Bruised, hysterical and wearing only a bra and muddied sweatpants, Nicole Brown Simpson told police that a New Year's fight with her husband began soon after he engaged in sex with another woman in their house, an officer testified.
Nicole Simpson said her husband climbed into bed with her after having sex with the woman, detective John Edwards recalled Tuesday. Although the altercation itself had already been widely reported, Edwards' testimony made the fight look even more damaging to Simpson.As they wasted no time trying to destroy Simpson's image, prosecutors also announced they wanted to call Ronald Shipp, a retired police officer and friend of Simpson. Defense attorney Carl Douglas identified Shipp as the mysterious "Leo" in the opening pages of a "Raging Heart," a new book about the Simpson case.
The book says Simpson met with Leo the day after the murders and revealed having dreams of killing Nicole Simpson. Later in the book, Shipp is mentioned by name as a friend who counseled the Simpsons in the days following their 1989 fight.
It wasn't clear if the judge would allow Shipp to testify. In a private conference at the judge's bench, defense attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. objected to portions of Shipp's proposed testimony and said he would not question Shipp himself because the two are cousins.
The matter was put on hold until Wednesday.
Prosecutors allege that Simpson killed his wife in a jealous rage after years of abuse. They used the New Year's 1989 beating as a launching pad for their case.
The first three witnesses were an operator who took her 911 call and two officers who investigated the case. Simpson eventually pleaded no contest and was sentenced to probation.
As giant photos of a bruised Nicole Simpson were projected on a courtroom screen, Edwards told jurors that she emerged from bushes wearing only a bra and muddy sweatpants and collapsed in his arms in the darkness, crying, "He's going to kill me!"
"I said, `Who's going to kill you?' " recalled Edwards, who was a patrol officer responding to the 911 call. "She said, `O.J.'
"I said, `O.J. who? You mean the football player?'
"She said, `Yes, O.J. Simpson the football player.' "
Edwards described Nicole Simpson's beaten face, cut left lip and bruised forehead.