The cause of death for O.J. Simpson, the disgraced former NFL star, has been officially disclosed.
Simpson, who was infamously convicted of murder in 1995 for the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman, died from prostate cancer, according to his attorney Malcolm LaVergne.
He died on April 10, at the age of 76. His family revealed the news on social media the following day.
Simpson stated in May 2023 that he was battling an unnamed form of cancer, but in subsequent online writings, he claimed to have defeated it. Mr. Lavergne informed TMZ that he received a copy of Simpson’s death certificate and confirmed the cause of death on Friday.
Simpson was “awake, alert, and chilling,” according to his lawyer, in the days leading up to his death, despite his condition. Mr. LaVergne stated that during one of his last trips to the former football player, he was “on the couch… drinking a beer and watching TV.”.
“He’s usually the one who keeps me up on the news, so we were just catching up on the news then,” he went on to say.
About a week later, on April 5, a doctor said Simpson was “transitioning,” as Mr. LaVergne put it. Simpson only had enough strength to ask for water and watch a golf event instead of a tennis match on TV the previous time Mr. LaVergne paid him a visit.
Simpson’s family confirmed his death via a social media post on X on April 11, explaining that he “succumbed to his battle with cancer.” The family wants “privacy and grace.”
We cremated Simpson’s remains and held a small memorial service with close family members last week. Shortly after, Mr. Lavergne, who attended the occasion, told The Daily Mail that the former NFL great had had a “fantastic” last few years.
“OJ would not want people to be sad for him. He’d tell you straight out, dude, that he’s had a great, happy life. He had his ups and downs, but his past seven years were fantastic, so he wouldn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him,” Mr. LaVergne added.
“He would have preferred a few more years to see his grandchildren grow older. But he was largely satisfied at the end.”
Simpson famously acquitted himself of accusations that he killed Brown and Goldman in Los Angeles in 1994. Millions watched the proceedings in California on television, establishing it as the “trial of the century.”
In 1997, a separate civil court jury in California found the former football player accountable for their deaths. The jury sentenced him to compensate the victims’ families with $33.5 million. Mr. LaVergne accepted that Simpson died without paying the majority of the judgment.
Following his conviction for armed robbery in a 2007 incident at a Las Vegas casino hotel involving two collectibles dealers, Simpson received a nine-year prison sentence in 2008.
In October 2017, they released him from prison, and in 2021, they abolished his parole requirements.
Prior to his legal troubles, Simpson was an NFL record-breaking running back who later became a movie actor, sportscaster, and television commercial pitchman.