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Scientists won’t get the opportunity to study O.J. Simpson’s brain after the controversial NFL star’s death last week from cancer.
Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s attorney and executor of his will, told NBC News that Simpson’s family planned to cremate his body, despite requests from scientists hoping to study Simpson’s brain to see whether there were any signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disease that can negatively affect football players who’ve suffered repeated head injuries.
“That’s a hard no,” LaVergne said of the requests. “His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated.”
The decision to cremate the body also falls in line with Simpson’s final wishes, LaVergne told The New York Post last week.
“OJ wants all of his body cremated for his children to do what they see fit,” he said.
O.J. Simpson’s Funeral Plans
Simpson — who was acquitted in 1995 of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in what was once dubbed the “trial of the century” — died Wednesday at the age of 76 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer several years ago, according to The Las Vegas Review Journal.
A tentative “celebration of life” is expected to be held for Simpson’s close friends and family to mourn his death, according to LaVergne. The football star leaves behind three children from his first marriage to Marguerite Whitley as well as two children he shared with Nicole.
His Last Will and Testament
Simpson’s property has all been placed in a trust, which was set up in January, but the exact value of the estate has yet to be tallied and will likely be heavily influenced by Simpson’s outstanding creditors.
Although Simpson was acquitted of murdering Nicole and Goldman in a criminal court, he was later found liable in a wrongful death suit filed by the victims’ families, who were awarded a $33.5 million judgment in the case.
The bulk of the judgment has never been paid.
LaVergne, Simpson’s long-time attorney turned executor of the will, made headlines last week when he told The Las Vegas Review Journal he hoped Goldman’s family would “get zero, nothing” from the estate.
“Them specifically. And I will do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure they get nothing,” he said.
However, while speaking with NBC News, LaVergne walked back the comments, saying upon further reflection they seemed “pretty harsh” and were delivered after being contacted by a debt collection lawyer hired by the Goldman family who was “bashing” Simpson within an hour of the death announcement.
LaVergne now said he plans to let the Goldmans’ legal representative review any conclusions he draws about the estate and hopes to resolve the issue “in a calm and dispassionate manner.”
“Now that I understand my role as the executor and the personal representative, it’s time to tone down the rhetoric and really get down to what my role is as a personal representative,” he said.
Although he’s agreed to cooperate with Goldman’s legal representative, LaVergne also explained that the Goldmans wouldn’t necessarily be the first creditor to be repaid, noting they were about “No. 8 on the list” and that all claims would be assessed “according to priority.” At the time of his death, Simpson owed money to other creditors, including the Internal Revenue Service.
While speaking with The Las Vegas Review Journal, LaVergne noted that there had never been a court order in place forcing Simpson to pay the civil judgment against him.
Simpson was forced to sell much of his football memorabilia including his Heisman Trophy — which sold in 1999 for more than $250,000, according to ABC News — footballs and jerseys to help pay the settlement.
He was arrested again in 2007 for robbery after trying to reclaim some of the memorabilia and was subsequently sentenced to anywhere from 9 to 33 years behind bars. He was released in 2017 and lived the remainder of his life out of the spotlight.
As part of his will, according to The Las Vegas Review Journal, Simpson asked that some of the money go toward putting a “suitable monument” at his grave.
He also stipulated that any beneficiary, heir or “other person” who tried to “attack, oppose or seek to set aside the administration of this Will,” change any provisions or tried to get the will declared null or void, would receive “free of trust, one dollar ($1.00) and no more in lieu of any claimed interest.”
