Ron Goldman’s loved ones are speaking out 22 years following his murder, stating that they still think of him “every day.”
Goldman was stabbed to death at age 25 outside O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson’s home on June 12, 1994. The model, then 35, was also killed at the scene. O.J. was acquitted of all criminal charges in 1995, but lost a wrongful death civil suit filed by the Goldman and Brown families two years later.
Goldman’s dad, Fred Goldman, and sister, Kim Goldman, reflected on the case during an interview with Good Morning America, which aired on Friday, February 3.
“Despite us winning, it left us very empty. But I think it set an upward path for other victims and survivors. And I think it gave a lot of room for people to start rebuilding and healing when you get to be in the driver’s seat,” Fred said. “I still, to this day, have a hard time with the fact that he wasn’t found guilty, in the criminal trial. Everything was there. Everything was in place. But too much other junk got involved.”
O.J. would later be sent to jail for good, however. In 2008, he was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping and was sentenced to 33 years in prison. Kim says that she actually wrote letters to the Naked Gun star, now 69, and wanted to visit him. She eventually backed out because she refused to sign a confidentiality agreement that his lawyer produced.
“[I] wanted to see him small,” she explained to GMA. “I wanted to see him be reduced to something that was more manageable for me because at that time it was just overwhelming.”
Seeing the case be replayed for entertainment has been just as distressing. “There’s no escaping it,” Kim said, possibly referring to FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story and the O.J.: Made in America documentary. “There’s been a lot of shows and a lot of programs and movies….I don’t want to keep debating evidence. I don’t want to keep rehashing testimony. I don’t want to keep justifying and defending.”
For Fred, he’s most upset about the things that Ron didn’t get to experience. “All of Ron’s dreams that didn’t come to fruition,” he told GMA. “Ron’s getting married, having kids.”
Kim added: “It sort of just lingers. I have a 13-year-old son that has similar mannerisms. Sometimes he’ll do something I’m like, ‘God, my brother, used to do that.’ Or he has a freckle pattern that reminds me of, of my brother.”
