A previously unseen interview with OJ Simpson from 2006, in which he “hypothetically confesses” to the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, has been broadcast after Fox rediscovered the footage.
The disgraced sports star was found not guilty of the crimes in 1995, but later wrote a book about it called “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer”.
The lost interview was recorded to promote the book but was shelved after public outrage.
In the interview, which was broadcast on Sunday night, Simpson discusses driving over to his ex-wife’s home with “a guy I recently became friends with” called Charlie, armed with a knife.
He then goes on: “I remember I grabbed the knife, I do remember that portion, taking the knife from Charlie and to be honest, after that I don’t remember, except I’m standing there and there’s all kinda stuff around.
Asked to elaborate, he replies: “Blood and stuff.”
Laughing, he adds: “I hate to say it, but this is hypothetical. I’m sorry; I know we have to back off again. It’s hard - this is hard to make people think I’m a murderer.”
Viewers were left stunned by what many viewers interpreted as a confession.
‘If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer’ was eventually released after the Goldman family was awarded the rights to publication.
They released it with the ‘If’ disguised and barely legible.
Simpson was released from jail on parole last year where he was serving time for his role in a 2007 armed robbery that took place inside a room at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino in Las Vegas.
Simpson and five others stole thousands of dollars worth of sports memorabilia from two collectors. He was sentenced to between nine and 33 years in prison.
He currently lives in Las Vegas and his attorney did not return a call for comment on the program. Nicole Brown-Simpson’s family could not be reached for comment, but Goldman’s father, Fred Goldman, said the family welcomed the airing of the tapes.
“While justice has eluded our family, Fox Entertainment enables everyone to make their own judgment,” Goldman said in a statement.
At the time, Simpson said a chapter of his book in which he gave an account of how he might have killed Goldman and Brown Simpson was purely hypothetical.
Fox said Sunday’s program was not aimed at uncovering new evidence but was a contribution to the Simpson story.
“This case is part of the social history of the United States for better or worse. It delves into issues of celebrity, privilege, domestic violence, race, inter-racial marriage,” he said.