by Phill Coleman 07/10/2026
Over the past thirty-one years I have been contacted by thousands of people fascinated by the O.J Simpson trial. Their burning question to me was the same... Why did I refuse to testify as a defense witness for Simpson when I possessed first-hand information that Detective Mark Fuhrmann was a racist, making racism a possible motive for Furhmann to pursue a murder charge Simpson against with murdering his wife and her lover.
I will not go into all of the details here. It is only at this time I can reveal what I learned during interviews about my possible testimony.
Mark Fuhrmann was not secretive about his racist disdain for black men who were romantically involved with white women. It was my business partnership with a white female, along with my work where I encountered literally dozens of white women everyday.
I learned that although Simpson was at his wifes house the night of her murder, and that of her boyfriend, Simpson did not kill either. Simpson arrived at the murder scene after the murder.
Typical of Hollywood murder movies of the 1940s, the guy who happens along after a murder does an about-face and beats his heels in fear that he will be accused by law enforcement of having committed the crime. Fear leads the guy to never admit to law enforcement he was ever at the crime scene that night. Unfortunately for Simpson, Mark Fuhrmann and other racist Hollywood police officers who hated black males for having money, fame, success and white women in their stalls, Simpson was accused.
The murders were actually committed by two, still unknown peeping toms who, it is believed, often stood outside Nicole Simpsons window to watch her engaging in sex. Both Nicole and her boyfriend were known in private circles to be exhibitionists who did not believe in pulling down shades or closing curtains.
Law Enforcement immediately suspected that either Goldman or Nicole discovered they had an audience outside her window and Goldman ran outside to chase the peeping toms away. But his aggressiveness made the toms defensive, a fight ensued, and Goldman was killed. The dogs barking brought Nicole outside, and probably because she saw the faces of Goldmans killers, she was killed too.
Sometime later OJ shows up for a quick visit with his kids. That visit was prompted only because of Simpsons fear of air travel that he never fully overcame despite years of flying.
In Simpsons mind, the entirety of the situation led him to hastily leave, but not escape a wrongful accusation he instinctively felt would be coming his way. The rest is history...
This murder was attributable to many sins... blatant racism, exhibitionism, hero worship, law enforcement betrayal.... and more.
My refusal to testify as a critical defense witness had several reasons. As it turned out there were one or two other defense witnesses who had similar racial interactions with Mark Fuhrmann. I watched their testimonies and neither had the punch of my direct experience. Johnny Cochran, who had worked for my family previously, never spoke to me again. But he succeeded in Simpons innocent verdict in criminal court. And that part was good because O.J. Simpson never committed those murders.