Mark Fuhrman, O.J. Simpson investigator, dies at 74

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:01]Well, Mark Fuhrman, former Los Angeles police detective, and one of the lead officials investigating the O.J. Simpson case has died. NBC's Liz Cruse has more on the case that put this detective on the map.

[00:00:15]People call Detective Mark Fuhrman. This morning, Mark Fuhrman, the controversial Los Angeles police detective who rose to fame as one of the lead investigators in the O.J. Simpson murder trial, remembered for his infamous role in the case more than three decades ago. After Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend, Ron Goldman, were murdered, Fuhrman went from being the prosecution's star witness when he found the bloody glove at the former NFL star's home.

[00:00:40]My heart started pounding. To eventually being effectively discredited by the defense team, accused of planting the glove, which he denied, and of racial bias. Audio tapes revealed he used the N-word dozens of times, catching him in this lie on the stand.

[00:00:55]Do you use the word in describing people?

[00:01:00]Presently?

[00:01:01]Yeah.

[00:01:02]Overall?

[00:01:03]No, sir.

[00:01:05]Have you used that word in the past 10 years?

[00:01:09]Not that I recall, no. That exchange later forced this pivotal moment, casting doubt on his other testimony.

[00:01:15]Detective Fuhrman, did you plant or manufacture any evidence in this case?

[00:01:23]I assert my Fifth Amendment privilege.

[00:01:25]That dramatic confrontation, recreated in the TV series American Crime Story.

[00:01:30]I assert my Fifth Amendment privilege.

[00:01:34]After Simpson's acquittal, found James Simpson not guilty of the crime of murder. Fuhrman ultimately became the only person in the trial criminally convicted. He pleaded no contest to perjury charges and later apologized for those racial slurs and for his lie on the witness stand, telling Oprah this.

[00:01:50]It was wrong answer. Yes, I was wrong.

[00:01:52]You know, I I owe everybody an apology.

[00:01:54]Shortly after his damaging testimony, Fuhrman retired and moved to Idaho. He went on to write books about high-profile crime cases and appeared on TV as a crime scene expert, but never escaped the shadow of the trial of the century. I remember my wife came up along my right side and she looked at me and she goes, "They're going to blame this all on you." Overnight, Tanya Brown, Nicole Brown's sister, reacting to Fuhrman's passing, telling NBC News of the 74-year-old, "I choose to remember that beyond the headlines and public perception, he was also a human being, a father, a friend, and someone whose life journey continued far beyond a single chapter."