FBI releases O.J. Simpson investigation documents to the public

The FBI released 475 pages of documents related to the O.J. Simpson investigation for the 1994 double homicides of his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.  

Former NFL star Simpson, who was acquitted of the murders during a sensational trial that dominated the headlines for months, died of prostate cancer in April. He was 76 years old.

The documents had been released previously through new Freedom of Information Act requests – but this is the first time the collection has been made widely available to the public. Evidence collected by the FBI's Miami field office in collaboration with the Los Angeles Police Department represented a significant portion of the posted documents. Multiple released pages focused on the 1991 or 1992 purchase of a pair of Italian luxury Bruno Magli men's shoes. 

There were photos of the size 12 shoes, and details about various stores that sold this type of shoes, including a distribution list, and outreach to salespeople who might remember who sold the shoes and where they were shipped. 

FBI records included handwritten notes about the shoes, including one that said, "purchased many pairs of shoes for children, son-in-law…" 

The FBI traveled to the Bruno Magli factory in Italy in 1995 and obtained shoe molds and soles to give to the Los Angeles Police Department. Laboratory results included in the documents said tests confirmed that the bloody shoe prints found at the crime scene prints were made by Bruno Magli shoes either in the Lorenzo or Lyon style.

The LAPD sent the FBI swatches of fabric from their evidence, including fibers from the infamous white Ford Bronco, which  Simpson used to flee police after being served arrest warrants in the homicides. 

He and a friend led police on about an hour-and-half car chase while Simpson was holding a gun to his head – and was viewed live on television by at least 95 million people. A copy of Simpson's driver's license was also included in the collection.

Detailed handwritten pages listed various fibers, fabrics and hairs gathered from Simpson and victims Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. There was also a detailed list of photographs, but copies weren't included in the released files. 

In:
• O.J. Simpson
• FBI

Cara Tabachnick

Cara Tabachnick is a news editor at CBSNews.com. Cara began her career on the crime beat at Newsday. She has written for Marie Claire, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She reports on justice and human rights issues. Contact her at [email protected]