Decades after the infamous trial, Nicole Brown Simpson's sisters, Denise, Tanya, and Dominique, open up about the devastating impact of the verdict that set O.J. Simpson free.
"The Life & Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson," a new documentary airing Saturday on Lifetime, shines a spotlight on the woman behind the tabloid headlines, whose life was tragically cut short in 1994. Through interviews with Nicole's sisters, the film explores the years of abuse she endured and the haunting legacy of O.J. Simpson's acquittal.
"I was just numb," Tanya Brown recalls of the day the verdict was read. "I couldn't believe it."
Denise Brown, Nicole's outspoken older sister, adds, "I felt like our family had been spit on."
The sisters recount the pattern of violence that plagued Nicole's marriage to Simpson, including the infamous photographs of her bruised face. They also reveal the constant stalking and harassment she endured after their separation.
"She said, 'He is never going to leave me alone. I'm never going to get rid of him,'" Denise recalls.
Nicole's friends and law enforcement officers who interacted with her corroborate her sisters' accounts of the abuse. Retired LAPD officer Terry Schauer, who responded to a domestic violence call involving Simpson's first wife Marguerite years earlier, also testified at Nicole's murder trial.
"In the course of the argument, he got violent. Struck her. As far as I remember, he pulled out a clump of her hair," Schauer says.
David Lebon, Nicole's friend and roommate at the time she met Simpson, recalled signs of violence after their first date.
"When she came home, her pants were ripped, the zipper," Lebon says. "I said Nicole, what happened to you? And she said, ‘He got a little forceful.’ … [She told me to] calm down. I was pissed."
The documentary also highlights the complex emotions the sisters grappled with in the aftermath of Nicole's murder. While they were relieved that Simpson was not convicted, they also felt a sense of betrayal by the justice system.
"I thought, 'I can't help Nicole, but maybe I can save another life,'" Denise says, speaking on her lifelong commitment to education about domestic violence. "It's something that no one wants to talk about. I said 'No, we're going to talk about it.'"
Despite the passage of time, the sisters continue to be haunted by the events of that tragic night.
"The officer that was there first told me that he worked that area quite a bit. He said [that police calls were] a very common occurrence at that house with O.J. That's what jogged my memory about Marguerite Simpson," Schauer says.
On Nicole's final night alive, her sister Dominique recalled Nicole pointing out Simpson's car passing the restaurant where they were eating.
"It's six o'clock in the morning, and all of a sudden I hear this … gut-wrenching curdling scream out of my parents' bedroom," Denise says. "My mom was on her knees, and my dad was on his elbow just looking up at her. I pick up the phone and I said, 'Who is this' and he said, ‘It’s [a detective].' … He says, 'Your sister's been killed.' I said 'Oh my God, he did it, he finally did it, oh my God."
The documentary concludes with a message of hope, as Nicole's sisters continue to advocate for domestic violence victims and work to ensure that no other woman has to suffer the same fate.
"I want to exorcise from my mind a girl laying on the sidewalk in a little black dress in a pool of blood — that's not who she was," Nicole's friend, Ron Hardy, says. "I just cathartically want to talk about her, talk about who she was, what she was to me, what she was to other people and how I will never, never regret meeting her."
