OJ Simpson dead at 76 after battle with cancer

OJ Simpson, a former football superstar who was controversially acquitted of killing his former wife and her friend, has died at the age of 76.

In a tweet on his official X account, the Simpson family said he died on April 10 after a battle with cancer.

“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” the family said, asking that their wishes for privacy and grace be respected.  

Simpson enjoyed fame and fortune as a football player and actor, but his life changed forever when his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman were found dead in Los Angeles in June 1994.

He was arrested as a suspect in the murder after a famous slow-speed chase that was broadcast to the world live on TV.

The ensuing court case was dubbed “trial of the century”. Prosecutors argued that Simpson killed Brown out of jealousy, while the defence argued Simpson’s prosecution was racially-motivated.

One of the most memorable moments in the trial was when Simpson was made to wear a pair of blood-stained gloves found at the scene of the murder. He struggled to put them on, leading to the famous line from Simpon’s lawyer, Johnnie Cochrane: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”.

The jury found him not guilty of murder in 1995, but a separate civil trial jury found him liable in 1997 for the deaths. He was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the family of Brown and Goldman.