OJ Simpson has died at the age of 76.
Nicknamed “The Juice,” the former American football player was one of the most popular athletes of the late 1960s and 1970s.
However, he had a fall from grace when he was famously charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994.
While OJ was acquitted in 1995, he was later deemed liable for their deaths in a civil case brought by the victims families in 1997.
In a statement today, his family said: “On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.”
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”
OJ was accused of violently stabbing his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman to death outside her Los Angeles home on 12 June, 1994.
Police quickly pointed the finger at OJ and he was ordered to surrender himself, but he famously fled in his white Ford Bronco in a televised police chase that captured the world.
The chase ended at his mansion in Los Angeles, and he was later charged for their murders.
In what was dubbed “the trial of the century”, prosecutors argued that OJ killed Nicole and Ron in a jealous fury.
While the prosecution presented extensive blood, hair and fiber tests linking him to the murders, the defense countered that he was framed by racist white police.
Perhaps the most memorable moment from the trial was when Simpson struggled to try on a pair of blood-stained gloves found at the murder scene.
Delivering the trial’s most famous words, OJ’s defense lawyer Johnnie Cochran referred to the gloves in his closing arguments to jurors with a rhyme: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”
During the 1995 trial, OJ’s legal team famously included Robert Kardashian Snr, the late father of Kim, Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian.
His role on OJ’s legal team was hugely controversial, as Nicole was the best friend of Robert’s ex-wife Kris Jenner.
The trial has been the subject of several documentaries and TV shows, the most well-known being FX’s The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story in 2016.
The ensemble cast included Cuba Gooding Jr. as OJ, and David Schwimmer as Robert Kardashian.
Despite the extensive evident against him, the former NFL star was acquitted of their murders in October 1995.
However, he was later deemed liable for their deaths in 1997 in a civil case brought by Nicole and Ron’s families.
He was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages.
In 2008, OJ was jailed for his role in the armed robbery and kidnapping of two sports memorabilia dealers in Las Vegas the year prior.
He was released from prison in 2017, after serving nine years behind bars.
