If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer
Ratings7
Average rating3.3
In 1994, Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson were brutally murdered at her home in Brentwood, California. O.J. Simpson was tried for the crime in a case that captured the attention of the American people, but was ultimately found not guilty of criminal charges. The victims' families brought a civil case against Simpson, and he was found liable for willfully and wrongfully causing the deaths of Ron and Nicole by committing battery with malice and oppression.
In 2006, HarperCollins announced the publication of a book, titled If I Did It, in which O.J. Simpson told how he hypothetically would have committed the murders. In response to public outrage that Simpson stood to profit from these crimes, HarperCollins canceled the book. A Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the Goldmans in August 2007 to partially satisfy the unpaid civil judgment, which has risen to over $38 million with interest.
The Goldman family views this book as his confession and has worked hard to ensure that the public will read this book and learn the truth. This is the original manuscript approved by O.J. Simpson, with a subtitle added by the Goldman family and up to 14,000 words of additional commentary.
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This review is for the Audible version (currently available on the Truly Criminal Audiobooks channel at no charge for Amazon Prime subscribers).
Tellingly, the killer is not listed as an author. The named authors are The Goldman Family, Pablo F. Fenjves, and Dominick Dunne.
The narrators include Kim Goldman and Pablo F. Fenjves and, I'm sure, would have included Dominick Dunne if he were still living. The killer's chapters are read by G. Valmont Thomas. Dominick Dunne's chapter and the list of resources is read by Grover Gardner.
I watched every minute of this trial on Court TV, as well as the iconic Bronco chase. I would never have read/listened to this book if I thought it would monetarily benefit the killer but, thanks to the Goldmans' persistence, that will never happen.
The killer is a pretty good story teller. I am thankful that his writing is bookended by the Goldmans, Fenjves, and Dunne.
It feels really strange to give this four stars, stating, therefore, that I “really liked it”. It gave me the creeps, it made me uncomfortable, it made me sad. But I am glad I read it...and, as much as someone could, I did really enjoy reading it.
Do I think O.J. Simpson killed Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman? Yes.
Do I think the murder scene in chapter 6 of this book is hypothetical, as stated by Simpson? No.
