O. J. Simpson Case

386 Words2 Pages
Officially referred to as the People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson, the O. J. Simpson murder case spanned from November, 1994 to October, 1995, charging the former professional football star and actor O. J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife and one of his friends. This case was described as the most publicized criminal trial in American history. After more than eight months of trial, Simpson was acquitted of all criminal charges. During the criminal investigation, trace evidence was collected. Included in the physical trace evidence collected are hair and fibers. There were cashmere fibers found inside of a knit cap at the crime scene. Those cashmere fibers were matched to the glove found at O. J. Simpson's estate. From O. J. Simpson's Ford Bronco, investigators also found fibers matching those on the glove at Simpson's house and on the knit cap at the crime scene. On Ron Goldman's (one of the victims) shirt and inside the knit cap, hairs were also found. The hairs were matched to O. J. Simpson's hair. On the glove found at O. J. Simpson's estate, hairs were found matching the hair of both victims. Usually, hair analysis involves microscopic observation which determines whether the hair samples were human and compares the known hair with the samples observed (Deedrick, 2000). In O. J. Simpson's case, due to the racial factor, investigators also compared the racial characteristics displayed in the known and unknown hair samples. For the fiber analysis, investigators conduct similar microscopic observations. Microscopic observations usually determine fibers' nature as natural fiber or synthetic fiber, color, diameter, etc. Hair and fiber are usually linked with individuals, so they can be really helpful in the cases. However, while O. J. Simpson's defense could have been damaged, most of the trace evidence collected was
Open Document