BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Former Los Angeles police detective Mark Fuhrman, who was convicted of lying during testimony at the O.J. Simpson murder trial, has died. He was 74.
Fuhrman was one of the first two police detectives sent to investigate the 1994 killings of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman, in Los Angeles. He reported finding a bloody glove at Simpson’s home but his credibility came under attack during the trial as the defense raised the prospect of racial bias.
Under cross-examination, Fuhrman testified that he had never made anti-Black racial slurs in the past decade, but a recording showed he had done so repeatedly.
Lynn Acebedo, the chief deputy coroner in Kootenai County, Idaho, said that Fuhrman died May 12. The county does not release the cause of death as a rule.
Alan Dershowitz, a prominent lawyer and law professor who was a legal strategist on Simpson’s defense “Dream Team,” said Fuhrman was a “much better detective than he was a witness.”
“He’s very smart, and you know, a very, very aggressive detective. Ultimately his actions helped us win the O.J. case because of his use of the ‘n’ word,” Dershowitz said Monday evening. “I got to know him later, after it was all over, and we had a cordial relationship.”
Fuhrman retired from the Los Angeles Police Department after Simpson’s 1995 acquittal. He subsequently moved to Idaho with his family and set up a 20-acre (eight-hectare) farm, raising chickens, goats, sheep and llamas.
In 1996, Fuhrman was charged with perjury and pleaded no contest. He later became a TV and radio commentator and wrote the book “Murder in Brentwood” about the killings.
A criminal-court jury found Simpson, a former star NFL running back and actor, not guilty of murder in 1995, but a separate civil trial jury found him liable in 1997 for the deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million to relatives of Brown and Goldman. He served nine years in prison on unrelated charges and died in Las Vegas of prostate cancer in 2024 at the age of 76.
Kato Kaelin, a friend of Brown who also testified in the murder trial, wrote in a post on X that he wanted to respectfully acknowledge Fuhrman's death and that he hopes Fuhrman's loved ones can find peace.
“While we were never close personally, our lives were indelibly linked through our roles in the O.J. Simpson trial over thirty years ago. It was a deeply complex and painful chapter for everyone involved, but any loss of life is a time for reflection and solemnity,” Kaelin wrote.
Fuhrman’s father left when he was 7 years old, and Fuhrman often cared for his younger brother while his mother worked. As an adult, he joined the Marines and then the Los Angeles Police Department.
This story has been updated to correct the last name of Brown's friend who testified in the murder trial. He is Kato Kaelin, not Kaitlin.
Golden reported from Seattle.
FILE - In this June 15, 1995 file photo, O.J. Simpson, left, grimaces as he tries on one of the leather gloves prosecutors say he wore the night his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were murdered in a Los Angeles courtroom. (AP Photo/Sam Mircovich, Pool, File)
FILE - Los Angeles Police Department Det. Mark Fuhrman, foreground, and Superior Court Judge Lance Ito, rear, crane their heads to look at an overhead monitor during the O.J. Simpson double-murder trial, Friday, March 10, 1995, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
FILE - Los Angeles Police Detective Mark Fuhrman shows the jury in the O.J. Simpson double murder trial evidence during testimony Friday, March 10, 1995, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, Pool, File)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Conn Smythe favorite Mitch Marner had a natural hat trick in the second period to help Vegas build a four-goal lead over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night in the Golden Knights’ 5-4, double-overtime victory in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The 4-0 advantage didn’t last, as Carolina answered with four goals in the third period to force overtime for the second straight game. Carolina overcame a 2-0 deficit and won Game 2 in overtime when Seth Jarvis scored during a power play 3:56 into the extra frame.
“The game’s changed so much to where there’s no lead safe,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “There are so many different types of mistakes made, so many great plays made. You just never know where it’s going to go.
“I’ve experienced a lot of games and playoffs. I haven’t experienced one like this, in where, I mean, we could do nothing wrong in the second period and probably did everything wrong in the third period.”
Vegas goalie Carter Hart stopped six shots and Carolina’s Brandon Bussi made seven saves in the first overtime. Then, it was Shea Theodore playing the role of hero 5:38 into the second overtime when his shot off the end board caromed off Bussi's skate and gave Vegas a 2-1 series lead.
Theodore’s goal also prevented Marner’s monumental night from going to waste.
“Obviously, not how you envision the third in a way, but just really happy with how our group responded, just staying calm in the moment, coming back in between periods, or going into overtime there, just having the trust,” Marner said.
It was Carolina’s seventh overtime game of the playoffs, and Vegas’ fifth trip to extra time.
Tomas Hertl broke a scoreless tie midway through the second, after Vegas opened the stanza by having two goals overturned by challenges.
Marner’s first goal came when he gathered a loose puck near the boards and fired a backhander into the crease, where Carolina defenseman Sean Walker accidentally deflected the puck past Frederik Andersen.
Less than four minutes later, Marner gracefully deked around Andersen and slipped the puck into the net with relative ease to make it 3-0.
Then, with a little more than three minutes left in the period, the 10-year veteran blasted a shot from the right circle, triggering throngs of hats being thrown on the ice. It was the fastest natural hat trick in Stanley Cup history at 6:10.
“I think a lot of guys made great plays to set me up in that area,” Marner said. “I think you need five guys in the ice to all be on the same page, and I thought our line did a really good job of that throughout the entire night.”
Marner had a chance for a fourth goal when he was awarded a penalty shot in the third period after being slashed by Sebastian Aho on a breakaway, but was stymied by Bussi.
Marner also assisted on Hertl’s goal. His four points are tied for the most in a single period since 1919.
Marner’s 28 points are the most by any player in NHL history in his first postseason with a new team.
The 29-year-old has 10 goals in 19 playoff games with the Golden Knights. He had 13 goals in 70 playoff games during his nine years with Toronto.
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Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner, left, celebrates his goal as Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker, right, skates behind during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series, Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner, right, scores on Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner celebrates his goal with defenseman Shea Theodore, an own goal by the Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker, during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen, right, stops a shot by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final series Saturday, June 6, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
