OJ's bizarre quasi confession memoir If I Did It where he described how he would kill Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman - but stops short of admitting it

OJ Simpson's acquittal for the brutal murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman stunned the world when the verdict was announced in 1995.

More than a decade later, Simpson would go on to shock once again, by unveiling his memoir, If I Did It, which many read as a quasi confession.

The former NFL star pleaded not guilty in 'the trial of the century', but was found civilly liable for the deaths of Brown and Goldman in 1997.

Despite this, he maintained his innocence until his death - despite the provocative nature of his memoir's title, which stopped short of making any admission. 

Penned with help from ghost writer Pablo Fenjves, the book puts forth a supposedly hypothetical account of the murders - but not everybody took it as a hypothetical. 

OJ Simpson's used his acquittal for the brutal murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman to pen a quasi-confessional memoir called 'If I Did It'

Brown was stabbed to death alongside her friend Ron Goldman outside her LA home in 1994

Her ex-husband was the main suspect but walked free following a high profile 1995 trial. He went on to describe what 'hypothetically' happened on the night of the killings in his book

In the chapter, 'The Night in Question', Simpson describes being at his ex-wife's home and confronting her and Goldman.

He then 'blacks out' before coming round to find the two in pools of blood. 

Supposedly present at the scene is a friend called Charlie, the identity of whom has never been revealed leaving many to speculate he was made up.

In Simpson's narrative, he and Charlie arrive at Brown's home to 'scare the sh** out that girl' before things go, 'horribly wrong.'

'I know what happened, but I can’t exactly tell you how,' he cryptically states.

'I know what you’re thinking: "Everybody’s innocent! The prisons are filled with guys who didn’t do sh**!" but that’s my point. Half of you think I did it, and nothing will ever make you change your minds,' he states at the end of the chapter.

'The other half know I didn’t do it, and all the evidence in the world–planted or otherwise– isn’t going to sway you, either.'

Simpson pleaded not guilty in the televised trial which included infamous moments including him struggling to fit into a pair of gloves apparently worn by the killer

The former NFL star was later found civilly liable for Brown and Goldman's death and ordered to pay their families $33.5 million

His 2007 memoir was slated to be released by ReganBooks along with a TV special

However, the book was cancelled amid a furious backlash over how much Simpson would benefit

The book came amid financial woes in the wake of the murder suspect's civil trial in which he was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages to the victim's families. 

Simpson's manager claimed that his client had no input with the book but had simply slapped his name on it to cash in. 

That was disputed by Fenjves, who stated the memoir was written following extensive interviews with Simpson, who was reportedly paid $600,000 for the project.  

The book was initially slated to be published by ReganBooks, an affiliation of HarperCollins along with a TV special.

However, fierce backlash saw the project canned over fears of how much it would further benefit the accused killer. 

In 2007, a Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the memoir to Goldman's family to help satisfy the civil judgment, sparking 'one of the strangest odysseys in publishing history.'

The title of the book was changed to 'If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer' and notes were added from the Goldman family.

In the book's blurb, the family state they view the memoir as his confession and have, 'worked hard to ensure that the public will read this book and learn the truth'. 

But Goldman's family (pictured at Simpson's 1995 trial) ended up being awarded the rights to the book and publishing an edited edition 

In a chapter called 'The Night in Question' Simpson describes going to Brown's home and confronting her before blacking out to find her and Goldman in a pool of blood 

 OJ Simpson died of cancer aged 76 on Wednesday, his family announced. Pictured: Simpson in February 2024 during the last video he posted

Barbara Walters called the memoir, 'one of the most chilling things I have ever read.'

'I want you to forget everything you think you know about that night, because I know the facts better than anyone. I know the players. I've seen the evidence. I've heard the theories. And, of course, I've read all the stories: That I did it,' Simpson states in his explosive opening.

'That I did it but I don't know I did it. That I can no longer tell fact from fiction. That I wake up in the middle of the night, consumed by guilt, screaming.

'Man, they even had me wondering, What if I did it?

'Well, sit back, people. The things I know, and the things I believe, you can't even imagine. And I'm going to share them with you.'

Interest in the book was reignited amid Simpson's 2007 trial for armed robbery and it skyrocketed up bestseller lists.

On the Goldman's version, the word 'if' is in a much smaller print and when read from a distance appears to read: 'I did it: Confessions of the Killer.'