Murder victims’ families to pursue damages from OJ Simpson’s estate – and could be owed up to $100m

‘Is there money to be had? Hopefully. Do I know exactly what it is? No, but we’ll figure that out soon,’ said an attorney acting for Ron Goldman’s father

The families of OJ Simpson’s alleged victims have vowed to seek damages after his death from prostate cancer.

Simpson, who died in Las Vegas on Wednesday at the age of 76, was acquitted in 1995 of the double murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in what was dubbed the “trial of the century”. He was found liable for the pair’s deaths in a civil proceeding two years later and ordered to pay $33.5m (£27m) to the victims’ families.

However, the former American football star managed to avoid ever paying significant damages, with the Goldman estate only receiving around $123,000 so far.

Following the announcement of Simpson’s death, David Cook, an attorney for Goldman’s father Fred, vowed to go after Simpson’s estate for unpaid compensation, estimating that the amount the family could be owed could, with interest, total more than $100m.

“He died without penance,” he said. “We don’t know what he has, where it is, or who is in control. We will pick up where we are and keep going with it.”

OJ Simpson, pictured in 2013, is thought to have kept much of his fortune in protected annuities (AP)

Simpson, whose net worth before he died is believed to have been between $250,000 and $3m, is thought to have been able to avoid paying his debt by keeping much of his money in pensions and other protected annuities.

“The first [step] is to unearth the records and testimony of the family members to ensure that the source of the equity to acquire the real property is free of any taint,” Mr Cook said. “Simpson had assets coming in, we know that. There could well be money coming in from the [NFL] football people; maybe there’s significant amounts in pension.”

He continued: “Is there money to be had? Hopefully. Do I know exactly what it is? No, but we’ll figure that out soon. Ron Goldman is gone, murdered. We have to fight on for him.”

Reacting to the news of Simpson’s death, Mr Goldman said it was “a reminder that Ron and Nicole were murdered by him”.

Ron Goldman’s sister Kim added that the American football player’s death means “the hope for true accountability has ended”.

Simpson and Brown were married for seven years after the pair met while Brown was working as a waiter in Beverly Hills.

OJ Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson (AP)

On 12 June 1994, Brown and Goldman were returning home from dinner when the two were brutally stabbed to death outside Brown’s home in Brentwood, California. The knife was never found, but police discovered a bloody glove at the scene.

With prior allegations of abuse, Simpson became the prime suspect in the case, but he failed to hand himself in to face the murder charges, leading to a warrant being issued for his arrest.

He was eventually detained and charged with double murder after a two-hour police-car chase through the streets of southern California, which was broadcast live and watched by nearly 100 million people.

Simpson then went on trial in November 1994, maintaining his innocence throughout. He was acquitted in 1995.

The families of Simpson’s alleged victims later seized the rights to his memoir to prevent the American football player from profiting from it.

In 2008, Simpson was convicted of 12 counts of armed robbery and involvement in the kidnapping of two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel, for which he spent nine years in prison.