Former LAPD Detective Mark Fuhrman, who gained infamy when his past racist comments came to light during Hall of Fame football star O.J Simpson’s murder trial, has died. He was 74.
Lynnette Acebedo, chief deputy coroner for Idaho’s Kootenai County, confirmed Furhman’s death but said no further information would be forthcoming from the office. TMZ reported that Fuhrman died on May 12 from an aggressive form of throat cancer.
Fuhrman’s testimony in Simpson's 1995 trial transformed what was already a sensational murder case into one nearly as much about racial injustice and law enforcement as the practices and culture of the Los Angeles Police Department came into question.
Simpson, a former NFL and college football star, went on trial in January 1995 for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and her friend, Ronald Lyle Goldman, 26. Days after the pair’s bloodied bodies were discovered just after midnight on June 12, 1994, spectators watching Game 5 of the NBA Finals were interrupted by live footage of Simpson in a white Ford Bronco leading police on a low-speed chase along 60 miles of L.A. freeways and city streets.