Brother of possible OJ Simpson accomplice claims he returned with bloody hands on night of murders: report
Mafia‑Connected Drug Trafficker Allegedly Aided O.J. Simpson in 1994 Murder Cover‑Up
A recent New York Times investigation has surfaced federal documents that point to a convicted drug trafficker, Joseph “Joey” Ippolito, who was closely linked to O.J. Simpson and his friend Al Cowlings, as having played a role in hiding evidence from the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. The new evidence, which includes sealed court records and testimony from Ippolito’s brother, raises fresh questions about how the case was handled and whether Simpson truly acted alone that night.
The Alleged Night‑of‑Events
According to the Times, Ippolito was back at the apartment in Los Angeles where the killings took place on the night of June 12, 1994, around midnight. He is said to have brought a bag that “contained a heavy object” and had blood on his hands when he left the apartment hours earlier to help a friend. Ippolito’s brother, Sam Ippolito, told the newspaper that Joey had stuffed his clothes into the bag and instructed him to dispose of it while he showered. Sam later tossed the bag into a dumpster near a construction site on Doheny Drive, a location that had never been identified in the original investigations.
“I heard him on the phone with Al Cowlings, saying he was helping Simpson that night,” Sam recounted to the Times. The alleged conversation suggests that Ippolito was not only present but actively involved in covering up the crime.
Ippolito’s Background and Informant Status
Ippolito was convicted of drug trafficking and had ties to the mafia. He escaped from a Florida prison in May 1994, a month before the murders, and was arrested again in August 1995. After his arrest, he agreed to cooperate with federal authorities, providing information about O.J. Simpson’s alleged disposal of the murder weapon and his attempts to flee law‑enforcement. A federal prosecution memorandum from December 1996, which the Times has obtained in its unsealed records request, describes Ippolito as a “remarkable source of information.” The memorandum notes that his cooperation was considered valuable to investigators.
Federal prosecutor David Kelley, who reviewed the memorandum, said he did not believe Ippolito had taken part in the killings. “We found no evidence that he was involved in the murders themselves,” Kelley told the Times. He also clarified that Ippolito’s information was shared with Los Angeles prosecutors during Simpson’s murder trial, although Ippolito was never called to testify in court.
Reactions from the Legal Community
Former prosecutor Marcia Clark, who served as lead prosecutor in the Simpson trial, said she had no knowledge of Ippolito. “If he had supplied credible or relevant evidence, I would have been informed,” Clark told the Times. Clark’s statement reflects the legal system’s claim that no admissible evidence from Ippolito altered the outcome of the trial.
Al Cowlings, a longtime friend of Simpson’s and an associate of Ippolito, has not responded to requests for comment. Friends and relatives of the late Joey Ippolito—he died in 2006—have also disputed claims that he was involved in the murders. They argue that the allegations stem from a single, possibly unreliable source: his brother.
Sam Ippolito’s credibility has come under scrutiny. After maintaining his allegations for months, he reportedly sought compensation from the Times. He later attempted to retract his statements, saying that he could no longer distinguish what was real from what was not. His wavering testimony raises questions about the reliability of the evidence that points to Ippolito’s involvement.
The Case Today
The murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman outside Brown Simpson’s home remain one of the most widely publicized crimes in American history. Simpson was acquitted of the murders in a 1995 criminal trial, but a civil jury found him liable for their deaths in 1999. He died in April 2024 at the age of 76.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that the double‑murder case remains an open investigation. The new information about Ippolito’s possible role in disposing of a murder weapon and covering up the crime has not altered the official status of the case, but it has reignited debate about the extent of Simpson’s assistance that night.
What’s Next?
The New York Times has made the unsealed federal records public, and the documents are now available for review by legal scholars, journalists, and the public. Whether these records will prompt a fresh federal inquiry or simply add another layer of speculation to an already complex case remains to be seen. For now, the story adds a new chapter to an enduring mystery: the question of who was really at the crime scene on that fateful June night.
