OJ Simpson told me in 1997 that 'if' he killed Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman he would 'never pay a penny' to their families... but it was what happened after the interview ended that surprised me the most, says CAROLINE GRAHAM

It was one of the most extraordinary encounters of my journalistic career.

In 1997, OJ Simpson was found liable for the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman in a civil case and ordered to pay the vast sum $33.5 million in damages.

Days later I found myself in a restaurant in Miami's bustling Coconut Grove district, sitting opposite the man himself.

I found him charming and charismatic.

Even as I quizzed him about the murders it felt surreal. Did he do it, the obvious question?

OJ Simpson and his his ex-wife Nicole Brown. The ex-American football player was found liable for her death in 1997 but repeatedly denied he carried out the brutal attack

OJ Simpson with his family: his wife Nicole Brown and his two children Sydney Simpson (left) and Justin (right) at the premiere of Naked Gun 33 1/3 in 1994

OJ Simpson and his lawyers at the original trial for the murders of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman

There was no answer, except to tell me 'IF' he'd done it, he would 'never pay a penny' to the victims' families – a story that went around the world.

I'd covered both his criminal and civil cases in my role as the Mail on Sunday's Los Angeles correspondent.

In my mind, there was no doubt that I was sitting opposite a killer.

Yet it was impossible not to be affected, drawn in by, the extraordinary allure surrounding OJ wherever he went.

Here was a man who had been idolised as an American football hero, who became a bona fide Hollywood star thanks to The Naked Gun movies and then suffered one of the most spectacular falls from grace in the whole of popular culture.

Yet far from being reviled by the public, he was treated like a hero – and I saw it at first-hand.

At lunch, the stream of people coming to our table asking for autographs was non-stop.

The chef came out of the kitchen to pose for a photo with a man recently judged by the courts to be a murderer.

Caroline Graham interviewed OJ Simpson in 1997 and called it 'one of the most extraordinary encounters' of her career

Ron Goldman was killed along with OJ Simpson's wife outside her Brentwood home in LA

Fred Goldman, father of Ronald Goldman and his daughter Kim and wife Patty listen during the hearing of OJ Simpson on July 7 1994

Simpson tries on a pair of gloves during his murder trial to prove to the jury he did not commit the double murder of his ex-wife and Ron Goldman. He was acquitted

The American football star famously went on the run in his white Ford Bronco down 405 freeway in LA in a 90-minute slow-speed car chase

After our meal, OJ asked me if I would like to accompany him to a local sports bar to watch that Sunday's big game.

And that turned out to be the most unnerving experience of the entire day.

As we walked into the packed bar a cheer went up and everyone started applauding. My jaw dropped amid the handshakes and back slaps as OJ greeted his adoring fans. And our table was immediately surrounded by young, beautiful women.

I asked one of these girls – and they were aged 18 or 19 - if she felt comfortable being around a man who, come off it, we all knew was a double murderer?

'I don't care' she replied, 'We all know he did it but, hey, he's OJ Simpson. He's a legend!'

And so it continued for the rest of the afternoon.

OJ barely drank but endless free drinks were delivered to our table.

I asked him if all this female attention was 'normal'.

'Oh yes,' he smiled. 'I've never had so much p**** in my life.'

He was that most American of phenomena.

Notorious, disgraced and yet feted wherever he went by a public drawn to the seductive power of fame.

Even that of a cold-blooded killer.