ST. LOUIS — The death of NFL star and Hollywood actor-turned-double murder suspect O.J. Simpson Wednesday night brings to mind a trip he made to St. Louis about 10 years after the murders.
Sharon Rufo, the mother of the victim, Ron Goldman, took Simpson to court in St. Louis County over Simpson’s controversial visit in February 2004.
Fox 2’s Andy Banker interviewed Simpson then.
Banker also spoke with Rufo at her St. Louis apartment on Thursday. She declined an on-camera interview for now, saying the news of Simpson’s death had brought a flood of painful emotions and memories. She was really struggling to deal with them all.
The same was true for her more than 20 years ago.
“It’s much to do about nothing,” Simpson said in an interview at Lambert Airport then.
He was referring to the St. Louis County Court order saying Simpson had to pay Rufo money he received for signing items at a Bridgeton autograph show. An “OJ” signed photo was going for nearly $80; a football was going for more than $180.
It sickened Rufo, nearly 10 years after her son’s murder at the time.
“I don’t understand why anybody, unless you’re sick, an individual that would want something from a murderer—an autograph from a murder,” she said then. “I don’t get it.”
The St. Louis County Court ‘Writ of Attachment’ said Simpson owed Rufo $1.275 million from a California civil court judgment plus more than $803,000 in interest.
Simpson laughed it off at the airport, reminiscing about his playing days in St. Louis against the old football Cardinals. He vowed never to pay Rufo.
“I said I was innocent and I would do what the law said but other than that, I wouldn’t go out of my way to pay them a dime,” he said.
“Why doesn’t she have anything coming from you?” Banker asked.
“I didn’t commit the crime. I didn’t commit the crime,” Simpson repeated.
Rufo tells Fox 2 News she’s never received nor would she ever accept, any money from O.J. Simpson.
She asked Thursday that we share the following message from her now that Simpson has died:
“Please let people know. I miss my boy every day. Maybe now he can rest in peace.”
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