Getty Image
O.J. Simpson was acquitted in the murder trial that captivated America in the 1990s before he was found liable in the deaths of his ex-wife and restaurant waiter Ron Goldman—and the father of the latter is now seeking $117 million that wasn’t paid prior to the death of the disgraced football star.
Anyone who had doubts about what O.J. Simpson would ultimately be remembered for had them put to rest when he passed away from prostate cancer at the age of 76 earlier this year, as the coverage of his death predictably revolved around his role in the sensational murder case that made his football career the ultimate afterthought.
Anyone who’s familiar with that trial knows Simpson was found not guilty after being charged with the first-degree murder of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, who were found stabbed to death outside the former’s condo in Los Angeles in 1994.
In 1997, the families of the victims sued Simpson in a civil trial where a jury ruled he was “willingly and wrongfully” liable for their deaths while ordering him to pay more than $33 million.
However, Simpson—who was not shy about documenting the comfortable and golf-centric lifestyle he led before his death—managed to dodge the bulk of that payment, and while it’s unclear exactly how much the Browns and Goldmans received when he was alive, it’s believed to be a minuscule fraction of the sum that perpetually ballooned due to interest incurred on the initial judgment.
In April, Malcolm LaVergne, the executor tasked with handling Simpson’s estate, understandably found himself dealing with some backlash when he said, “It’s my hope that the Goldmans get zero—nothing” before scrambling to backtrack after catching heat for that statement.
Now, NBC News reports Fred Goldman, the father of the aspiring actor (who was just 25 years old when he was slain), has made it clear he thinks he deserves much more than nothing after filing an official claim that asserts he’s entitled to $117,041,675.27 from Simpson’s estate (a number that rises with by more than $26,000 each day it remains unpaid).
There’s no realistic scenario where Goldman is able to recoup that entire amount (or anything remotely close to it), and it seems like the filing is more a matter of principle than anything.
When Simpson was still alive, Goldman made it clear the money was an afterthought compared to his intentions to make life as miserable as possible for the alleged killer by ensuring he couldn’t harness new streams of income without immediately forfeiting the funds.
It will likely take years for Simpson’s affairs to get sorted out, but it seems like Goldman is still intent on hounding him even after his death.