section_path: Legal history/Arrest for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman
section_name: Arrest for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman
paragraph_text: Arrest for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman
  
  Shortly after midnight on June 13, 1994, Nicole Brown and her friend, Ron Goldman, were found stabbed to death in the courtyard outside Brown's condo, in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Police determined the murders had taken place on the night of the 12th. Goldman had been there to return to Brown a pair of glasses that her mother had lost earlier that day. The knife used was never found. Simpson was an immediate person of interest in their murders, and there was never any other suspect found. He maintained that on the 12th, he had been at home, waiting for a limousine to take him to an airport for a flight to Chicago. After police gathered all the evidence, charges were filed and a warrant was signed for Simpson's arrest.
  
  Simpson, in agreement with his attorneys, was scheduled to turn himself in at approximately 11:00 a.m. to the Parker Center police headquarters on the morning of June 17. Simpson failed to turn himself in, and he later became the subject of a low-speed pursuit (on the 405 Freeway) by police while riding as a passenger in a white 1993 Ford Bronco SUV, a vehicle owned and being driven by his former teammate and longtime friend Al Cowlings. According to Cowlings, Simpson was armed in the back of the vehicle with a pistol, holding it to his head and threatening to shoot himself if he was not taken back to his Brentwood estate. This caused the responding California Highway Patrol officers to pursue with extreme caution. The police closed the nearby highways. At one point during the ride Simpson tried to call sportscaster Bob Costas, with whom he had worked before and had a good relationship, but was unable to reach him. As Cowlings rode, Simpson's lawyer Robert Kardashian publicly released a letter from him, saying: "Don't feel sorry for me... I've had a great life, great friends. Please think of the real O.J. and not this lost person." The Bronco ride lasted more than 2 hours, until 8 pm, when Simpson and Cowlings arrived at Simpson’s Brentwood home, and negotiations for surrender began. He was arrested shortly before 9 p.m.
  
  The chase was shown on "nearly every live television station." Stations interrupted coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals to broadcast the incident live. With an estimated audience of 95 million people, the event was described as "the most famous ride on American shores since Paul Revere's." Tens of thousands of people gathered on Los Angeles streets and highways to view the chase. The incident likely increased sales of the Ford Bronco by an additional 7,000 purchases in 1994 compared to 1993.
  
  Many advocates for victims of domestic violence consider Brown's death as instrumental in Congress prioritizing the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. The act, passed in September 1994, created the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
  
  Shortly after midnight on June 13, 1994, Nicole Brown and her friend, Ron Goldman, were found stabbed to death in the courtyard outside Brown's condo, in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. Police determined the murders had taken place on the night of the 12th. Goldman had been there to return to Brown a pair of glasses that her mother had lost earlier that day. The knife used was never found. Simpson was an immediate person of interest in their murders, and there was never any other suspect found. He maintained that on the 12th, he had been at home, waiting for a limousine to take him to an airport for a flight to Chicago. After police gathered all the evidence, charges were filed and a warrant was signed for Simpson's arrest.
  
  Simpson, in agreement with his attorneys, was scheduled to turn himself in at approximately 11:00 a.m. to the Parker Center police headquarters on the morning of June 17. Simpson failed to turn himself in, and he later became the subject of a low-speed pursuit (on the 405 Freeway) by police while riding as a passenger in a white 1993 Ford Bronco SUV, a vehicle owned and being driven by his former teammate and longtime friend Al Cowlings. According to Cowlings, Simpson was armed in the back of the vehicle with a pistol, holding it to his head and threatening to shoot himself if he was not taken back to his Brentwood estate. This caused the responding California Highway Patrol officers to pursue with extreme caution. The police closed the nearby highways. At one point during the ride Simpson tried to call sportscaster Bob Costas, with whom he had worked before and had a good relationship, but was unable to reach him. As Cowlings rode, Simpson's lawyer Robert Kardashian publicly released a letter from him, saying: "Don't feel sorry for me... I've had a great life, great friends. Please think of the real O.J. and not this lost person." The Bronco ride lasted more than 2 hours, until 8 pm, when Simpson and Cowlings arrived at Simpson’s Brentwood home, and negotiations for surrender began. He was arrested shortly before 9 p.m.
  
  The chase was shown on "nearly every live television station." Stations interrupted coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals to broadcast the incident live. With an estimated audience of 95 million people, the event was described as "the most famous ride on American shores since Paul Revere's." Tens of thousands of people gathered on Los Angeles streets and highways to view the chase. The incident likely increased sales of the Ford Bronco by an additional 7,000 purchases in 1994 compared to 1993.
  
  Many advocates for victims of domestic violence consider Brown's death as instrumental in Congress prioritizing the passage of the Violence Against Women Act. The act, passed in September 1994, created the National Domestic Violence Hotline.