April 18, (THEWILL) – Former NFL star, O.J. Simpson, has been cremated and there is no public memorial service planned, his lawyer who doubled as Estate Attorney, Malcolm LaVergne, has disclosed.
Adding that he witnessed the cremation, LaVergne said Simpson was cremated on Wednesday, April 17, at Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas.
“I am able to verify that O.J. Simpson was cremated today. Others were present, but I’m not disclosing who. Simpson’s ashes will be given to his children to do with as they please, according to the wishes of their father,” LaVergne said.
THEWILL had reported that Simpson died on Wednesday, April 10, in Las Vegas at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace,” the Simpson family had announced in a statement posted on X.
Ahead of Simpson’s cremation, LaVergne opened up about the former NFL player’s final days, which Simpson spent at home while saying goodbye to his loved ones.
“The only thing I heard him (say) at the end was he just wanted a couple more years. He wanted to see his oldest grandchild go to school. That would’ve been icing on the cake for him. But he never got there. But he had everything else. The thing that made O.J. the happiest at the end was that he was a grandfather and he got to see, spend time and play with his grandkids,” LaVergne exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, April 16.
The attorney said he is currently working on determining the value of Simpson’s assets.
His children from his first marriage, Arnelle (55) and Jason (53) and those he had with slain ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson (Sydney, 38, and Justin, 35), are the sole beneficiaries of his estate, LaVergne said, adding that he would ensure the family of Ron Goldman doesn’t get a penny from Simpson’s estate.
Goldman was a waiter and friend of Simpson’s ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. Both were murdered at her home in Los Angeles on June 12, 1994.
Despite rising to stardom as an NFL player, Simpson’s name became rooted in infamy when his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman, were found stabbed to death outside of her Los Angeles home in 1994.
Simpson was arrested and subsequently charged with the murders of which he was acquitted. He was later found liable for the wrongful death of and battery against Goldman in a civil suit filed by Goldman’s family and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victims’ families.
Simpson’s legal woes continued when he was found guilty of kidnapping and armed robbery in 2007 in Las Vegas. He served nine years in a Nevada prison before being granted an early release in 2017.
It was previously reported in February that Simpson was undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, but he never publicly confirmed his diagnosis. After rumours swirled that Simpson was in hospice, he took to social media to shut down the speculation.
“Hospice? Hospice? You talking about hospice? No, I’m not in any hospice. I don’t know who put that out there,” Simpson said in a video posted via X in February.
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