After showing so little emotion for so long, through tearful testimony, the racially charged appearance of a detective and descriptions of DNA evidence, some O.J. Simpson jurors could hold back no more.
Several of the 12 jurors and two alternates appeared shaken when confronted Tuesday with autopsy photographs of Nicole Brown Simpson taken 11/2 days after she was nearly decapitated.One picture on the large display board was said to have shown Nicole Simpson, eyes open, head back, with a dark knife slash across her throat - the fatal wound, so deep her spine was visible.
In the front row of the jury box, a 60-year-old woman, who just a few hours earlier had been giggling after stumbling while walking into the courtroom, looked down and took deep breaths.
To her left, a muscular 32-year-old Pepsi truck driver tried to avert his eyes, but there was nowhere to look because the board was right in front of him. So he stared at the floor. His eyes were red. He appeared near tears.
Near the end of the box, a 43-year-old marketing representative appeared grim and sad. He, too, looked at the floor and occasionally took notes.
Behind him, a 24-year-old fire station receptionist - an alternate - appeared disturbed but also very aware the audience was watching her. She looked back and forth between the spectators and the board.
Prosecutors had already displayed photos of the bloody, slashed bodies at the spot where they were discovered. The majority-black jury also has sat through the tense cross-examination of Detective Mark Fuhrman, who the defense accused of being a racist, as well as the testimony of a crying Denise Brown, Nicole Simpson's sister.
During these moments, the jury was nearly always impassive.