friend and house guest of Simpson.

The detectives then knocked on another house and a young woman identified herself as Arnelle Simpson, daughter of O.J.. Arnelle told the detectives that she believed her father was in the house, and so she accompanied them to the main house.

The detectives were surprised to find the house completely empty. So they decided to go back and talk with Kaelin. Kaelin said that the night before he and O.J. had stopped at McDonald's, located in Santa Monica. He told the detectives that they came back home sometime before 10:00pm. Kaelin then told them that at about 10:45 he heard a banging noise, near the air conditioner, three times.

He told them that he thought it was a small earthquake because the banging was strong enough to shake the pictures he had hanging on the wall. Kaelin then told the detectives that he went outside, with a flashlight, to check for damages.

The detectives then went back and talked to Arnelle. She told them that she had no idea where her father was, but suggested that she'd call his personal assistant. The assistant, whose name was Cathy Randa, told Arnelle that O.J. was in Chicago and staying at the Chicago O'Hare Plaza Hotel. The detectives then called O.J. at the hotel, and upon hearing that Nicole was murdered, he asked about his children and he told the detectives that he would be on the next available flight to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, Detective Lange decided to ring the Brown residence by telephone and tell them of Nicole's murder.

Answer: Denise

When Denise Brown heard about her sister's murder she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that O.J. had killed her. She told Detective Lange that he threatened to kill Nicole numerous times, especially if he ever found her with another man. Denise also told the detectives that O.J. had physically abused her sister throughout their marriage. Detective Lange was astonished to hear this.

He knew now that O.J. was going to be a suspect.

Answer: Bloody right hand leather glove

Detective Mark Fuhrman, who had been absent from Phillips, Lange, and Vannatter, came back to the residence and told them of the discovery of a bloody right hand leather glove. Phillips and Vannatter, who were the only detectives, so far, to see the bloody left hand leather glove at the murder scene, realized that this glove was more than likely a match to the one at the murder scene. Phillips, Lange, Fuhrman, and Vannatter left the right hand glove exactly where it was, so it could be processed later. Phillips, Fuhrman, and Lange left the Rockingham estate, leaving Vannatter at Rockingham to determine if indeed it was another crime scene. Fuhrman never saw the left hand leather glove at the murder scene, and if he didn't see that, then how could he have planted a right hand leather glove at O.J.'s residence that had blood on it? He couldn't.

The only way the right hand glove could have made it to Rockingham Avenue was if the murderer dropped it on his way back.

Answer: Dennis Fung

At 7:10am, Dennis Fung, a LAPD criminalist, and his assistant, Andrea Mazzola, a trainee, arrived at Rockingham with Detective Fuhrman and Detective Phillips. The area was sealed off, and because the droplets of blood and the left hand leather glove were outside, in plain view, no search warrant was needed. Fung and Mazzola catalogued the evidence under Vannatter's supervision. Vannatter and Lange then left the Rockingham residence, leaving Fuhrman in charge. Vannatter and Lange had left to get a search warrant so the main house could be thoroughly searched.

Answer: He covered it with a blanket

Detective Lange, fearing that pictures of her body would appear in the newspapers and on television, covered Nicole's body with a blanket that he retrieved from inside the house. This action was to be majorly scrutinized by the defense at the murder trial. Lange continued to survey the crime scene and while doing so, he happened across Nicole's black Cherokee Jeep, which was parked in the garage.

The license plate read L8 4AD8. He walked through the house and it appeared that nothing out of the ordinary was wrong with the house.

Answer: Her feet were clean

Nicole Brown Simpson was hit from behind with such force that it knocked her flat. Her feet were spotlessly clean. Never once did she step in any blood, not even her own. She had cuts on her hands, her throat was slashed with such frenzy that her head was almost decapitated.

The coroner saw bloody paw prints all around her body, and some paw prints were on her shoulders. Apparently, her dog, Kato, tried to revive his mistress, and when he couldn't he wandered into the street for help.

Answer: He had defensive type wounds on his hands

Ronald Goldman had fought hard for his life, but unfortunately he was no match for a crazed killer. He had scrape marks on his face and his nose was clogged from blood. His throat was slashed and he was stabbed numerous times on his chest, back, and legs.

When he was found his eyes were open. Ronald happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was there because the night before, Nicole and her mother had dined at the Mezzaluna Restaurant, and her mother had left her eyeglasses at the restaurant. Nicole had called Mezzaluna and asked if someone could drop them off to her.

