OJ Simpson murder trial witness Kato Kaelin reveals Barbara Walters' shock reaction to not guilty verdict - days after NFL star's death aged 76

OJ Simpson murder trial witness Brian 'Kato' Kaelin has revealed Barbara Walters' reaction when the NFL star was found not guilty in his 1995 murder trial.

Kaelin, 65, found fast fame for his role as Simpson's houseguest amid the international publicity surrounding the murders of Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, followed by the infamous low-speed chase and subsequent double murder trial, which he was a witness in.

Speaking with People Monday - less than two weeks after Simpson's death at 76 from cancer - Kaelin said at the time the verdicts were read, he was sitting alongside Walters as they prepared for a segment for ABC's 20/20.

'It was just her and I sitting and she asked me, "What do you think of the decision?" I just say, "I think the jury made a mistake,"' Kaelin said he told the late broadcast journalist, who died at 93 on December 30, 2022.

Kaelin added: 'I think that she agreed. I think she kind of nodded, and that was really about it.'

OJ Simpson murder trial witness Brian 'Kato' Kaelin has revealed Barbara Walters' reaction when the NFL star was found not guilty in his 1995 murder trial- Kaelin pictured in 2019 

Simpson expressed relief as the not guilty verdicts were read on October 3, 1995, while flanked by members of his legal 'Dream Team,' (L-R) F. Lee Bailey, Robert Kardashian and Johnnie Cochrane, all of whom have passed in the 29 years since the end of the trial

Kaelin said that he was friendly with the late television personality, who co-created The View, as they went out to dinner on multiple occasions.

'By that time when I sat next to her,' Kaelin told the outlet, 'we had already seen each other three or four times on shows or when she visited Los Angeles.'

In the criminal trial, Kaelin told the court he had heard a bump outside on the night of the double murders, and saw Simpson in his yard. 

The case's prosecutors said that Kaelin's recollections established that Simpson had re-entered his estate in the wake of the deadly encounter.

Speaking to People Monday, Kaelin said he 'thought [Simpson] was a guilty person' in the double murders he was accused of, adding, 'Well, I'm not a fan of his, that's all I say.'

Kaelin told People that he 'never saw physical fighting' between Simpson and Nicole, as Simpson had previously been arrested in a New Year's Day 1989 incident in connection with domestic violence, ultimately pleading no contest to a spousal abuse charge later that year.

Kaelin told People that in hindsight, he felt the fast fame and notoriety of his association with the Simpson case torpedoed his chances at a serious career in show business that he'd been seeking at the time.

Kaelin said he 'was getting auditions' before 'the trial happened,' adding, 'Would I have been a star? I don't know. I doubt it. But maybe I would have been a working actor.'

In the criminal trial, Kaelin told the court he had heard a bump outside on the night of the double murders, and saw Simpson in his yard. Pictured in March of 1995 

Simpson, who died earlier this month at 76, celebrated as he prevailed in 'The Trial of the Century'

Ronald Goldman's father Fred embraced his daughter Kim as the verdicts were read. Fred said that Simpson's death was 'no great loss' in a statement earlier this month 

Simpson and Brown wed in 1985. Pictured at a party in Brentwood for the 1984 Olympics on June 12, 1984, exactly 10 years to the day before her murder 

O.J. Simpson and ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson were pictured March 16, 1994 at a screening of his movie Naked Gun 33 1/3 premiere in LA, less than three months before the murders

They had two kids, Sydney and Justin, prior to their 1992 split 

Simpson's family announced in a tweet that he 'succumbed to his battle with cancer' on April 10 while 'surrounded by his children and grandchildren.'

Authorities subsequently confirmed Simpson - who was eventually held liable in a 1997 civil trial - had been in his native Las Vegas at his time of death, according to the AP.

Ronald Goldman's father Fred Goldman, who has tirelessly advocated for justice in the decades since his son's murder, told DailyMail.com that Simpson's death marked 'a further reminder' of Ronald's premature passing.

'It is a further reminder of my son's murder and a reminder about the many years we have missed Ron,' he said. 'His death is a reminder that Ron and Nicole were murdered by him. I am not going react to my thoughts about him dying.'

Fred wrapped up in saying, 'I have nothing to say about him. My response will not be about OJ's death but about he loss of my son's life by him. Thank you for calling. That is the only thing that I have to say.'

Fred subsequently told NBC News in a statement that Simpson's death was 'no great loss.'