At 8:30 am on June 17, 1994, LAPD officials called OJ Simpson's lawyer Robert Shapiro and told him they were filing murder charges against Simpson for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, and that Simpson should turn himself in at 11. Instead, he holed up at his friend Robert Kardashian's house in Encino, was declared a fugitive, and, with his friend Al Cowlings, eventually led dozens of police cars on a slow-speed chase from Lake Forest to his home in Brentwood, where he finally surrendered. It was a pivotal moment in news/entertainment reporting: helicopters were on Simpson's white Ford Bronco almost immediately and cameras caught the entire chase live; an entertainment lawyer quoted in the LA Times calls it "the day Los Angeles stopped." (In October, 1995, Simpson was acquitted for the murders; in 1997, he was found liable in a civil trial.) Below, we've traced the path events took on that strange LA day, from Brentwood to Downtown to the OC and back.
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Mapping the Infamous OJ Simpson Chase, 20 Years Later
1. Nicole Brown Simpson's condo
Los Angeles, CA 90049
On June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were found murdered at her condo in Brentwood. On the day of the chase, her father is at the condo and at one point asks people to call 911; police arrive, but OJ isn't there.
2. Robert Kardashian's house
Encino, CA 91436
On the morning of the chase, Simpson hid out at his friend Robert Kardashian's house, but left with Al Cowlings before police arrived there in the early afternoon.
3. Parker Center
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Simpson was supposed to turn himself in at the then-LAPD-HQ at 11 am; just before 2 pm, Cmdr. David Gascon gives a press conference announcing that Simpson is considered a fugitive.
4. Ascension Cemetery
Lake Forest, CA 92630
At 5 pm, Kardashian reads what sounds like a Simpson suicide note: "I've had a great life, great friends. Please think of the real O.J. and not this lost person. Thanks for making my life special." Shortly before 6 pm, Simpson makes a 911 call from his cell phone and is traced to a spot on the 5 Freeway near Ascension Cemetery, where Brown Simpson had been buried.
5. LAPD pursuit begins
Laguna Hills, CA 92653
CHP finds the white Bronco nearby on the 5 Freeway a few minutes later and the chase is on.
6. 91 West
Buena Park, CA 90621
Around 7 pm, the Bronco turns onto the 91 Freeway.
7. 110 South
Gardena, CA 90248
A little before 7:30 pm, Simpson and Cowlings take a brief drive on the 110 to get to the 405.
8. 405 North
Gardena, CA 90248
At about 7:30 pm, the Bronco starts crawling up the 405 Freeway, underneath crowds assembled on the overpasses.
9. Sunset Boulevard exit
Los Angeles, CA 90049
A few minutes before 8 pm, the Bronco leaves the freeway at the Sunset Boulevard exit.
10. OJ Simpson's house
Los Angeles, CA 90049
Making good time, Simpson and Cowlings arrive at Simpson's house at 7:57 pm. Simpson stays in his car until 8:45 pm and is then allowed a few minutes inside the house before surrendering to police. He's booked at the Parker Center and taken to Men's Central Jail. Image via
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