Unfortunately, Ronald was the good samaritan and brought them to her house. The envelope, which held the glasses, were only inches from his body. Apparently, Ronald had arrived as Nicole was being murdered.

Then the killer turned on him, and with no chance for escape, Ronald tried his best to fend the killer off, but he didn't succeed.

Answer: The middle finger on his left hand was bandaged

When Patrol Officer Don Thompson handcuffed O.J. he noticed that the middle finger on his left hand was bandaged. Thompson mentioned this to Detective Vannatter, but Vannatter was more concerned about getting the handcuffs off of O.J.. Vannatter didn't want O.J. arrested just then, all he wanted to do was question him about his whereabouts on the night of the murder.

After releasing O.J. from the handcuffs, Vannatter asked him if he would come to the police station for questioning. O.J. agreed. Upon arriving at the station, O.J. had his lawyers there.

The interview, which was not an interrogation, lasted only 37 minutes. During the course of the interview, O.J. contradicted himself numerous times. He changed his timing of the use of the Bronco, the way he cut his hand, and he said he was wearing sneakers the night before, even though photographs taken of him at the Los Angeles Airport clearly showed that he was wearing dress shoes, not sneakers. During the interview, the detectives asked O.J. if would consent to having his fingerprints taken and also a sample of his blood. O.J. agreed.

The blood was drawn by Thano Peratis, but Peratis wasn't paying attention to see exactly how much he had drawn. Although the vial of blood measured 6.5 ccs, at the trial Peratis estimated that he had drawn 8 ccs. This was used by the defense as evidence of the police trying to frame O.J.. They claimed that since the vial of blood was short, some of the blood, which amounted to the size of the tip of a teaspoon, was planted at the crime scene and at the Rockingham residence. At 3:30 that same afternoon, the detectives learned that the Chicago police had examined O.J.'s hotel room. They found broken glass in the bathroom sink, but curiously enough there was no blood on the glass or on the sink. This severly contradicted O.J.'s statement that he cut his hand at the hotel before leaving. The detectives also learned that on May 3, 1994, O.J. had purchased a German-made 'Stiletto' or folding knife, fifteen inches long with a six-inch blade, which according to the coroner, was more than likely the same kind of weapon used at the murders.

Answer: Allan W. Park

Allan W. Park, the limousine driver, told detectives at the West Los Angeles Division that he was told to arrive at the Rockingham estate no later than 10:45pm. Park arrived at 10:25pm, and using the gate phone, tried to contact Simpson. For 25 minutes, Park was unsuccessful.

At 10:50pm, Park saw a man, approximately 6 feet tall, wearing dark clothes hurrying to the main house. Park then called the house one more time and this time O.J. answered. O.J. told Park that he overslept and that he'd be right down.

When O.J. finally appeared, Park noticed he was sweating profusely. O.J. demanded that the air conditioner in the limousine be kept on during the entire ride to the airport. The detectives were thrilled at this information from an independent witness.

The West Los Angeles Division also received a report from a woman named Jill Shively. Shively told them that on the night of the murders she witnessed two vehicles almost collide. She recognized the driver of a white Bronco as O.J. Simpson.

The near accident occured at the intersection of San Vicente Boulevard and South Bundy Drive. Shively timed this at around 11:00pm. How could O.J. have been at his estate, practicing golf, when a witness saw him near South Bundy Drive? Considering the fact that the limousine driver didn't receive a response on the telephone until after he saw a tall man wearing dark clothes enter the estate, and considering that Shively saw O.J. near South Bundy Drive near 11:00pm, O.J. couldn't have been at two places at the same time. Park and Shively had no reason to lie about what they saw, but O.J. had a reason why he would lie. O.J. knew that if he told the truth about what really happened, he'd be behind bars, probably for the rest of his natural life. Who would you believe? I personally believe Park and Shively.

Answer: Al Cowling

O.J. and Al Cowling, best friends since playing football together in the 1970s, left Kardashian's home in O.J.'s white Ford Bronco. After calling in the plate number, which was 3DHY503, and tracing O.J.'s cellular phone, the police found out that Cowling and O.J. were still in California.

At 6:45pm, a deputy from the Orange County police department spotted O.J.'s vehicle, which was driving north on Interstate-5. When ordered to pull over, Cowling, who was driving, put on the hazard lights and had the car traveling 40 miles an hour. By this time, the news media, in helicopters, were swarming the sky above.

The whole nation saw this slow-speed police chase on television. Around this time, Cowling dialed 911 and told the police to leave them alone.

