The sister of Nicole Brown Simpson—Denise Brown, Dominique Brown and Tanya Brown—responded to the death of O.J. Simpson’s death and the 30th anniversary of Nicole’s murder.
Watch: Nicole Brown Simpson’s Sisters Speak Out Following O.J. Simpson’s Death
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of her murder, her sisters Denise Brown, Dominique Brown and Tanya Brown shared their reaction to the death of her ex-husband O.J. Simpson, who was accused of killing Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman, last month.
“This is a person who’s been in our life for a very long time, who wreaked havoc on our family,” Tanya told People in an article published May 22. “It’s like the end of a chapter.”
Nicole—who along with Ron was found stabbed to death in June 1994 outside her Brentwood, Calif. home—divorced O.J. in 1992 following an allegedly physically and emotionally abusive seven-year marriage. And for her sisters, they found some peace in knowing how different her life was after their split.
“What no one knows she experienced before her death is freedom,” Dominique reflected. “There was this levity about her. She was glowing.
And Tanya couldn’t agree more. “I’m so glad that she had a good time the last two years of her life,” she added. “I can’t bring her back, so why not try to look at it like that?”
When they first met O.J.—with whom Nicole shared children Sydney, 38, and Justin, 35 —Dominique explained that he was “just her boyfriend to us.” But when the aspiring model invited them to see him play for the Buffalo Bills, she admitted, “I was like, ‘Wow, look at this guy. He’s amazing.'”
But things eventually took a dark turn. And Nicole’s sisters further share insight into the alleged abuse she faced at the hands of O.J, who died at 76 in April of prostate cancer, in the docuseries—The Life and Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson—set to air June 1 and 2—Nicole’s loved ones recalled her living in fear of him, even allegedly keeping track of the times he harmed her
“She always thought he was going to hurt her,” one of her sisters noted in the clip. “She always knew it
The upcoming project is meant to retell Nicole’s story, which her family believes was overlooked amid O.J.’s infamous trial, which saw him acquitted of murder. (He was later found responsible for Nicole and Ron’s deaths in a civil trial.)
“Her life was stolen from her and while her abuser is finally gone, it doesn’t take away the anguish we feel or the pain of her children who lost their mother,” the Brown sisters told The Hollywood Reporter May 2. “We hope that by sharing Nicole’s story, it will help others recognize the signs and get the help they need and her legacy will continue to live on.
O.J. Simpson met Nicole Brown in 1977 and divorced his first wife, Marguerite, in 1979. He married Nicole on Feb. 2, 1985; their daughter Sydney was born eight months later, and son Justin was born in 1988.
“You guys never do anything,” Nicole told police when they arrived at the Simpson home at 360 N. Rockingham Ave. in L.A.’s posh Brentwood neighborhood, responding to a domestic abuse call in the the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 1989, according to reports about that night. “You never do anything. You come out. You’ve been here eight times. And you never do anything about him.”
Simpson insisted he didn’t beat Nicole, only pushed her out of bed. Then, told he needed to go with the officers to the police station, he drove off instead. A few days later, Nicole went to the station and said she didn’t really want them to proceed with a prosecution, but she consented to out-of-court mediation.
On May 24, 1989, Simpson was sentenced to 24 months of probation, ordered to perform 120 hours of community service and pay fines totaling $470, and was told to attend counseling twice a week (he was allowed to do it by phone) after pleading no contest to misdemeanor domestic violence.
Nicole eventually moved out with Justin and Sydney and filed for divorce in February 1992. They settled that October, with O.J. agreeing to pay her a lump sum of $433,750, plus $10,000 a month in child support, and she retained the title of a rental property. She eventually bought a condo at 875 S. Bundy Drive in Brentwood and moved there in January 1994.
All the while, Simpson was alternately threatening her and trying to get back together. According to prosecutors and witnesses, O.J. had stood outside and looked through her window on multiple occasions, including one time when she was having sex with a boyfriend. Per Jeffrey Toobin’s 1996 book The Run of His Life, in a diary entry from June 3, 1994, Nicole detailed a recent threat from Simpson: “‘You hang up on me last nite, you’re gonna pay for this bitch…You think you can do any f–king thing you want, you’ve got it comming [sic]…” and so on.
She called a battered women’s shelter in Santa Monica on June 7, 1994, to lament that her ex was stalking her. Five days later she was dead.
