O.J. Simpson went from smiling and affable on a flight to Chicago to distraught as he made phone calls seeking information about his ex-wife's death on a plane back to Los Angeles, defense witnesses testified.
Six witnesses painted starkly contrasting images Thursday of Simpson in the hours immediately following the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.The crucial testimony helped the defense recover from a major setback earlier in the day. Judge Lance Ito rejected a defense bid to present its theory that the murders were committed by drug dealers whose real target was Nicole Simpson's cocaine-abusing friend Faye Resnick.
The witnesses - a courier, two Hertz employees and three airline passengers - showed Simpson's behavior changed dramatically after police told him about the murders while he was in Chicago.
Photographer Howard Bingham drew smiles from the jury with his affable manner as he described Simpson, an old acquaintance, on the red-eye flight to Chicago the night of June 12, 1994. "It seemed like the O.J. I see all over," he said.
Another passenger on that flight, UCLA student Stephen Valerie, said he recognized Simpson. "He was very pleasant, smiling. I noted his clothing was very well pressed. He looked sharp," Valerie said, drawing a smile from Simpson.
Jim Merrill, a Hertz corporate sales representative who picked Simpson up at the Chicago airport, described Simpson as friendly when he arrived, greeting those who approached him in the airport. But Simpson was "desperate" and "frantic" a few hours later when he called saying he had to leave immediately for Los Angeles, Merrill said.
Mark Partridge, a passenger seated next to Simpson on the flight back to Los Angeles, testified that Simpson sighed, requested water and made phone calls seeking information about his ex-wife's death. Partridge wasn't allowed to tell jurors what Simpson said during the phone calls because it was ruled hearsay.
Even in his distress, Partridge said, Simpson was the consummate celebrity, obliging a fan with an autograph on a cocktail napkin.
"I thought, `What a nice man this was to be doing this,' having heard what I'd heard about the tragedy that was affecting his life," Partridge testified.
Simpson, seated at the counsel table, wiped tears from his eyes, and Partridge also seemed to choke up. Three defense attorneys patted Simpson on the back. Several jurors stole glances in his direction.
Partridge acknowledged under cross-examination that the first call Simpson made from the airplane phone was to a lawyer. Prosecutor Marcia Clark suggested that was unusual since Simpson hadn't been accused of anything yet. Partridge said that over the course of the four-hour flight, Simpson made several calls to attorney Skip Taft.
Both Partridge and Hertz Corp. executive Raymond Kilduff, who returned Simpson to the airport in Chicago, described him as distraught and said they noticed a bleeding injury on the knuckle of the middle finger of his left hand. Simpson's lawyers say he cut his hand in his hotel room.