Trigger Warning: This article contains themes of domestic abuse that some readers may find distressing.
OJ Simpson went on trial for the double murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. The NFL star was famously acquitted by the jury on October 3rd, 1995 despite several evidences pointing at domestic abuse. According to the Tampa Bay Times Brown kept a secret diary that detailed their torturous relationship, the entries horrifically revealed that she was once thrown out of a moving car, beaten during sex, and also stalked. A prosecution also disclosed that she sought refuge at a women's shelter five days before her brutal death.
"Nicole Brown Simpson went to that place because she was afraid, and she had reason to be afraid," Deputy District Attorney Lydia Bodin told the court. "She felt she was being stalked and she named the defendant as the person stalking her." Additionally, according to the Deputy District Attorney, Brown had kept records of the assault, including press clippings detailing Simpson's 1989 admission of spousal violence, personal photos of her injuries, and letters of remorse from Simpson. "She literally created an accounting, an audit trail, of acts of violence because she wanted people to know what was going on in her life," Bodin added while referring to the key pieces of evidence found from Brown's safety locker.
As per Collider, a 2016 documentary titled O.J.: Made in America chronically showcased the extent of physical and verbal abuse Brown endured at the hands of her famous footballer husband. Photos of Brown's severely battered face were included, along with 911 calls to the police with Simpson screaming in the background. "This murder took 17 years to commit," Scott Gordon, the deputy district attorney, said while pointing out the NFL player's violent tendencies. "Those punches and slaps were the prelude to a homicide."
Per Fox News, unfortunately, friends and family did not know the extent of Simpson's torture, Brown's friend Ron Shipp recalled in a 2020 documentary titled OJ & Nicole: An American Tragedy that the mother of two hid her scars behind heavy makeup. "First of all, I was totally in shock," he said. "I'm like, 'This can't be the OK that I know.' But I realized when she showed me the pictures and as I was talking to her, she broke down ... she was crying. I've never seen Nicole cry. Never." Shipp advised Brown to seek the help of a counselor.
"I never knew about all the writings that she did and I was actually surprised," he confessed. "It was a tearjerker for me and my wife. We were in tears." Brown's entries were not accounted for as evidence during the trial because the court deemed them to be mere rumors.