Ronald Lyle Goldman (July 2, 1968 – June 12, 1994) was an aspiring actor and part-time model of Jewish-American and Italian-American descent who was murdered in Los Angeles, California, in 1994, aged 25.
The football star O.J. Simpson was acquitted of Goldman's murder in a criminal trial, and later found liable in Goldman's wrongful death in a civil trial.
At the time of his murder, Goldman was working as a waiter at Mezzaluna, a restaurant located at 11750 San Vicente Boulevard in Los Angeles. A friend, Nicole Brown Simpson, an ex-wife of O.J. Simpson, had called to report that she had accidentally lost her mother Juditha's eyeglasses on one of the restaurant tables. After a quick search they were discovered, but they were found in the gutter. Goldman had agreed to bring them over after work. Before returning the eyeglasses, he stopped at his apartment located at 11663 Gorham Avenue to change clothes and shower. When he arrived at Nicole Brown-Simpson's condo located at 875 South Bundy Drive to return the eyeglasses, he was murdered along with Nicole Brown-Simpson on the walkway leading up to the residence in Brentwood, California.
During a reconstruction of the events, police believe he had arrived shortly before, during or shortly after the murder of Nicole Brown-Simpson and attempted to protect her, but was stabbed to death shortly before or after her murder. The autopsy lists several fatal wounds, including many stabs to the torso, one superficial slit of the throat, and one deep gash of the throat -- indicating Goldman struggled for his life. When his body was discovered the next morning, his eyelids were still open and his pager was beeping.
Personal life
Ron Goldman had never been married nor had children. He had a girlfriend, Jacqui Bell. Goldman's father, Fred Goldman, stated that Ron loved his mother Sharon Rufo, but didn't respect her and hardly talked to her. Goldman didn't own a car when he was killed, but could often be seen riding around the Brentwood area in Nicole Brown-Simpson's Ferrari. Years before, his Jeep was stolen and later found wrecked. Goldman had planned to open a new restaurant. Ronald Goldman is buried at an Agoura cemetery.
The murder
On July 30, 1993, Brett Cantor, the owner of a Hollywood nightclub called the Dragonfly, was murdered with knife in a method identical to Ronald Goldman: from behind, across the throat, and stabbed repeatedly on the arms and chest. Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman frequented the club. Michael Nigg, a Mezzaluna waiter and Ron Goldman’s friend, was shot in the head and killed. Another Mezzaluna waiter barely survived a car bombing.
One theory says that Goldman and Brown-Simpson were killed by a hitman, because they failed to pay debts to the local drug dealers. Supposedly, the two of them wanted to co-own Goldmans's dream restaurant. Brentwood was an area where illegal drugs were sold by Joey Ippolito and others at clubs and fancy restaurants. O.J. Simpson and Nicole were alleged cocaine users. Barry Hoestler, a private investigator hired for the Simpson case by Robert Shapiro, said that Nicole talked about the idea of opening a restaurant with Ronald Goldman as her partner, and financing it with cocaine profits. She and her friends were “over their heads with some dope dealers” Hoestler said.
Civil suit
In a civil suit brought by Fred Goldman, that concluded in February 1997, O.J. Simpson was found liable for the wrongful death of Ronald Goldman and was ordered to pay $12,500,000 (USD) to the Goldman family and $12,500,000 (USD) million to the Nicole Brown-Simpson family. He has yet to do so as he still maintains his innocence regarding the murders. He has since moved from his 360 North Rockingham Avenue home and is now living in Kendall, Florida where his National Football League pension cannot be seized to pay a debt.
The distinction between "murder" and "wrongful death" is worthy of note here, as many people have not understood how O.J. Simpson could be acquitted in one trial and found liable in another. First, murder is a crime; whereas wrongful death is a tort (which is a civil wrong; the term from French avoir tort, meaning to be wronged).
In a very real sense, the crime and the tort exist in parallel universes of law. For that reason, it does not matter to the tort case that Simpson was acquitted of the crime, because the two proceedings operate in different "universes".
Second, on a more practical level, the burden of proof is lower for civil liability than it is for criminal liability.
For most civil cases, the plaintiff must prove liabilty on the defendant's part by a preponderance of the evidence - which means it is more likely than not that the defendant committed the tort. In O.J. Simpson's case, the preponderence standard was easily met.
Some torts, such as libel and slander, require clear and convincing evidence. This is a higher standard than preponderance of the evidence. If "more likely than not" is 51%, then "clear and convincing" is somewhere around 70% -- but this sort of formal distinction is not actually made in court cases.
Beyond a reasonable doubt is the highest evidentiary standard. It is rarely required for civil cases, but it is always the evidentiary standard required in criminal cases because criminal trials can result in the defendant's incarceration and/or execution.
Finally, the prohibition on double-jeopardy found in U.S. Const. Amend. V. applies only to criminal proceedings. Only criminal proceedings on the same legal crime can twice-put a person in jeopardy of losing life, liberty or property. Even if liens are placed against property pursuant to a civil judgment, the defendant must still be left enough property (which includes money) to live on. Receipt of payment pursuant to a civil judgment is not guaranteed, as the Goldman civil case well illustrates.
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