Mark Fuhrman, detective in O.J. Simpson trial, dies at 74
Former LAPD Detective Mark Fuhrman, who gained notoriety when his past racist comments came to light during the murder trial of Hall of Fame football star OJ Simpson, has died. He was 74 years old.
Lynnette Acebedo, deputy coroner for Idaho’s Kootenai County, confirmed Furhman’s death but said no further information would be forthcoming from the office. TMZ reported that Fuhrman died on May 12 from an aggressive form of throat cancer.
Fuhrman’s testimony at Simpson’s 1995 trial nearly turned an already sensational murder case into a case about racial injustice and law enforcement as the practices and culture of the Los Angeles Police Department were called into question.
‘Trial of the century’
Simpson, a former NFL and college football star, went on trial in January 1995 for the murders of his ex-wife, 35-year-old Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, 26-year-old Ronald Lyle Goldman. Days after the couple’s bloodied bodies were found just after midnight on June 12, 1994, audiences watching Game 5 of the NBA Finals were interrupted by live footage of a low-speed vehicle in which Simpson led police in a white Ford Bronco. Chase for 60 miles on LA freeways and city streets.
Former Los Angeles Police Detective Mark Fuhrman (left) takes the witness stand with his attorney Darryl Mounger (right) during the OJ Simpson double murder trial on September 6, 1995. Fuhrman invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, saying “I want to invoke my Fifth Amendment” in response to all questions from defense attorney Gerald Uelmen.
The so-called “trial of the century” became a source of cultural references and Los Angeles glamor, with comments focusing on prosecutor Marcia Clark’s hairstyle. It was also known that Simpson apparently had trouble wearing the bloody leather gloves that prosecutors said were involved in the murders, leading to defense attorney Johnnie Cochran’s famous closing argument: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
During the trial, accusations emerged that former Los Angeles Police Department detective Furhman planted or fabricated evidence. Tape recordings played during the trial also showed that Fuhrman used a racist epithet, although he claimed in his statement that he had never done such a thing.
Ultimately, on October 3, 1995, the jury found Simpson not guilty on all charges, and the revelations about Furhman were thought to be key to the outcome. The controversial decision sparked mixed feelings across the country and raised doubts about law enforcement’s treatment of minorities.
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In 1977, a civil jury found Simpson responsible for the murders and ordered him to pay $33.5 million to the families of his ex-wife and Goldman.
Furhman, who later served as a forensics and crime scene expert at Fox News, worked as an analyst for the network. during coverage Simpson’s parole hearing in 2017 after serving nine years of a possible 33-year sentence at Lovelock Prison in Nevada armed robbery and kidnapping.
Thirty years after the “trial of the century” began, “American Manhunt: OJ Simpson” on Netflix delivers a four-part docuseries (now streaming) that revisits the barbaric stabbing deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. OJ Simpson, who died last April, was acquitted of the murders that took place at Brown Simpson’s Los Angeles home on June 12, 1994, in a decision that shocked the world. https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2025/01/29/oj-simpson-new-docuseries-netflix-manhunt/77969480007/
Simpson died in April 2024 at the age of 76.
Fuhrman, who lives in Idaho, also worked as a radio host and wrote. a few books about crime.
Contributor: Kevin Spain, USA Today; Brad Wadlow, USA Today Network-New Jersey
This article first appeared on USA TODAY: OJ Simpson trial detective Mark Fuhrman dies at 74
