When O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, Brown Simpson’s sister Denise Brown was “in shock.”
“I thought it was gonna be a hung jury,” she told ABC News anchor Diane Sawyer.
“We were told by Judge [Lance] Ito, ‘Nobody make a noise,'” Denise Brown said. “And then I heard [Ron Goldman’s sister] Kim scream, and I just thought, ‘Oh my God.’ But I was in such shock, I couldn’t scream. I was just numb.”
Watch “Good Morning America” Wednesday at 7 a.m. ET for more from Diane Sawyer’s interview with Nicole Brown Simpson’s sisters: Denise, Dominique and Tanya.
Denise Brown, Dominique Brown and Tanya Brown, sisters of Nicole Brown Simpson speak with Diane Sawyer during an interview with ABC News.
ABC News
Next month will mark the 30th anniversary of the murders of Brown Simpson, 35, and Goldman, 25. The two were brutally stabbed to death outside Brown Simpson’s Los Angeles home on the night of June 12, 1994, as Brown Simpson’s two young kids slept inside.
Simpson was arrested for the double murder and his “trial of the century” captivated the country. In 1995, Americans across the nation gathered around TVs to watch as the former NFL star was acquitted of all criminal charges.
Defense attorney Carl Douglas (L) puts his arm around defendant OJ Simpson during his double-murder trial 03 February in Los Angeles.
Reed Saxon/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
But for Brown Simpson’s sisters, witnessing history from inside the courtroom, the verdict was deeply personal. After the acquittal, the Browns returned home where Nicole Brown Simpson and O.J. Simpson’s two young children, Sydney and Justin, were waiting.
The sisters said their mother instructed them to not show their grief to Sydney and Justin.
“She said, ‘Put a smile on your face when we walk in the door,'” Denise Brown recalled. “‘Whatever was best for them,’ is what she would always say.”
Mother Juditha Brown (R) wipes tears from her eyes as she listens with daughter Denise to prosecutor Christopher Darden’s opening statements in the O.J. Simpson murder trial January 24, 1995, in Los Angeles.
Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Today, Sydney and Justin are in their 30s, with families of their own.
The sisters said they don’t talk to Sydney and Justin about their father.
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“I don’t know what kind of a relationship they had with him,” Dominique Brown said. “I’m there to love on them, and I’m there to love on their children.”
American football player and actor O J Simpson holding hands with his children Justin and Sydney at the funeral of their mother, and his ex-wife, Nicole Simpson Brown following her murder, Los Angeles, June 16, 1994.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
While Simpson always maintained his innocence in the killings, a civil jury in 1997 found him liable for wrongful death and he was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the Goldman and Brown families. Simpson died of cancer last month at the age of 76 — without paying the lion’s share of the civil judgment.
“We didn’t get a penny, just to make it clear,” Denise Brown said. “It was the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson for Sydney and Justin. … It’s always been about the kids, you know, and so it will continue to be about the kids.”
As the Browns near the 30-year mark of the murders, a new Lifetime documentary has unearthed pictures and videos of the sister they loved so much.
“I love the videos. Because for me, the videos, I mean, as hard as it is to hear her speak and to see her moving … I love seeing it, because she was just so graceful and elegant and just so sweet,” Denise Brown said.
Denise Brown, Dominique Brown and Tanya Brown, sisters of Nicole Brown Simpson speak with Diane Sawyer during an interview with ABC News.
ABC News
“It’s the voice of Nicole that we wanted to hear. We want to have people hear it, we want to have people get to know her,” Denise Brown said. “Because so many people said, ‘We don’t even know what she sounds like … who is Nicole?'”
“So, I hope they get a true sense of who Nicole is in this documentary,” Denise Brown said.
The new Lifetime documentary, “The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson,” airs on June 1 and 2.
If you or a loved one are experiencing domestic violence, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or access help through their chat at thehotline.org.
The verdict of the O.J. Simpson trial remains one of the most controversial and talked-about moments in American legal history. The former football star was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, in a highly publicized trial that captivated the nation in the mid-1990s. While the verdict was met with mixed reactions from the public, it had a profound impact on those closest to Nicole, including her sisters, Tanya and Denise Brown.
In a recent interview, Tanya and Denise Brown opened up about their feelings regarding the verdict and how it has affected their lives in the years since. Both sisters expressed overwhelming shock and numbness upon hearing the news that O.J. Simpson had been acquitted of the murders of their beloved sister.
Tanya Brown, the younger of the two sisters, recalled feeling a sense of disbelief and betrayal when the verdict was announced. She had been hopeful that justice would be served for Nicole and Ron, but instead, she was left reeling from the jury’s decision. Tanya struggled to come to terms with the fact that the man she believed to be responsible for her sister’s death had walked free.
Denise Brown, on the other hand, described feeling a mix of emotions, including anger, sadness, and confusion. She had been a vocal advocate for her sister throughout the trial, and the verdict felt like a slap in the face to her efforts to seek justice for Nicole. Denise found it difficult to comprehend how the evidence against O.J. Simpson had not been enough to convict him of the crimes.
Both sisters emphasized that the aftermath of the trial has been a long and difficult journey for them. They have had to grapple with their grief and anger while also trying to move forward with their lives. Tanya and Denise have worked tirelessly to keep Nicole’s memory alive and to raise awareness about domestic violence, which they believe played a significant role in their sister’s tragic death.
Despite the passage of time, Tanya and Denise Brown continue to feel the impact of the O.J. Simpson trial on their lives. The verdict may have brought closure to some, but for them, it has only served as a painful reminder of the loss of their sister and the injustice they believe she suffered. As they reflect on the events of that fateful trial, Tanya and Denise remain committed to honoring Nicole’s memory and fighting for justice in her name.
