OJ Simpson: How the Nicole Brown Simpson, Ron Goldman murder trial was covered
LOS ANGELES - On Thursday, OJ Simpson's family announced the former NFL star lost his battle with cancer at the age of 76.
RELATED: OJ Simpson, former NFL star, dead at 76
At the peak of his career as a retired athlete, actor and broadcaster, scandal broke in what became a notorious murder trial.
On the morning of June 12, 1994, authorities were called to one of OJ Simpson's mansions located in Los Angeles' affluent Brentwood neighborhood. When first responders arrived, they found Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman had been stabbed to death.
Simpson was in Chicago the day the bodies were discovered. He flew back to Los Angeles the following day and upon returning to his Rockingham estate, he was met by police and handcuffed immediately.
Simpson was officially charged with the murders of his estranged ex-wife and her friend on June 17, 1994. Simpson agreed to surrender to the police, but not without a twist.
In a press briefing that day, the now retired Los Angeles Police Department Commander David Gascon announced Simpson could not be found.
"Mr. Simpson is a fugitive of justice right now. And, if you assist him in any way you are committing a felony and I guarantee you that if there is evidence establishing that you've assisted Mr. Simpson in any way, you will be prosecuted as a felon," announced then Los Angeles Defense Attorney Gil Garcetti.
Three days later, Simpson was involved in a police pursuit in his white Ford Bronco that was seen around the world. After the 90-minute chase and standoff, Simpson was arrested and placed on suicide watch in the L.A. County jail.
Simpson made his first court appearance in the double murder trial when he was arraigned on June 28. Simpson belted out he was "absolutely 100 percent not guilty."
He was represented by what was dubbed the "Dream Team Lawyers." His legal team composed of Robert Shapiro, Johnnie Cochran, Robert Kardashian, Barry Scheck, F. Lee Bailey, Carl Douglas, Peter Neyfeld and Gerald F. Uelman.
After a nine-month murder trial, Simpson was acquitted on October 3, 1995.
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"First, everyone understand, I had nothing to do with Nicole's murder. I loved her. Always have. Always will," Simpson write in a letter that was read by Kardashian at the acquittal.
Tom Lange, a detective from the murder trial said in a recent interview he remains critical of the prosecution.
There were "false accusations of racism, lying, planting evidence... we were on trial essentially and because of that you expect the prosecution to step up. We're their witnesses. We put the case together. The majority of a homicide case is put together after a trial. That was true in this case, but you didn't see most of the stuff we did. Witnesses and stuff we put together over months they didn't even use because we were on trial and they knew it," said Lange.
The DA's office also claims there is still evidence from the case, because no one was officially convicted in the criminal case.
The trial was recently the center of TV series "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" which nabbed multiple awards, including Sterling K. Brown's historic Emmy win for his portrayal of prosecutor Chris Darden. The series also won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Limited Series.