Unsealed Records and Brother's Disputed Claims Surface in 1994 O.J. Simpson Murder Investigation

Decades after the double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, newly unsealed court records and revisited witness accounts have resurfaced questions surrounding the case. According to reporting from Complex and an investigation originally published by The New York Times, claims made by Sam Ippolito suggest his late brother, Joseph "Joey" Ippolito, returned to a Los Angeles apartment on the night of June 12, 1994, with what appeared to be blood on his hands.

According to the account shared with The New York Times, Sam Ippolito stated that Joey returned around midnight carrying a bag with a heavy object inside and instructed him to get rid of it. Sam claimed he discarded the bag in a dumpster near a construction site along Doheny Drive, though the actual contents of the bag were never recovered or verified by law enforcement. Sam also claimed he overheard Joey talking with Simpson’s longtime confidant Al Cowlings about assisting Simpson that night.

Joey Ippolito, who had escaped from a Florida correctional facility in May 1994 and had documented ties to drug trafficking, knew Simpson through Cowlings. Joey died in 2006. Following his apprehension by authorities in August 1995, Joey became a confidential federal informant while Simpson was on trial in Los Angeles. Newly unsealed federal records show that Joey provided information to investigators regarding the alleged disposal of the missing murder weapon, which investigators never recovered.

A December 1996 memorandum authored by former federal prosecutor David Kelley characterized Joey as a notable source of information, though Joey was never called by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office to testify during Simpson's criminal trial. The records also noted speculation that Joey may have waited at a private airport to assist Simpson on the day of the infamous white Ford Bronco pursuit.

However, significant doubts and contradictions surround the claims. David Kelley told The New York Times that he did not believe Joey Ippolito participated in the killings. Marcia Clark, who served as the lead prosecutor in the criminal trial, stated that she had never heard of Joey Ippolito and affirmed that prosecutors would have been notified if credible evidence had been brought forward by an informant.

Furthermore, Sam Ippolito subsequently sought payment from The New York Times and attempted to retract his narrative after the publication declined to compensate him. In attempting to withdraw his statements, Sam claimed he could no longer tell the difference between actual memories and confusion. Relatives and close acquaintances of Joey Ippolito also disputed any assertion that he had a role in the homicides.

Simpson was acquitted by a criminal jury on October 3, 1995, but was later found liable for the deaths in a 1997 civil judgment. He died in April 2024 at age 76. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed to The New York Times that the double-homicide investigation officially remains an open matter.