Phone records show that Nicole Brown Simpson spoke to her mother about 30 minutes earlier the night of her death than defense lawyers for O.J. Simpson have claimed, a magazine said Saturday.

The timing of the phone conversation is expected to be a key piece of evidence in Simpson's trial for the June 12 slashing deaths of his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Goldman.Newsweek, in the issue due on newsstands Monday, said an unidentified source who had seen the phone records said the documents show that Nicole Simpson ended her conversation with her mother Juditha Brown at 9:42 p.m.

That would counter defense claims that Nicole Simpson and her mother were on the phone a half hour later at about the time prosecutors say the slayings occurred - when a neighbor heard Nicole Simpson's dog wail.

A court transcript of a July 8 closed meeting of attorneys quotes Simpson lawyer Robert Shapiro as saying the records showed the conversation was at 10:17 p.m.

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Without elaborating, Deputy District Attorney Marcia Clark said there was no evidence to support Shapiro's claim.

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