CNN O.J. Simpson Trial

Source: Simpson alibi conflicts with limo driver's testimony

Details of closed-door testimony revealed

January 31, 1996
Web posted at: 9:30 p.m. EST

O.J. Simpson

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Details are emerging from O.J. Simpson's closed-door deposition in his civil suit. A source close to the civil case told CNN that Simpson, under oath, said he was chipping golf balls and then just hanging around his bedroom during the time his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were killed.

During his criminal trial, Simpson's attorney Johnnie Cochran said Simpson was chipping golf balls. However, the public has yet to hear from Simpson on any alibi. He refused to talk about his alibi during his recent interview on BET and his videotape, "O.J. Simpson: The Interview," won't be released until mid-February. The interview he gave to police following the killings was never released and was not heard at his criminal trial.


Simpson says shadowy figure was him

Park

According to the source, Simpson's sworn deposition conflicts with that of limo driver Allan Park, who testified during the criminal trial.

Simpson said he stood outside his mansion shortly after 10 p.m. and tried to call his girlfriend, Paula Barbieri, on his cellular phone. Then, he said he began chipping golf balls in his yard, the source said.

Then Simpson went looking for some golf gear in his vehicles, the Bentley parked in the driveway and his Bronco parked outside the estate on Ashford Street. He said he then drove his Bronco into the driveway, took out a golf bag that he left by a bench near his front door, and re-parked the Bronco on Rockingham Avenue.

During his interview with the LAPD on June 13, 1994, Simpson said he usually parks the Bronco on the street, but he sometimes brings it in the driveway to switch things around after golfing.

Simpson was asked by police when he last drove the Bronco. He indicated he drove the vehicle the day before the murders "in the morning, in the afternoon." Later in the police interview, Simpson said he parked the vehicle on Rockingham between 7 and 9 p.m.

He said that when he opened the gate to his estate, his dog, Chachi, relieved herself in a neighbor's yard.

At 10:20 p.m., Simpson said, he went to his bedroom and sat on his bed for awhile before taking a book into the bathroom. He then hopped in the shower to prepare for his flight, during which time he thought he heard his gate buzzer. After showering, Simpson says he packed his garment bag.

Limo driver Park testified that Simpson answered the intercom claiming he had overslept. During his deposition, Simpson said he did not sleep, and would not have slept, because he had planned on sleeping during his red-eye flight to Chicago.

Simpson repeated what he said publicly during a call into "Larry King Live" after he was acquitted -- that he was the shadowy figure Park saw in the entryway.

The source close to the civil case told CNN the largest discrepancy between Simpson's deposition and Park's testimony could be the order in which Simpson was seen by Park and responded to Park's call on the intercom.

Two versions of events

During his deposition, Simpson gives two different accounts of when he first talked to Park the night of the murders. At one point in his deposition Simpson says he spoke to limo driver Park just before taking his garment bag outside. Park, however, testified he saw the shadowy figure go into the entryway of the house at 10:55 p.m., before Simpson responded to him on the intercom. Later in Simpson's deposition, Simpson said he had indeed answered Park on the intercom after taking his bags outside.

Park testified the figure was wearing dark clothes. During his deposition, the source told CNN, Simpson said he was wearing a bathrobe when he first went outside. On cross-examination in the criminal trial, Park said it was possible the figure was wearing a robe.

During the speedy drive to catch his flight, Simpson said he asked Park to turn off the air conditioner because the former football great dislikes air conditioning. He said he was sweating because he had been rushing around to gather his things for the flight.

Simpson Video

Simpson said he noticed he had a cut on his pinky after spotting a speck of blood on his kitchen counter. Simpson said he had "no idea" how blood matching his turned up at the crime scene.

Simpson claimed he never hit his wife during an argument with her in 1989, though he was convicted of spousal abuse because of the incident. He also denied ever stalking her. As to why he was in his ex-wife's neighborhood when he spotted her through a window engaged in oral sex with her then-boyfriend, restaurateur Keith Zlomsowitch, Simpson said he was just going over to talk to Nicole.



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