Disheveled of hair and of memory, Brian "Kato" Kaelin created the front end of the murder timeline. Allan Park, so straight-laced he brought his mother to court, provided the back end.
The houseguest and the limo driver are two very different characters, brought together by prosecutors trying to prove that O.J. Simpson had an hour and 18 minutes to murder his ex-wife and her friend and ditch most of the evidence before catching a limousine for the airport.The prosecution's theory is corroborated by records of phone calls that Kaelin made to friends and Park made to his boss and mother.
Kaelin finished five days on the stand Tuesday; Park was to begin his second day Wednesday. Peppered throughout their testimony were potentially incriminating details:
- Park said Simpson's Ford Bronco wasn't in sight when he drove by Simpson's gate at 10:22 p.m. on June 12 - about the time prosecutors allege Simpson was two miles away murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Gold-man. Prosecutors contend that Simpson drove the Bronco to his ex-wife's condominium; the defense says Simpson was at home when the knife killings occurred and the Bronco was never moved.
- Park said nobody answered Simpson's gate buzzer when he pushed it at 10:40 p.m., about the time Kaelin recalled hearing three thumps on the wall of his guest house at Simpson's estate.
- Park recalled seeing the shadowy figure of a black man that matched Simpson's height and weight dash into the house about 10:55 p.m. A few minutes later, Park testified, Simpson finally answered his buzzer, saying he overslept and had just gotten out of the shower.
- Kaelin and Park both said Simpson seemed protective of a small black bag they saw on his driveway but which Park didn't see later at the airport. Neither a murder weapon nor bloody clothes that could have been worn by the killer have been found.
"(Park) was extremely helpful to the prosecution in establishing the timeline and also taking the Bronco out of the picture," said Southwestern University law professor Robert Pugsley.
Park and Kaelin testified that Simpson didn't act too unusual the day of the murders. Kaelin portrayed Simpson as a little upset before the killings, and Park described him as a bit rushed and frantic that night.