Where key figures in murder trial are now

The killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994, brought what’s dubbed the “Trial of the Century,” culminating with O.J. Simpson’s acquittal. The announcement Thursday of O.J. Simpson’s death has brought renewed attention to the closely watched trial and the people who played a role in the case.

Here’s a look at where some of them are now.

Fred Goldman, Ron’s father, has relentlessly pursued Simpson through civil courts, maintaining it is the only way to achieve justice for his son. Goldman’s family has seized some of Simpson’s memorabilia, including his 1968 Heisman Trophy.

Denise Brown, Nicole Brown Simpson’s sister, has remained the family’s most outspoken critic of Simpson, although like the Goldman family, she refuses to speak his name. The former model has become a victims’ rights advocate and a speaker, urging both women and men to leave abusive relationships.

Johnnie Cochran Jr., Simpson’s lead attorney, died of brain cancer in 2005 at 68. Following the trial, Cochran expanded his law firm to 15 states and frequently appeared on television.

Another key part of the defense team, Robert Kardashian, died of esophageal cancer in 2003 at age 59. A longtime friend of Simpson’s, he renewed his law license specifically to represent him in the trial. Since his death, Kardashian’s fame has been eclipsed by that of ex-wife Kris and children Kourtney, Kim, Khloe and Rob, thanks to their reality TV show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Robert Shapiro, the first member of Simpson’s defense team, continues to practice law. In 2005, he created a foundation that grants college scholarships to 11to 18-year-olds for staying sober after his son died of an overdose.

Barry Scheck introduced DNA science to jurors and undermined the prosecution’s forensic evidence by attacking its collection methods. He and fellow defense lawyer Peter Neufeld co-founded The Innocence Project in 1992. It uses DNA evidence to exonerate wrongly convicted people.

Marcia Clark, the trial’s lead prosecutor, quit law after the trial, though she has appeared frequently over the years as a TV commentator on high-profile trials. She was paid $4 million for her 2016 memoir, Without a Doubt, and has gone on to write a series of crime novels.

Chris Darden, the co-prosecutor, was criticized for having Simpson try on the bloody gloves in the courtroom without first ensuring they would fit. He is now a defense attorney. He represented the man charged with killing hip-hop mogul Nipsey Hussle before withdrawing from the case, saying his family had received death threats. Darden has taught law, appeared on television as a legal commentator and wrote about the trial in the 1996 book In Contempt.

Judge Lance Ito retired in 2015 after presiding over approximately 500 trials. Ito has never discussed the trial publicly, citing judicial ethics.