Unsealed OJ Simpson records reveal informant's tip on missing murder weapon

Newly unsealed court records examined by the New York Times shed light on an informant who reportedly gave "very helpful" information about the weapon used to kill Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

Informant linked to OJ Simpson named in unsealed court files

Newly unsealed court records examined by the New York Times — and reported on by abc7.com — have raised fresh questions about the murder weapon that was never recovered in the 1994 killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, more than 30 years after O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders.

The unsealed document identifies a government informant named Joseph Ippolito, described as an associate of Simpson, who provided what authorities characterised as "very helpful" information about the weapon used in the killings. The document does not specify what Ippolito disclosed about the weapon or how it was allegedly disposed of.

According to the filing, Ippolito had knowledge of several matters connected to the case, including allegations regarding Simpson's domestic violence, drug use, attempted flight from authorities and the disposal of the murder weapon. Ippolito, who died approximately 20 years ago, had ties to organised crime and worked as a drug runner and restaurant manager, the Times reported.

Ippolito's brother, Sam Ippolito, told the Times he recalled his brother saying he had been helping Simpson on the night Brown Simpson and Goldman were stabbed to death. Sam Ippolito also said he saw his brother with what appeared to be bloodstained hands, carrying a bag, and that his brother placed his own clothes inside the bag before asking him to dispose of it.

In a subsequent interview with ABC News, however, Sam Ippolito denied making those statements and said his brother had no involvement in the killings. "I said he could be involved in a lot of things but not that," he told ABC News.

Prosecutors rejected the theory that Simpson had acted with an accomplice. Simpson himself, however, later referenced another person being present that night in his book If I Did It. In a Fox interview, he also described a hypothetical scenario involving a figure he called "Charlie" and a knife.

No murder weapon was ever presented at Simpson's criminal trial. Then-Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran testified that the fatal wounds were consistent with a single-edged knife, though he noted a double-edged knife could not be excluded.

Simpson was acquitted in October 1995. A civil jury subsequently found him liable for the wrongful deaths of Brown Simpson and Goldman.

Nicole Brown Simpson's sister, Denise Brown, said she had heard Ippolito's name and the account connected to him some 30 years ago and has no interest in revisiting his alleged role in her sister's death.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)