He also told them that O.J. was suicidal and had a gun to his head. For an hour and 5 minutes, the chase was televised. Finally a few minutes later, the Ford Bronco returned to the Rockingham estate. It took another hour of coercing before O.J. emerged from the Bronco.

He and Cowling were immediately arrested. Upon searching the Bronco, it was discovered that O.J. had about {$8,000.00} dollars, a hand gun, passport, a fake moustache and beard, and a .357 Magnum revolver. Simpson was arraigned two days later on the charge of murder. He pleaded 'not guilty' and was taken into custody. On June 30, 1994, Simpson had his preliminary hearing, and on July 8, 1994, he was ordered to stand trial for murder by Municipal Court Judge Kennedy-Powell. O.J. would spend 15 months in the Los Angeles County Jail until his murder trial.

Answer: Monday, January 23, 1995

On Monday, January 23, 1995, the trial of O.J. Simpson, for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Lyle Goldman, began. The jury was primarily African American, with two of mixed descent, one Hispanic, and one white. Since the trial was expected to be as long as eight months to a year, there was an alternate jury which consisted of seven African-Americans, one Hispanic and four white people.

The jurors were to be sequestered for 267 days.

Answer: Lance A. Ito

Judge Lance A. Ito was a liberal at heart. During the Simpson trial, he made several mistakes which would come to haunt him and the prosecution after the trial was over.

Answer: 'If it doesn't fit, you must acquit.'

One leather glove was found at each of the murder scenes. The gloves, by themselves, told the story of who killed Nicole and Ronald. On June 15, 1995, Christopher Darden made the erroneous mistake of letting O.J. try the gloves on. The former vice-president and general manager of Aris Gloves testified that the gloves were part of a batch sold to Bloomingdale's, New York.

He measured Simpson's hand and estimated it to be size large to extra large. The police had already established this and had found three pairs of gloves in this size in Simpson's belongings. Johnny Cochran, however, was very shrewd.

He refused to let O.J. try on the gloves bare handed, he insisted that O.J. try them on with rubber surgical gloves on. In front of the jury, O.J. moaned and acted like he was having a hard time getting the gloves on. Finally, he said that they were too small.

This seemed to be the final blow for the prosecution. Even though at the trial, the former vice president and general manager of Aris Gloves testified that the gloves had shrunk due to the moisture provided by the gloves, the jury listened entirely to O.J.'s statement that they were too small.

They figured how could anyone act his hands bigger than what they were. A person could act their hands bigger by not trying on the gloves the right way, and also by having a pair of rubber surgical gloves on their hands first.

Answer: Bruno Magli

Simpson denied ever owning a pair of Bruno Magli Italian shoes with the waffle type print Silga sole. Two years prior to the murders, on September 26, 1993, Simpson's picture was taken while he was wearing those same exact shoes that he claimed he didn't own.

Answer: Tuesday, October 3, 1995

Deirdre Robertson, the court clerk, read the verdict that the jury reached after deliberating for 5 hours and 12 minutes. The verdict read: 'Supreme Court of California, County of Los Angeles in the matter of the State of California versus Orenthal James Simpson, case number BA 097211. We the jury, in the above-entitled action, find the defendant, Orenthal James Simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder'.

This was not what the Brown family or the Goldman family wanted to hear.

Answer: True

On October 23, 1996, Simpson was back in front of another jury, but this time for a civil trial. This time the jury was predominately white. The same evidence that was in the murder trial was laid out again at the civil trial. This time, however, the outcome would be drastically different.

Answer: $33.5 million

The jury awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages to Fred Goldman and his ex-wife, Sharon Rufo. A few days later, the jury awarded $25 million in punitive damages to be shared between Nicole's children and Fred Goldman. It took the jury six days to deliberate the evidence, where it only took 5 hours and 12 minutes for the jury at the murder trial.

Answer: Florida

Simpson moved to Florida so he wouldn't have to pay the money awarded to the families of Nicole and Ronald. However, he gets $4 million a year from his NFL retirement fund. Sadly, it seems that the Brown and Goldman families will never see the money that is owed to them.

The trial of O.J. Simpson wasn't just about murder. According to the book, 'Outrage', by Vincent Bugliosi, it was about so-called racism in the police department. In my opinion, O.J. was guilty. Why else would he try to escape with his friend Al Cowling? Only a guilty man would try to flee. All information can be found at www.crimelibrary.com and the book, 'Outrage', by Vincent Bugliosi.