Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Pixabay via Canva
The book claims the Browns did it to protect their house and that Marcia Clark was "complicit."
By John Sundholm — Written on Dec 14, 2022
Perhaps no criminal case has stuck so firmly in people's heads as the OJ Simpson case.
More than 22 years have passed since a jury declared Simpson not guilty in the June 12, 1994 murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman.
But new theories and details about the case continue popping up all these years later—including a new book making some pretty outrageous claims about Simpson's innocence.
The acquittal verdict in Simpson's 1995 trial shocked the world, but two writers claim to have figured out why prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden weren't able to prove Simpson's guilt.
The book claims Nicole Brown's parents killed her and framed OJ Simpson.
According to authors Sheryll and Shatelaine Shipley, "everything we’ve been told since 1994 is a lie," and OJ was framed—by Nicole Brown Simpson's parents.
Their new self-published book "The Sealed Envelope: Who Framed OJ Simpson for Their Murders, How They Did It and Why They Got Away With It" makes the case for their theory.
It's already raised plenty of eyebrows.
There was copious evidence linking Simpson to the murders of Brown and Goldman.
Simpson's guilt seemed obvious to many at the time—especially after he fled the LAPD in the infamous "white Bronco" police chase.
Drops of blood that prosecutors said matched Simpon's DNA markers found at the crime scene and his late-night red-eye flight from Los Angeles to Chicago hours after the murders occurred seemed damning as well.
But mishandling of the crime scene, untrustworthy witnesses and key evidence that didn't add up—like the infamous bloody glove—allowed Simpson's "Dream Team" of defense attorneys to obtain an acquittal.
Simpson was found responsible for Brown and Goldman's deaths in a wrongful death civil suit brought by their families in 1996, however.
And his subsequent 2006 book about the matter, "If I Did It," certainly did little to persuade people of Simpson's innocence.
But the Shipleys chalk all this up to a successful framing attempt by Nicole Brown's parents, motivated by greed and financial desperation.
The Shipleys claim the Browns had their daughter murdered to prevent OJ from evicting them from his house.
Brown's murder occurred just after a final failed attempt by OJ to reconcile with her and reunite with their children, Sydney and Justin Simpson, following their 1992 divorce.
According to the Shipleys, Brown's parents were financially dependent on Simpson and living in a house he owned at the time—one he was considering selling after Nicole spurned his advances.
The Shipleys claim Lou and Juditha Brown, along with Nicole's sisters Denise Brown and Tanya Brown, devised a "carefully planned murder plot" to pin on OJ in order to avoid eviction.
After all, it's pretty hard to evict your tenants when you're in jail for murder, right?
The Shipleys also say Marcia Clark and the district attorney's office were "complicit" in the scheme, and that they "knowingly adopted and promulgated" the Browns' lies.
They claim to have unearthed "hidden evidence, suppressed witnesses and scandalous misconduct...that allowed the real killers...to walk free for almost 30 years."
The Brown and Goldman families have spoken repeatedly about how traumatic the murders and trial were for them.
For anyone old enough to have watched the OJ Simpson trial, the Browns' and Goldmans' palpable grief is an indelible memory from the coverage.
For obvious reasons, the Shipleys' book is not likely to go over well with either family.
The Brown family in particular have continued to speak out about the events even as recently as this past summer.
In August, Nicole's sister Tanya criticized Chris Rock for making a joke about Nicole in a stand-up set.
She was also outspokenly critical of the depiction of her family in the Emmy-winning series "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story," calling the experience "horrendous."
It's unclear if there is any evidence to support the Shipleys' claims, or what qualifies them to investigate the murders in the first place.
But with interest in this case still going strong all these years later, their provocative book is sure to be a success regardless.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.