LOS ANGELES - O.J. Simpson says a chapter from his unpublished book that
hypothesizes how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend was created
mostly from a ghostwriter's research and is not a confession.
 O.J. Simpson holds up his hands to
the jury wearing the infamous gloves found at the crime scene and his home
in this June 15, 1995 file photo. [Reuters/File]
 |
"I'm saying it's a fictional
creation," Simpson said Sunday in a telephone interview. "It has so many
(factual) holes in it that anybody who knew anything about it would know that I
didn't write it."
His comments came as Newsweek published a story for its current issue
paraphrasing the chapter, called "The Night in Question," which the magazine
said it had obtained from an anonymous source.
Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown
Simpson, and Ron Goldman after a yearlong trial. A civil jury later held him
liable for the killings. On Sunday, Simpson again denied killing the couple.
Simpson declined to provide a copy of the chapter to The Associated Press.
"I don't have it," he said. "I shredded everything I had about it, and I
thought I shredded it from my memory."
Newsweek's account of the chapter describes Simpson as becoming angry with
his ex-wife at his daughter's dance recital. He later went to her condominium to
scare her, entering with a knife through a back gate with a broken latch, the
account states.
Simpson encountered Goldman and accused him of planning a sexual encounter
with Nicole. He became enraged when Nicole's Akita dog appeared to recognize
Goldman as a familiar visitor, the account states.
Nicole rushed at Simpson and fell, hitting her head on the ground, according
to the account. Goldman then took a karate stance, further angering Simpson, who
dared Goldman to fight before pulling back.
"Then something went horribly wrong, and I know what happened, but I can't
tell you exactly how," Newsweek quoted Simpson as writing.
The account contains no descriptions of the actual killings but says Simpson
was drenched in blood and holding a bloody knife when he regained control of
himself. Both victims were dead.
The ghostwriter of "If I Did It" knew nothing about the case when he came
into the project and had to do a lot of research, Simpson said. The writer was
not a witness at the criminal trial, as has been reported, Simpson said.
Simpson said he saw a number of factual flaws while proofreading the chapter
but did not correct them because he thought that would prove that he did not
write it, he said.
Author Laurence Schiller, whose book "American Tragedy" contains a detailed
account of the crime and its aftermath, said he was contacted last November by
someone who read the chapter to him.
"There's not a fact in there that wasn't previously printed or was in the
trial discovery papers," Schiller said.
Schiller agreed with Simpson that there are technical flaws in the chapter,
including the claim that Simpson entered Nicole's home through a broken back
gate. Both Schiller and Simpson said the front gate had the broken latch.
The book was to be published on Nov. 30 by News Corp.-owned HarperCollins.
News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch called off the project 10 days before,
apologizing for any pain that it had caused the families of Ron Goldman and
Nicole Brown Simpson.
When the proposal for a book was brought to him, Simpson said, he implored
the publishers not to include the "created half-chapter" about the killings.
However, "they said it was the hook that would sell the book," Simpson said.
He said he elicited a promise that there would be no descriptions of anyone
being killed, something he feared would upset his children.
"Was it tacky?" he said. "Yes, it was tacky. But it was brought to me. I
didn't have an agent out there saying, here's a book from O.J."
He said he agreed to the book because he needed the money for his family.
"I knew going in it would be what it would be," he said. "It was worth it. I
made a decision that it would benefit my family and my life. I don't have any
regrets."