O.J. Simpson lay low as jurors saw where his ex-wife and a friend were slashed to death, then brightened up as he stepped through the gates of his palatial estate and back in time to life as a millionaire celebrity.
His brief return home - and the jury's only firsthand look at the mansion - was welcomed with two lit fireplaces, fresh flowers and a Bible on the table."It's a beautiful house," said defense lawyer Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. "There were flowers throughout. . . . There were fires in the fireplaces. . . . You had to come away with the feeling, `Why would a guy give up all of that?' "
It was a stark contrast to the murder scene - Nicole Brown Simp-son's empty condominium. The property is up for sale, and all furnishings and pictures have been removed.
Prosecutors argued that the homey look at Simpson's house was staged to elicit the jurors' sympathy. They objected to some of the touches and wanted jurors kept out of the family room where Simpson keeps his trophies.
"It is a shrine to the defendant," complained Deputy District Attorney Cheri Lewis.
Superior Court Judge Lance Ito allowed jurors to pass through the trophy room, but he ordered a picture of Simpson's mother removed from a bedside table, saying it had not always been there.
Ito convened the unusual, six-hour tour to let jurors see for themselves the locations pertinent to Simpson's trial for the murders of his ex-wife and Ronald Gold-man.
Reporters weren't allowed inside any of the stops, and security was tight: More than 250 police officers were working in the area, keeping gawkers away and escorting residents to their homes. Streets were barricaded and airspace was restricted to keep news helicopters at a distance.
Deputy District Attorney Marcia Clark said the important thing was for jurors to see where things were located.