Mark Fuhrman, ex-detective convicted of lying during OJ Simpson trial, has died

"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."

Mark Fuhrman, a former Los Angeles police detective, died at age 74 in Idaho. He was among the first detectives assigned to investigate the 1994 killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Fuhrman reported finding a bloody glove at Simpson’s home, but his credibility was challenged during trial through claims of racial bias. Under cross-examination, he denied using anti-Black slurs, but recordings contradicted him. He was later charged with perjury, pleaded no contest, and retired after Simpson’s 1995 acquittal. Fuhrman later worked as a TV and radio commentator and wrote “Murder in Brentwood.”

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